Beloved musician Joey Mazzone, who auditioned for The X Factor aged just 13 and later co-founded Las Vegas blues-rock band True Grit in 2020, died on Friday, August 7, at the age of 27. He had endured a 10-year battle with "severe chronic and rare illnesses."
Final wish and tribute
His obituary said his final wish was "for everyone to listen to his music, especially on Spotify." To honour this, copies of the band's album, Bitten By A Snake, due out this October, would be given away for free, "as long as supplies last."
Describing his health struggles, the tribute explained: "On July 24, 2016, at only 17 years old, Joey developed the sudden onset of continuous, unremitting head pain that would never go away. He was eventually diagnosed with New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH), a neurological headache disorder characterised by a distinctly remembered onset and daily, persistent head pain from its beginning. There are currently no medications specifically approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of NDPH, leaving patients and physicians to rely largely on treatments developed for other headache disorders and on trial and error in an attempt to find relief."
Years of pain
The tribute continued: "'Headache' hardly seems strong enough to describe the relentless pain and pressure Joey experienced 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It marked the beginning of nearly a decade of complex illness and relentless pain."
"By the time of Joey’s death, he had endured approximately 87,972 consecutive hours without freedom from that pain. 87,972 hours of continuous neurological pain. 87,972 hours without a single sustained period of relief. 87,972 hours of headache hell."
The obituary listed the various illnesses he lived with: "Over the years, Joey faced diagnoses including gastroparesis, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)/dysautonomia, autonomic failure, autoimmune encephalitis, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS), tethered cord, cranial instability, increased intracranial pressure, and several vascular compressions, including both jugular veins, as well as renal and iliac vein compressions, including Nutcracker syndrome, along with additional complex conditions."
Band's tribute
The memorial also noted: "Joey’s story is not only a story of extraordinary endurance. It is also a reminder of what is lost when medicine still does not have adequate answers for people living with complex and rare illnesses. Joey was fiercely ambitious. He wanted to create, perform, advocate, build a career, have a family, and leave his mark on the world. He never lacked the desire to live a full life. His illnesses continually took away his ability to live the life he wanted...imagine what more he could have done if medicine had been able to give him his health back."
Band True Grit paid tribute on Instagram, writing: "Today, Joey Mazzone’s suffering ended after a 10-year-long battle with chronic illness."
"Anyone who met Joey knew he was always trying to help others...Having to drop out of high school and finish online instantly changed the trajectory of where his life was going. College was out of reach, and the only thing he could lean on was his guitar. Music was his medicine; it was never about fame, fortune, or success."
"After going to a pain rehabilitation program, he learned how to 'push' through the pain because he had so many rare diseases that have no cure. The only thing he had to work with was mental strength. This was the reason that he was able to do all of the things you’ve seen him do on stage while still being chronically ill."
"And many people couldn’t grasp the duality of his life unless you lived with him. Joey was so proud of his music because it was something he crafted with his own passion and expressed what life was throwing his way....Even though he might not be here, his music still lives on."
