TV On The Radio's Gerard Smith Dead At 34

Bassist was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.
By Kara Warner

TV On The Radio's Gerard Smith
Photo: Michael Lavine

TV On The Radio bassist Gerard Smith died Wednesday (April 20) at age 34 after his battle with lung cancer, the band announced on its website.

"We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer," the band's statement reads. "Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly."

Smith's death comes just over a month after it was announced that he was battling cancer; TV on the Radio had just completed recording sessions for their latest album, Nine Types of Light. At the time, the band said that while Smith would not be able to participate in the upcoming tour, they were hopeful that he would be able to fight the disease entirely, citing promising results from treatment and Smith's "legendarily willful disposition" as reasons for their optimistic outlook.

Smith had been in the band since 2005 and was a contributor to their third and fourth albums, the acclaimed 2006 effort Return to Cookie Mountain and 2008's Dear Science. The group has canceled its concerts for the next few days, starting Wednesday in Detroit. According to their website, the band will release more information when it becomes available.

Nine Types of Light, which has been receiving great reviews since its release last week, marks a return to action for the experimental rock group, which announced a yearlong hiatus in late 2009 in order to decompress from nearly a year on the road promoting Science.

Share your condolences for the band and Smith's family in the comments.

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• TV On The Radio

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1662395/tv-on-the-radio-gerard-smith-dead-34.jhtml

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