There is sad news to pass along as Rob Laakso, the beloved musician, producer, engineer, and Massachusetts native known for his work in Kurt Vile and the Violators, Swirlies, Wicked Farleys, and others, has died. He was 44.
Laakso passed away last Thursday (May 4) from cholangiocarcinoma, an aggressive form of bile duct cancer. The Emerson College graduate had recently moved back to Boston, and was actively performing in a new project, Raw Bell. Both Raw Bell and Swirlies were set to play at this summer’s NICE, a fest.
The news was confirmed on a GoFundMe set up to pay for the costs of Laakso’s treatment and benefit his wife Mamie-Claire Cornelius and their two young children. As of press time, the fundraiser has pulled in nearly $100,000 across more than 700 donations.
“After praying for a miracle every day since he was diagnosed my prayers recently changed to a peaceful home departure surrounded by love. I realize now every day we had together was a miracle,” writes Cornelius. “Lately he pushed through the most insidious pain in efforts to be as present with his children as possible. Through it all he stayed stoic so I wouldn’t panic even more, so the kids could keep on living in their sweet and joyful innocence and so his friends and family wouldn’t worry.”
In addition to serving as longtime guitarist and multi-instrumentalist of Kurt Vile & the Violators; a member of Vile’s band with Courtney Barnett, The Sea Lice (the photo above is from their 2017 appearance at The Orpheum in Boston); and part of Boston shoegazers Swirlies since the late-’90s, Laakso also played in bands like Mice Parade, Amazing Baby, and Diamond Nights. His extensive studio work includes projects for Apple, Google, and Epic Records; he also performed and engineered the instrumentation for the theme song to Cartoon Network’s Superjail!, and composed the score of adidas’ 2021 Super Bowl ad. His full body of work is detailed on roblaakso.com.
In a tribute by NICE, a fest over the weekend on Instagram, the festival posted an image of its artist survey, asking each of the performers what makes their band or projects “nice.” About Raw Bell, Laakso wrote: “There are no words for how gratifying it’s been to blast these tunes live with my wife and my oldest friend, who just happens to be a monster drummer. If I had to stop playing music tomorrow, I’d be pretty satisfied that this is how I went out. Is there anything NICE(r) than that?”
RIP.
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