Bassist Evan Farrell died from excessive smoke inhalation after his Oakland apartment caught on fire due to a faulty space heater. He’s best remembered by most of the world as a multi-instrumentalist for Rogue Wave, but to the people of my hometown in Bloomington, Indiana, he’s a legend. His hoosier state band Japonize Elephants rocked Indiana University during the mid-90s (a little before my time). I still hear stories of raucous house parties they played accompaniment on.

Farrell left Rogue Wave early last year to continue work with the Elephants. A special fund has been set up to help benefit his two surviving children. You can visit it by clicking, via Billboard, here. Our deepest thoughts go out to both Evan’s family and all those affected by this tragedy.