Late Saturday night I received some saddening news, Evan Bliss had suddenly passed away due to a pulmonary embolism. Evan was the front man of the defunct band The Low Life who broke up in 2005. Since then he has been trying to launch a solo career touring under Even Bliss and The Welchers.

I think I was first exposed to The Low Life in early 2003, though the exact time frame is not clear in my mind. I do know that their album Thixotropic was released late in 2003 and I was a huge fan of it. It continues to be one of those albums I can dig out and listen to all the way through. Back then it received huge play in the summer of 2004 for me.

The summer of 2004 would be the only two times that I ever got to see the band perform. The first time on July 3oth at Peabody’s in Cleveland, the night before O.A.R.’s third annual Feeling Better Than Everfine Festival. I would then travel all the way to Washington D.C. to see them perform on August 21st at the famed 9:30 Club, my first and only time at the historic venue. That performance can be streamed below.

Their live shows were full of extended jams and improvisation. Their first live album, Repossess, was only 7 tracks, but still clocked in at over 67 minutes. It is also another favorite of mine that still gets frequent play. I wish I could have seen them play more shows than I did, but they were primarily stuck in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country.

Though I never met Evan personally, I’m told from friends who were fairly close with him that he was such a caring and compassionate person. It’s really unfortunate that he died at such an early age, but his music will continue to live on for me.