(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Coachella)
Keith Mitchell, longtime drummer for Mazzy Star and a member of Opal, Monitor and Green on Red, died Sunday.
Keith Mitchell Cause of Death
The band confirmed Mitchell’s death, though a cause of death was not revealed.
Band members Hope Sandoval and David Roback released the following statement:
“Our hearts are broken. 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 playing with Monitor and Green on Red before joining Opal with Roback and singer Kendra Davis. Following two EPs and 1987’s Happy Nightmare Baby, Davis left the band. Roback then recruited Sandoval to replace Davis and the band reinvented itself in 1989 as Mazzy Star, a dream-pop group. They performed under Serpent Records.
Mitchell provided drums on all four of Mazzy Star’s albums: She Hangs Brightly (1990), their breakout album So Tonight That I Might See (1993), Among My Swan (1996) and the reunion album Seasons of Your Day (2013). Mazzy Star was particularly praised for their 1990’s hit single “Fade Into you.”
