Sims Ellison (March 10, 1967 – June 6, 1995) was an American guitarist, who played for Pariah. In 1995, Ellison took his own life due to depression about the music industry. Today there is a charity for local Austin musicians who suffer from mental health and suicidal issues called the Sims Foundation.

Biography

Ellison was born into a San Antonio musical family. He and his brother Kyle formed a heavy metal band in high school called Pariah. After a few albums released with different record labels they signed with

Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

in 1991 recording their notable album To Mock A Killingbird that was released in 1993. In May 1995

dumped the band after which Ellison went into a major depression.

Death

On June 6, 1995 Ellison died after he shot himself with a gun in his Austin apartment. He was 28 years old.

SIMS Foundation

The SIMS Foundation was founded by former Pariah manager Wayne Nagle shortly after Sims`death, in honor of him. This charity helps local Austin musicians who have mental health issues by supporting them and their families. In October 2021, the SIMS Foundation launched a campaign to treat musicians' mental health. The idea first arose in the immediate aftermath of the

2017 Las Vegas shooting On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in . From his 32nd-floor suites in the Mandalay Bay hotel, he fired ...

and was expanded during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

when, in late 2020, Ellison's father launched ''The Founders Challenge'' to address mental health in the musical stage.

Personal life

Ellison dated actress

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger (; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid ...

for a few years.

Discography

Studio albums

*1989 - ''Rattle Your Skull'' (Not On Label) *1992 - ''Make Believe'' (Sick Kids Productions) *1993 - ''To Mock A Killingbird'' (Geffen Records)

Tribute albums

*2015 - ''It`s All Over Now Baby Blue'' (SIMS Foundation)

References

External links

Sims Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison, Sims 1967 births 1995 deaths 1995 suicides American rock guitarists American heavy metal guitarists Musicians from Austin, Texas Musicians from San Antonio 20th-century American guitarists Suicides by firearm in Texas