UPDATE: According to TLASILA’s Tom Smith, “Chris Grier died of a pulmonary embolism — clot in left leg.”
Guitarist Chris Grier, whose prolific career included collaborations with To Live and Shave in L.A., Thurston Moore, Andrew W.K., and Gibby Haynes, among many others, died on Thursday, July 10. The sad news came from TLASILA co-founder Tom Smith, who posted a photo of Grier on Facebook with the details:
“Chris Grier, a brother-in-arms with To Live and Shave in L.A. from 2003 through 2007, died last night. He suffered a cardiac arrest, had the presence of mind to call 911, but when paramedics arrived they found him unresponsive. Chris was pronounced dead at Brooklyn Hospital. Damn, damn.”
As Wondering Sound reports, Grier was a part of the experimental colletive during the period when W.K. and Moore were among the many members, contributing to 2006’s Noon and Eternity album. Grier made a mix of those songs for SPIN that year called “Noon and Eternity Overture” (or “Pink Sock”) which unfortunately is not longer available. W.K. weighed in on Twitter today:
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Perplexed by the extremely premature death of Chris Grier. Played bass with him just a few months ago. https://t.co/y3i28OnzF2 #PartyInHeaven
— ANDREW W.K. (@AndrewWK) July 11, 2014
Hopefully this brings comfort if you’ve ever had a friend die… https://t.co/ug3P4lIqOJ #PartyInTheirHonor #LOVE pic.twitter.com/49XnsM1tol
— ANDREW W.K. (@AndrewWK) July 11, 2014
In addition to his many other projects, Grier recently played in the duo Thee Ultimate Vag with with Scott Verrastro, who posted his own tribute on Facebook.
“Words truly cannot express the sadness and grief I am feeling right now. My dear friend and musical cohort Chris Grier passed on to another dimension last night, and to say I am in shock is an understatement,” he wrote. “Chris was an extremely dynamic and singular guitarist and I’m proud of the numerous improvisations we did together in Thee Ultimate Vag and Kohoutek.”
He then linked to an NYC Taper recording of a 2012 Thee Ultimate Vag performance featuring Haynes and Don Fleming: “To alleviate the sorrow, celebrate a life cut too short with this cover of the Walker Brothers’ ‘The Electrician’ with special guests Gibby Haynes and Don Fleming. RIP Chris, I’m going to miss you.”
Below, watch a video of Grier performing with Haynes in 2011, and hear “Flattering Circles of Hell,” off Noon and Eternity.
//www.youtube.com/embed/KfhoAzhP2cc?rel=0
//www.youtube.com/embed/WAKUdKPFxck?rel=0
