Guitarist Sonny Mayo, best known for his stints with Sevendust, Snot, Ugly Kid Joe and currently, Journeyman, has been diagnosed with a genetic coronary artery disease after suffering two heart attacks over the past several years. Even with his sober lifestyle, vegan diet and robust medication regimen, the 46-year-old musician faces a steep risk of further complications. Accordingly, Mayo has launched a GoFundMe to help cover the costs for a promising new stem-cell treatment that isn't covered by his insurance.
Supporting the drive is Lamb of God frontman Randall Blythe, Mayo's longtime friend and peer, who reposted a video from Mayo's GoFundMe to Instagram, captioned with an emotional note entreating fans to chip in. The singer's message is a personal one, given the musicians' mutual shared experiences with addiction; it puts a particularly strong emphasis on Mayo's work with Rock to Recover, a nonprofit that provides resources to musicians battling the disease.
"18 years ago I met the dude in this video, my bro Sonny Mayo," Blythe's note begins. "Lamb of God was on our very first tour, opening up for Amen & GWAR — Sonny was in Amen at the time (although he's played in a bunch of other bands- Sevendust, Snot, Ugly Kid Joe), & we put quite a few beers back together on that run. Two years later he would get clean & sober (& he's remained that way for over 16 years now), but it would take me another 10 years after that tour to get my act together."
"When I finally got sober, Sonny was a dude who had walked that path before, a fellow musician who could help show me the way to a better life- & he has," he continues. "Now instead of touring with bands, he works with Rock to Recovery, a highly successful nonprofit program which helps addicts, alcoholics, combat veterans with PTSD, & other people with mental health issues of all sorts to heal by getting together with them and helping them to write music. He's a health conscious plant-based diet freak, & an animal loving dog rescuer.
"Overall, Sonny is just one of the nicest dudes you'll ever meet, but at just 46 years old, he's also had 2 heart attacks in the last 19 months due to a hereditary heart disease. Even with insurance, he's already $30,000 deep into medical treatments that don't appear to be effective stopping the heart attacks, & the doctors just keep on giving him the same treatment. That doesn't make sense really, so he's trying to be proactive about staying alive & getting allogeneic mesynchymal stem cell therapy (which is not covered by insurance for some insane reason, but has a proven success rate with his particular problem.) My bro is just trying to stay alive, so if you can, kick down a couple of bucks, whatever you can spare- he's a good man who has helped A LOT of people, including me, & he has more work to do here," he concludes.
Well, you heard the man! Donate to Mayo's treatment fund here. Check out his video detailing the story behind the drive below.
