Robert ”Bob” Heathcote was born May 27, 1964. He grew up in Westchester, California. His main bass guitar influences were Geddy Lee of Rush and Chris Squire of Yes. One of his first bands was with Suicidal Tendencies drummer Amery Smith and guitarist Rick Battson. In 1984 he traveled with Suicidal Tendencies as their sound engineer. On May 12 he landed his first professional engineering gig at the Grand Olympic Auditorium with Suicidal Tendencies, Red Hot Chili Peppers, SS Decontrol, Minutemen and The Abandoned. That show was Heathcote’s introduction to the punk scene and sparked his interest in playing in a band again. That concert was to be one of the last Suicidal Tendencies shows before they were banned from playing L.A. and the beginning of their four year recording hiatus. Frontman singer songwriterMike Muir invited Heathcote to play bass in Los Cycos a side project he was forming alongside New Regime guitarist Anthony“Bob”Gallo which at the time also included longtime friend Amery Smith on drums. After only a few rehearsals drummer Amery Smith and Bob Heathcote left Los Cycos to start a band with ex Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Jon Nelson and Todd Moyer called The Brood which later changed their name to Uncle Slam, resulting in a few demos in 1987. Los Cycos Replaced Heathcote with bassist Louiche Mayorga and Smith with drummer Sal Troy from No Mercy. They added lead guitaristGrant Estes for the Welcome to Venice recording of "It's Not Easy". Eventually Heathcote started playing in a cover band with future Suicidal guitarist Rocky George and drummer Sterling Roberts and frontman singer Norman Peggie, playing songs by The Scorpions, Judas Priest and Motörhead. When Heathcote heard Suicidal Tendencies was looking for a guitarist he suggested that Rocky audition for them and a few days later Rocky got the gig. Lucky for Heathcote when Muir was thinking of replacing bassist Louiche Mayorga Rocky returned the favor and suggested Heathcote for the job.
Suicidal Tendencies
Bob Heathcote joined Suicidal Tendencies in 1988 a year after the release of Suicidal’s second studio albumJoin The Army on Frontier Records. Heathcote was in the band from March 1988 to February 1989, he recorded the bass on their third studio album and first Epic Records release How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today, and toured around Europe and the US. Just when the band was getting ready to record their fourth studio album, Controlled by Hatred/Feel Like Shit...Déjà Vu which was certified Gold by the RIAA. he was unexpectedly asked to leave and was subsequently replaced by future Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo. Leaving behind the music industry in 1992, it was ten years later in 2002 he moved to the San Francisco bay area with his wife and kids and continued to study photography. After leaving Suicidal Tendencies Heathcote seemed to just disappear and some even questioned if he was still alive.
Life after Suicidal Tendencies
Heathcote played bass in the local Los Angeles hard rock band LongHornz for approximately two years. They played shows in mostly the Los Angeles area, and released some demo tapes during the early 1990s, but never recorded a proper album. Around 1992, the band broke up. Heathcote ceased his professional career after the demise of LongHornz, and has been raising a family of five children, three daughters and two sons, and is a professional photographer. He shoots mostly motor sports and is a track photographer at Laguna Seca Raceway, in Monterey, California. In 2014, after more than 20 years away from the music industry, Bob Heathcote joined the trio Kevin Moan and the Reptiles, who played shows mostly in Northern California, and went on hiatus several months later when their singer and guitarist Kevin Mohn joined The Atom Age. Heathcote's oldest son Chris was The Reptiles' roadie.
