Tom Diaz, founding vocalist and keyboard player of The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, has passed away at age 32, as Brooklyn Vegan reports. The news was confirmed by the band in a post on Facebook, where they shared a few words about their former vocalist.
“We are incredibly heartbroken about the passing of Tom Diaz. He was an extremely talented artist, with such a huge amount of musicality,” the band wrote. “On top of that, he was an incredible friend.”
Diaz started the band in 2009 alongside Tyler Bussey, Josh Cyr, and Nicole Shanholtzer. Though he eventually left the band in 2012, with David Bello taking over as the project’s lead vocalist, Diaz sang on the band’s first three EPs (Formlessness, Josh Is Dead, and their 2011 split EP with Deer Leap), and contributed vocals to the band’s standout debut album Whenever, If Ever in 2013. In a 2013 interview coinciding with the release of their debut album, former TWIABP bassist Greg Horbal noted that the album was initially delated to unspecified “medical issues” for Diaz, which ultimately led to his departure from the band later that year. Diaz’s cause of death has not been revealed.
After his departure from TWIABP, Diaz continued to record music as Sinforiano Diaz. The statement from TWIABP also notes that his family is accepting donations to the Friends of Assisi Food Pantry in Danielson, CT. Read the band’s full statement below.
