Howie Pyro, punk rock legend and co-founder of D Generation, DJ, and music lover in general has sadly passed away aged 61. Pyro had undergone a liver transplant last year and was recovering in a Los Angeles hospital when he was living. Jesse Malin, Pyro’s bandmate in D Generation and close friend, confirmed his death from Covid-related pneumonia following a long battle with liver disease.

Pyro was a fixture on the LES and was friends to the good and the great of the punk scene he was one of the last people to see Sid Vicious before he passed away in 79. In 1991, Malin, Pyro, guitarist Danny Sage, drummer Michael Wildwood, and guitarist Richard Bacchus came together to form D Generation, an attitude-heavy Noo Yawk group that mixed Seventies punk with Eighties aggression. The group was born in a Chelsea loft where Malin and Pyro, disgusted by the decadent Eighties metal scene, would throw their own debauched and sleazy parties known as Greendoor.

Together with Malin and Bacchus, Pyro, picked up the bass and wrote D Gen’s first single, “No Way Out.” Pyro would record three albums with the band, including 1996’s ‘No Lunch’, before the unit broke up in 1999. They’d reunite in 2016 for a reunion tour and new album, ‘Nothing Is Anywhere‘. In 2000 he played Bass in the latest incarnation of Danzig where he reuniting with New York guitarist and onetime D Generation bandmate Todd Youth.

Also an accomplished  DJ, He was getting gigs for a bunch of high-profile celebrities such as Christina Aguilera’s birthday party to a residency at the Ace Hotel. Pyro hosted the ‘Intoxica! Radio’ show. Pyro will be greatly missed by his family, friends and fans. Once described as “the glue that held a scene together” it’s a sad day when we have to report another important figure passing away. Rest In Peace Howie. A true NYC legend.