LFO’s Brad Fischetti is mourning a third bandmate after founding member Brian ‘Brizz’ Gillis died this week.
Fischetti announced the news via the boyband’s official Facebook page overnight, revealing Gillis died on Wednesday (Thursday in Australia). He’s believed to have been in his late 40s.
“Every story is made up of chapters. Some develop naturally. Some you have to cut up in your mind,” Fischetti wrote. “The first two chapters of the LFO story lost a main character yesterday. Brian ‘Brizz’ Gillis passed away.”
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Fischetti, 47, said he did not “have details” as to the circumstances of his former bandmate’s death, and also said it wouldn’t have been his “place” to share them even if he did.
“I am really struggling to process this tragic loss,” Fischetti, who admitted his relationship with Gillis was “complex”, wrote.
“It contained moments of great tribulation but also of great joy,” Fischetti wrote of his and Gillis’ relationship, adding he “learned a lot from [Gillis] about the business of music and how to put together and rock a show.”
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Emphasising what Gillis meant to LFO, Fischetti explained: “If it wasn’t for his hard work and dedication in the early days of LFO, the first two chapters, the LFO you came to know and (hopefully) love would not exist.”
Fischetti revealed he’s “prayed for [Gillis] every day for many years” and said he “will continue to pray for him”.
Gillis, Fischetti and Rich Cronin formed LFO – which stands for Lyte Funky Ones – in 1995, with Gillis leaving shortly after to pursue a solo career, and Devin Lima stepping in as his replacement.
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Fischetti is now the last living member of all four LFO stars, with Cronin dying in 2010 a week shy of his 36th birthday after battling leukemia.
In November 2018, Lima died aged 41 after battling stage four adrenal cancer.
”I know that soon or maybe already, Brizz will be greeted by Rich and Devin,” Fischetti wrote.
“And I hope that together, they will make some sweet sounds. I would really like that. Rest east bro. Rest easy.”
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