Insanely sad news broke on Sunday about the death of 34-year-old Gerhardt Fuchs of Brooklyn, New York. Known as Jerry Fuchs to a generation of New York music fans, he was currently the drummer in instrumentalists Maserati and disco-ish outfit The Juan MacLean. He had also played in punk-funkers !!! and tight-rockers Turing Machine, and appeared on records by punks Panthers and fearsome Ukrainian-born singer-songwriter Alina Simone.
Fuchs was attending a Uniform Project party at a Williamsburg warehouse that was raising funds for the Akanksha Foundation, a non-profit that supports under-privileged Indian youth. Fuchs and a friend were in an old freight elevator that got stuck between floors. Prying open the doors, they attempted to jump the four feet across to the floor. When Fuchs jumped, a piece of his clothing got caught. He fell five stories down the elevator shaft, and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
There's a really amazing eulogy to Fuchs up at Chunklet that does a great job of explaining why so many in the music world are currently feeling broken-hearted. His former bands, too, have chimed in with statements via their respective websites.
John MacLean offered: "Jerry was one of my best and most loyal friends. He was hands-down the best drummer I have ever played with or seen for that matter. Jerry was with me from the start of The Juan MacLean, and we had countless adventures together all over the world. He was utterly sincere and fiercely loyal."
Maserati's tribute read: "We are humbled to have been able to create music with you for all these years, Jerry. You will be missed more than words can express. We love you, bro."
And, wrote !!!: "We could never put into words how special a person Jerry was and how much we loved him. We ask that you tell all the people you care about and are thankful for that you love them. We wish we still had Jerry."
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