"On behalf of Charles, Kim, Joey, David, management, and everyone here at PixiesMusic, we'd like to send out our condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Jay Reatard. The world of music just lost someone important," states the latest headline on the popular alternative rock group's official website.
Jay Reatard, born Jimmy Lee Lindsay Jr., was found dead by roommate in his Memphis, TN apartment on Wednesday after recently complaining of "flu-like symptoms". The garage punk rocker, who opened for The Pixies on several East Coast and Midwest '09 tour dates, had achieved critical acclaim and attracted a burgeoning fan base with his solo career and work with bands The Reatards, Lost Sounds and various others. Spin Magazine had recently named his latest record, "Watch Me Fail", the 13th best album or year in their "40 Best Albums of 2009" feature.
"Pudgy fellow with annoying stage name moves from garage gunk to some of the highest-octane power pop since college radio was guided by voices," declares the Spin review, "few indie rockers have ever been on a roll like this."
Lindsay's body of work also included a cover of Beck's 2008 hit, "Gamma Ray". The alt-rock icon paid tribute on his website.
"Extremely sad to hear of Jay's passing," reads Beck.com, "Only got to play with him once, but had the honor of doing a split single together. Thanks for the songs Jay --- you will be missed."
The Shelby County Medical Examiner's office has stated that the results of the autopsy performed on Wednesday could take as long as six weeks to be released. Lindsay's memorial service was open to the public and performed this evening in his hometown of Memphis.
"With 22 full-length albums and over 100 releases, Jay dedicated his life to music, " states Jayreatard.com, "He played nearly one thousand shows in over 20 countries around the world. He was incredibly grateful for all the support his fans gave him over the years."
Jimmy Lee Lindsay Jr. was 29 years old.
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