It would appear that he has passed away due to a heart attack. Really sad news because his work was incredible.
I believe he actually has passed away. It is likely that guy posted there just to let the news get out.I just checked that link and the guy who posted that story has 4 posts, joined the Seven String forum in June 2014 and has a quote a SS Regular.......a horrible thing to do if this is not true.
If this is true then: Wow, what a spin out! As many have said, really sad news news and condolences to his family. The guy was a swirl master and up there as one of the very best. R.I.P.
I will gladly amend the first part of my post when / if further information is obtained to confirm the news - I sincerely hope that I am wrong and apologies in advance if I have caused any distress or undue controversy.
-Wolfram
Great story - thanks for relaying this.R.I.P. & condolences to family & friends. This is so sad but also brings the realization that the community lost a true artist
I remember first communicating with Herc based on an "ad" he posted on Usenet back in the 90s where he advertised swirling. ATD wasn't really taking work (Darren briefly sold his swirls at a very high cost thru a (local?) middleman at the long-ago repurposed greenjem.com which was a nightmare in terms of customer relations, probably due to Darren's unreliability as we all now know).
So Herc was a godsend in this regard, a gentleman and craftsman and true artist striving to learn and improve... not an prima-donna.
I remember (ATD still MIA) he swirled a mini-JEM for Vai with some donated parts myself and a few others put together and he was like a kid on Christmas morning trying to get it to him (it was stunning of course). Vai did the DNA a little while later.
As many know I have his first JEM swirl a DY i sent him. Back then 3 of us on Jemsite (Ken B., Worth and myself i believe) sent him bodies to "test swirl" and from the start you can tell he had a passion for his craft & really wanted to please his customers. Maybe to a fault as some customers have very unrealistic expectations. For example Ken wanted a GMC UV swirl and rejected the first one expecting the catalog GMC i guess. I'm sure along the way Herc must have been annoyed and felt lost confidence dealing with "guitarists" who are not the easiest "customers" to please lets be honest.
My 777 swirl was great as i had no preconceived ideas just wanting it to be colorful. The axe plays itself today and everyone of all ages just loves it. That is a testament to the artist.
Of course his work improved and he really laid it all out for my second Herc swirl the GC Custom abalone blue or whatever it was called (can't seem to find the links on jemsite to these axes). I met him in a guitar show outside Philly to pick it up, this was pre "cell phone" and my only time to meet this swirl master in person.
His memories and "art" will last a lifetime and more. His passing is a true loss. R.I.P.
.. glen