Gabriel Gonzalez, a former bandmate of Gwen Stefani's No Doubt group, has passed away. Per SPIN, the Cuban-American trumpet player died on September 12 in a fatal motorcycle accident. Born on July 11, 1967, Gonzalez was a California native who played the trumpet in the Loara High School band. Coincidentally, this is how he met Stefani and her brother, Eric.
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The origins of No Doubt meant a lot to each member of the group -- especially Gonzalez. Speaking to SPIN, Gonzalez addressed the group's origins. "We were all into Madness and Prince Buster and all the Trojan s--t, so Eric started banging out some upbeat ska s--t and we were just goofing off writing music and we're like, 'let's form a group.' Bing bang boom, that's how it happened."
Originally, the group went by "Apple Core." Gonzalez would play a major part in formulating the sound of the group early on. He's credited as a co-writer on the likes of "Total Hate '95" and "Paulina." "We all kind of knew that we were creating something different, and being in the mod-ska scene in the early mid-'80s was a pretty spectacular thing," Gonzalez said.
No Doubt's Gabriel Gonzalez Has Passed Away In A Tragic Motorcycle Accident
Aside from No Doubt, Gonzalez enjoyed some time in ska bands such as the Untouchables, the Skeletones, Kingston A Go Go, and Save Ferris. Previously, Gonzalez had spoken highly of one of No Doubt's original co-founders, John Spence.
"Everywhere John went, everything John said, it was always 'no doubt, man,' 'no doubt,' 'no doubt.' He's like, 'Let's just call the band No Doubt,' and we're like 'Nah dude that's stupid,' but he was so convincing," Gonzalez remembered. "I'd look at John and be like 'Wow,' I could never see myself or anyone in the band doing what this guy did, he brought a whole different energy, he had no fear."
"I met him a few years ago when he worked at joes. Such a great guy. So easy to talk to and i enjoyed his stories. Wow. Can't believe this," one Instagram user said of Gonzalez's passing.
