R.I.P. Jay Reatard

January 14th, 2010

Grant Trimboli

Courtesy of ALT.PRESS:

Matador Records has confirmed that garage-punk singer Jay Reatard has passed away. He was 29. Reatard’s previous label, Goner Records first delivered news of his death, writing, “It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard. Jay died in his sleep last night. We will pass along information about funeral rrangements when they are made public.” No information was given as to the cause of death.

His current label, Matador, commented, “We are devastated by the death of Jimmy Lee Lindsey Jr., aka Jay Reatard. Jay was as full of life as anyone we’ve ever met, and responsible for so many memorable moments as a person and artist. We’re honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly.”

Reatard had been making music since the age of 15, first in the Reatards, then in the Lost Sounds, and finally as a solo musician from 2006 onward. His most recent album was 2009’s Matador-released Watch Me Fall. Reatard spent November opening for the Pixies; more recently, he had been taking to his Twitter account to complain of being sick as recently as Jan. 9.

Our deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Jay Reatard.