The sad news that Unwound bassist Vern Rumsey has passed away has just reached us and. as our friends at Brooklyn Vegan are reporting, “tributes from fellow musicians and other members of the music industry have been pouring in”.
Conan Neutron, who was Vern’s bandmate in his current band Household Gods, wrote, “I was such a fan of what he did, one of my favorite bass players of all time in one of my favorite bands (Unwound). He was a compatriot, my Household Gods bandmate and my friend of many years. I’m devastated. This is impossibly heavy and I can barely handle it.”.
Calvin Johnson (Beat Happening, K Records, Dub Narcotic Sound System) wrote, “Thank you Vern for putting out Hands on the Dial cassette on Punk in my Vitamins?, the first Dub Narcotic Sound System release ever, and for being a good pal.”
“Kimya Dawson wrote a lengthy tribute on Facebook, saying in part, “I don’t know what happened but I was rooting for him just like he always rooted for me. I was such a big fan of him as a person and I was a total groupie of his bands.” You can read her whole tribute and many others below.
Household Gods had been rather active in recent times, the band who also featured Lauren K. Newman, who sadly passed away herself in 2019, had not long ago released an album – ORGAN THING: Now this is rather beautiful, Household Gods are a band featuring David Pajo (Slint, Papa M), Vern Rumsey (Unwound), Lauren K. Newman and Conan Neutron and this is a rather special first taste…
Household Gods
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THE ORGAN 