"Aquarock" Pioneer Jabberjaw Found Dead At 49

Aqualaska- Aquarock pioneer, and drummer for the influential band, The Neptunes Jabberjaw was found dead in his hotel room on at the age of 49.

Jabberjaw was born Yaakov Theodore Levy on September 18^th, 1956. He was raised by Vaudevillian performers, whose careers ended shortly after the birth of their son. After being introduced to percussion after joining the Hannibal Hamlin Elementary school band at the age of 10, he fell in love with playing the drums. After a brief high school career he left Chester A. Arthur High School to pursue a future in music. Before beginning his career, Levy believed that he wouldn't go far with his birth name, and that he needed a stage name. He selected a nickname the talkative young shark had received in school, Jabberjaw.

Shortly after leaving school, he joined Billy Cooper and the Constantinople Boingers, where he met his best friend and fellow Neptune Max "Clamhead" Fredricks. Together, Jabberjaw and Fredricks were the creative force behind the band and their many hits. After 4 years of playing together, Billy Cooper and the Constantinople Boingers broke-up. He and Fredricks moved on and soon started a new band, one that would be remembered for its influence on music for decades to come. A band called The Neptunes.

The legendary Neptunes were made up of three members in addition to Fredricks on bass and Jabberjaw on the drums.

The first member to join was their new guitarist Biff Jones, who had formerly been the lead guitarist of both The Honey Shrine, and The Riot Dude Company, who both had minor hits shortly before disbanding. Jones was known for being level-headed and helping to keep his band mates grounded.

The next member to join the band was Bubbles Sunburst Anderson; the love-child of hippies, she joined the band on keyboards following training as a classical pianist at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Anxious for work she took the first job she found.

The last piece of the puzzle was completed when the co-founder of Blindfolded Axe, Shelly Howard became the final member of the band playing lead tambourine, despite her venomous personality, she was tolerated, because the band desperately needed her talent. Together, this new band set-off to conquer the music world.

They first started off by working clubs in the ever growing number of undersea cities, which were becoming more and more renowned for their music. They toured most of the major cities, hitting at least every major club in Aqualaska, Aquaustria, Aqualabama, and Aqualtoona. After creating a sizeable following the band entered the studio, producing their first album, Aqualung, which produced such hits as Deep Sea Lover Girl, and Tigress.

Following the production of the album they did their first world tour. This tour and their subsequent albums were so successful, that in the year 1976 a 16-Part documentary of the band, called Jabberjaw, about the band, specifically focused on their drummer's adventures, while touring. While the documentary did show that Jabberjaw was beginning to exhibit some erratic behavior, acting in a manner reminiscent of both Curly Howard and Rodney Dangerfield, the documentary failed to show the drummer's growing dependence of Amphetamines, and "Sea Weed". Jabberjaw's addiction nearly caused the band's demise on several occasions. He saved the band however, after checking himself into the Betsea Ford Clinic, to deal with his drug problem.

After he was released he returned to the band, and they entered an unprecedented period of productivity, producing 4 albums and going on 3 world tours in the space of 2 ½ years. This however, took its toll on the other members of the band causing Jones to burnout and Anderson to have a nervous breakdown. Shortly thereafter the band decided to call it quits in 1980.

After the band's break-up Jabberjaw once again turned to drugs. He turned his back on the world focusing entirely on his habit. Finally he sought help and he once again went into rehab in 1983, emerging several months later clean once more. This wouldn't last for long. He continued to battle drugs on-and-off for nearly a decade, the turning point came in 1994. While on a trip to Aquavelva, to scout musical talent for his record label Deep See Records, he overdosed on Crack-Cocaine in his hotel room. Luckily he was discovered several minutes later by hotel employees who were bringing him food he had ordered a half-hour earlier. He was taken to a hospital, and later made a full recovery from his injuries, suffering only slight brain damage.

Following this life-changing experience, Jabberjaw began to focus on producing music. After several years of producing several influential bands, Jabberjaw began to consider performing once again. In 1999 after nearly 20 years apart, he and The Neptunes had a reunion tour and a subsequent live album, both of which were highly successful. After the tour Jabberjaw began to work with a new band, Jabberjaw and the Osteopaths.

The Band released several albums, all of which were moderately successful. While he worked with The Osteopaths, he continued to produce the music of others, create music with The Neptunes, and began to direct music videos.

He was in Aqualaska touring with The Osteopaths when he was found dead in his hotel room, on Tuesday.