Jacob Thiele, who played keyboards for Omaha-based dance-punk outfit The Faint from 1998-2016, has died. The band announced the news of Thiele’s death on their social media channels on Friday, with his death coming on Thursday.
“We are devastated to lose our dear friend Jacob Thiele,” The Faint said in an Instagram post. “He was kind, adventurous, carefree and always fun to be around. He was a true synthesizer pioneer, and The Faint would not have sounded the same without him. We were incredibly lucky to have had the time we did with him. Love you forever Jacob.”
“So many good times with Jacob. Overwhelming sadness now,” singer Todd Fink wrote in an Instagram post of his own.
Thiele had been with the band from their 1998 inception until 2016. The last album Thiele performed on was 2014’s Doom Abuse. He was replaced on keyboards by Graham Ulicny.
In a statement given to the Omaha-World Herald, Saddle Creek Records, the band’s label, said: “We’re so incredibly sad to say goodbye to our friend Jacob Thiele. A brilliant player and synth pioneer, his contributions to The Faint are deep and undeniable. His influence on Omaha and our greater music community will forever be felt. All of our love to those who loved him.”
In addition to his work with The Faint, Thiele had a side project called Depressed Buttons with Fink and Clark Baechle.
A cause of death has not been revealed, but the World-Herald reported that Thiele was found unresponsive by a friend at an Omaha residence, which sourced an Omaha Police report.
See the band’s tribute to Thiele on Instagram below:
