The Valley Rockstar Memorial is the popular Tempe mural paying tribute to deceased local musicians like Vince Welnick of the The Grateful Dead, Glen Buxton of the Alice Cooper Band, Doug Hopkins of the Gin Blossoms, Chester Bennington from Linkin Park, Mike Condello and newly added Lawrence Zubia of The Pistoleros.
It’s Good Friday at the Rockstar Memorial
Posted by Valley Rockstar Memorial on Friday, 2 April 2021
The murals were created by talented artist and former Valley resident Gina Ribaudo.
Tommy Gwinn, the Tempe resident who hosts the murals on the concrete fence of his Tempe home at 1992 East Richards Way said: “They’ve all made contributions to local music and had a significant impact that went beyond the Valley and affected millions.”
“There was no way I could leave them off of the wall,” he added.
As a longtime fan of Zubia, Tommy said: “So many people had great respect for his style and presence and I couldn’t imagine not having him up here because he was such a notable person who touched so many people’s lives with his music.”
After Zubia died, Gwinn started planning to add his portrait to the mural. In the meantime, he was contacted about adding Patterson of the Phunk Junkeez as well.
He concludes: “…these people that had an influence on our lives, we should keep their memories alive as long as we’re alive.”
