Indieobit: Gerard Smith

A few weeks after the band revealed he was ill, sad to report the death of TV On The Radio bassist Gerard Smith.

Smith joined the band as a full-time member in 2005, sliding in for the Return to Cookie Mountain album sessions. He was 34; his death was down to lung cancer.

There's a brief statement from the band:

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

The following shows will be cancelled:

April 20 St. Andrew Halls, Detroit MI
April 22 Metro, Chicago IL
April 23 First Ave, Minneapolis MN
April 24 First Ave, Minneapolis MN
April 26 Ogden, Denver CO

There will be more information as it becomes available.

There's been too many good people dying too young from cancer recently.

Here's the band on Letterman in 2006: