Kevin Garcia, Grandaddy bassist and co-founder, dies aged 41

Kevin Garcia, bassist and co-founder of Grandaddy, has died following a stroke, aged 41.

Breaking this news on Facebook, the band explained they we were all able to “say goodbye to him” and he was “surrounded by his closest friends and family in Modesto”, California, before his death on 2 May. “He was an actual angel,” the post continued. “He navigated life with a grace, a generosity and a kindness that was utterly unique. And contagious. He is loved so deeply by so many.”

Garcia founded the indie group aged 15 with singer and guitarist Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch on drums in 1992. They released a string of acclaimed albums, including their debut Under the Western Freeway, in 1997, 2000’s The Sophtware Slump and 2003’s Sumday. While the group split after 2006’s Just Like the Fambly Cat, they reunited in 2012 and had just released their first album in 11 years, Last Place, in March 2017. The group had a number of live commitments on the horizon in the US and Europe but it is not yet known how they will be dealt with after Garcia’s death.

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“We’ll have more to say in the days ahead,” the band wrote. “Right now the four of us are grieving together.

“With great sadness and love, Grandaddy.”

Garcia is survived by his wife Sondra and two children, Jayden and Gavin. The band has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family with coming expenses.