R.I.P. Firehouse's CJ Snare

[whiplash1972]

From the Firehouse FB page Facebook: 

Today is a sad day for Rock N Roll.

 

It is with great sorrow we are letting the world know we have lost our brother: CJ Snare, the rock and roll warrior, lead vocalist, and a founding member of Firehouse.

 

CJ snare passed unexpectedly at home Friday night, April 5, 2024. He was a young 64 years old.

 

As you are all aware, CJ was expected to be back on stage with the band this summer after recovering from surgery.

We are all in complete shock with CJ's untimely passing.

 

CJ was was arguably one of the best vocal talents of a generation, touring the world with Firehouse non stop the past 34 years.

 

Our heartfelt condolences go out to the entire Snare family, Katherine Little, friends, and all our beloved fans all over the world.

 

"Reach for the Sky” CJ! You will be forever missed by family, friends, fans and your band mates. You’re singing with the angels now.

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From Katherine Little's (CJ's girlfriend) FB page: 

 

It is with a heavy heart that I write this and it’s extremely difficult to find the right words. CJ left this world on Friday, April 5th. I’ve had 8+ wonderful years with this man and I love him to his core.

 

In September of 2020, CJ was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. His initial prognosis was grim, but that didn’t stop him. We went for a second opinion and in September of 2021, he had a life-saving operation that gave us these last years with him. He was so incredibly positive during this whole disease. He was so strong. He never lost hope. All he wanted was to be the CJ that you all know and love. Last spring, he started having some more issues and he had another surgery in October 2023. This last surgery left him very weak and unable to live a full life. I’ve been by his side from day 1 and I would have never given up on him.

 

CJ leaves behind three wonderful children that are all so very special to me. Life will never be the same. I’m not ready to face this. There is so much to say but words are incredibly difficult right now. Please respect our family during this time of grief and keep us in your thoughts.

 

 

[Darkstone]

WOW. This one's really shocking.

RIP.

[tts42572]

Bummer.

Agree....very shocking.  Had no idea he had cancer.  I knew he'd had some surgery but details were obviously kept under wraps.

Just too bad.  CJ always sounded fantastic and was a super nice dude from what I could tell in my brief interactions with him.

Really enjoyed Firehouse over the years...this one stings.

RIP.

 

[Captain Howdy]

Just saw this on Michael Sweets FB. He didn't go into the cause but it sadly does not surprise me that it was cancer. It's such a sad situation as 64 really is no age to die, but as I know from personal experience, cancer really does not discriminate.

Sorry for his family and friends.

[heavyharmonies]

Damn. That's one of the hardest things about getting old(er)... watching icons that you (figuratively) grew up with fall prey to malady and old age. Sadly, we're going to see more and more of this. Sigh.

[Metal T]

Debut still a classic....great singer and great live'.

IMO,band should end.

 

RIP

[lettard]

Such sad and shocking news   may he Rest In Peace.

 

[KarpetRydOFunk]

What the fuck? I had no idea about the cancer. This fuckin' sucks. This year has been shit. 

[whiplash1972]

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen such an outpouring of love and condolences as I’m seeing right now for CJ Snare and his friends/family from the entire rock community. He touched many lives and had so many friends the world over. 🥲

I still remember the first time I heard White Heat doing “Home is Where the Heart Is” on the local radio station. “These guys are good! I wonder who that is singing?” Little did I know that we’d be hearing much more from CJ in the years to come. 
 

R.I.P CJ 

Gonna grab some Firehouse and Rubicon Cross to listen to this week. 

[whiplash1972]

Posted a thread featuring this video a few years back; seems like an appropriate time to revisit. 😔

 

[Doggy]

[The Rocker]

Speechless

 

[GarrisonDreams]

Rest in peace C.J. Firehouse will always be my favorite melodic hard rock band.

[GarrisonDreams]

5 hours ago, tts42572 said:

Bummer.

Agree....very shocking.  Had no idea he had cancer.  I knew he'd had some surgery but details were obviously kept under wraps.

Just too bad.  CJ always sounded fantastic and was a super nice dude from what I could tell in my brief interactions with him.

Really enjoyed Firehouse over the years...this one stings.

RIP.

 

I agree, it absolutely sucks; but it's pretty cool that you got to meet him though. Was it at a concert?

[gener8tr]

I said the same thing in the Helix thread a few months back...

This sucks, badly... but all of us who  were in our teens in the 80's when our music ruled the world are now in our mid-50's (at least) and our music heroes are, for the most part, older than that (some much older).  Unfortunately these RIP threads will be posted much more often moving forward.

I saw the Warrant / Trixter / Firehouse tour here in Portland, Oregon back in 1991 and I've been a fan of all three of those bands since (Warrant actually a couple years earlier).  Two of the three lead-men from that tour are now gone.  Life is precious and short.  Too short for far too many.

RIP, CJ  

[GarrisonDreams]

54 minutes ago, gener8tr said:

I said the same thing in the Helix thread a few months back...

This sucks, badly... but all of us who  were in our teens in the 80's when our music ruled the world are now in our mid-50's (at least) and our music heroes are, for the most part, older than that (some much older).  Unfortunately these RIP threads will be posted much more often moving forward.

I saw the Warrant / Trixter / Firehouse tour here in Portland, Oregon back in 1991 and I've been a fan of all three of those bands since (Warrant actually a couple years earlier).  Two of the three lead-men from that tour are now gone.  Life is precious and short.  Too short for far too many.

RIP, CJ  

Tell me about it. I'm twenty-one years old and I'm afraid that I'll not only outlive the great glam metal stars, but also the majority of their fan-bases. It kind of reminds me of a quote: "they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time." I hate how most people my age aren't interested in this kind of music, but who knows? Maybe I'll someday have children and I'll get to raise them on real bands like Firehouse, Bon Jovi, and Danger Danger, thus keeping their memory alive!

[auslander]

64 is too young. So sad for his loved ones. He will be missed. 

[Ponen]

Rest In Peace CJ😟

[Captain Howdy]

6 hours ago, auslander said:

64 is too young. So sad for his loved ones. He will be missed. 

Yup. Most of our heroes should not be dying yet. It's always expected that some will go from substance related issues, but sadly things like cancer don't care how old you are or what your status in life is.

We have lost far too many far too young.

[Ponen]

I was in a band back when I was 16/17 and this was one of the songs we played in our first gig. 

Thank you for all the memories. You'll be missed. 

[tts42572]

13 hours ago, GarrisonDreams said:

I agree, it absolutely sucks; but it's pretty cool that you got to meet him though. Was it at a concert?

Was able to chat with him a couple different times.  Yes, first was after a concert back in 2013 when they did a meet n greet after the show.  Also bumped into him on the 2020 Monsters of Rock cruise in an elevator lol.  I said hello to him, told him I was a Firehouse fan and thanked him for the great music he created.  He was very gracious, asked me my name and he commented on a H.E.A.T shirt I had on and said that he caught some of H.E.A.T's show on the cruise and that they were awesome.  I remember asking him if he could hook it up so Firehouse could play some shows in the USA with H.E.A.T and he said that he'd love to do that.  He even jokingly tabbed a name for the tour saying they could call it the "Firehouse Brings The H.E.A.T Tour" lol.

Back in 2021, I also had him do a cameo video for my wife as a gift.  He did a nice couple minute video where he said some stuff and played a bit of When I Look Into Your Eyes on the piano dedicated to my wife.      

Not sure how many times I've seen Firehouse live over the years but I think they're probably 2nd on my list behind Def Leppard as I've had to have seen them somewhere around 10-12 times as they always seemed to be at festivals I've attended or playing near me.  And I think their debut album was probably my greatest totally blind purchase ever.  I remember just picking that off the rack in my local music store as I'd often just buy CD's then when  I wanted something new to listen to and that one caught my eye for some reason.  If I were making a list of my top 20 all-time albums, that one would definitely be on it.

Just sucks.  I kept hoping we'd get new Firehouse music in the future but no chance of that now (unless it's with their new vocalist and that surely won't be the same).  CJ left behind some timeless music though.

Like was said above though, we're going to see more and more of this sort of thing in the coming years.  This just serves as a stark reminder that life is short and need to get out there and enjoy it while you can.

[GarrisonDreams]

32 minutes ago, Ponen said:

I was in a band back when I was 16/17 and this was one of the songs we played in our first gig. 

Thank you for all the memories. You'll be missed. 

That's actually the song which got me into Firehouse in the first place, and will always be my favorite. I heard it on the radio one day, and decided to look up the band; the rest was history.

Edited April 8 by GarrisonDreams
Just wanted to add more info

[Kristian]

R.I.P.

Love those first two albums.

I always wondered why their third album and even Good Acoustics was released on a major label, when all other hair bands were dumped from the big labels by that time.

Did he ever do anything outside of Firehouse?

[tts42572]

24 minutes ago, Kristian said:

R.I.P.

Love those first two albums.

I always wondered why their third album and even Good Acoustics was released on a major label, when all other hair bands were dumped from the big labels by that time.

Did he ever do anything outside of Firehouse?

There was the Rubicon Cross project he did....only one album I believe....

 

[Darkstone]

He sang this track on one of the Liberty N Justice albums.