Brian “Brizz” Gillis, a founding member of ‘90s boy band LFO, died Wednesday. He was 47.
Gillis is the third LFO member to pass away as another founding member, Rich Cronin, died in 2010 from leukemia, just a week shy of his 36th birthday.
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Devin Lima, who joined the boy band after Gillis left to pursue a solo career, died in November 2018 after battling stage 4 adrenal cancer. He was 41.
Bandmate Brad Fischetti announced Gillis’ death on LFO’s official Facebook page and on his Instagram page.
“I don’t have details and it wouldn’t be my place to share them if I did,” he wrote. “I am really struggling to process this tragic loss. I’ve said it before and I will continue to say it; the LFO Story is a tragedy. If you know what I’ve been doing, you know I’m trying to bring light into the darkness. Trying (to) find redemption in pain and suffering. Trying to honor the legacy.”
In his statement, Fischetti called his relationship with Gillis “complex.”
“It contained moments of great tribulation but also of great joy,” he wrote. “I learned a lot from him about the business of music and how to put together and rock a show. And it’s those positive aspects of our relationship that I will lean on now and forever.”
According to Billboard, the band formed in 1995 in Massachusetts as Lyte Funkie Ones. Gillis left the group in 1998 to pursue his solo career.
The group’s most famous song “Summer Girls” was released a year later.