Keith Mitchell — drummer for the dream-pop band Mazzy Star and member of Monitor a little further back — has died.
Mitchell passed away on Sunday. Mazzy Star band members Hope Sandoval and David Roback shared a statement about his death on the band’s Facebook page.
“Our hearts are broken,” they wrote. “We have lost the much beloved Keith Mitchell, a very talented and amazing drummer that we have had the privilege to work with for many years, he will live in all of our hearts forever…. We’ll miss you, Big Fella.”
Mitchell and the rest of the group came out of Los Angeles’ psychedelic and droning Paisley Underground scene. Mitchell was a member of Opal, the frame of which would become Mazzy Star when Sandoval joined the group following the departure of their original vocalist. He drummed one every one of the band’s four releases including their surprise hit album So Tonight That I Might See — propelled by the Alternative Nation torch song “Fade Into You. ” Mitchell also returned for the reunion album Seasons Of Your Day which came 17 years after their final release in their first run.
As of this writing, no cause of death has been revealed for Keith Mitchell.
