www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/03-10/22.shtml
Please contact the organizers at the E-mail linked below for more information on the memorial service. Wire reports from the Associated Press and Reuters today confirm that Los Angeles county coroners officials believe the death is a suicide, indicating that the singers body had sustained a single stab wound to the chest. Smith was found by his live-in girlfriend yesterday afternoon, according to the AP report. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. Smith had been working on his sixth studio album, From A Basement On The Hill , since late 2001. At various points, the self-recorded album was being shopped to indie labels and later, tentatively scheduled as a double-disc offering on Dreamworks 2003 schedule. Last November, Smith was reportedly involved in a scuffle with Los Angeles county sheriffs at a Flaming Lips show. Smith retained the services of an attorney in the matter, and had publicly sought witnesses to the incident on Sweet Adeline. Smith reportedly claimed his hand was injured in the fracas, causing the cancellation of at least one planned show this spring. But this wasnt the first time Smith had cancelled a show because of pain in his arm. A February 2002 London concert was postponed after Smith had flown all the way across the Atlantic- claiming hed slept on the arm during the flight. In May 2002, Smith flubbed more than half of his planned setlist at a Chicago show, again claiming difficulties with an uncooperative hand. Smiths continued difficulty with live performances and the multiple delays with Basement - including claims that Smith disappeared for days and couldnt be found- led many to speculate that the singer might be using heroin or other hard drugs. Smith had written very candidly about past drug use in his songwriting, most notably in the 1995 track The White Lady Loves You More. In January, Smith even played a benefit show for a free needle exchange aimed at preventing the spread of AIDS and hepatitis among intravenous drug users. And in a recent, extensive interview with Under The Radar magazine, Smith admitted having undergone an intravenous treatment meant to clear his body of toxins resulting from drug and alcohol abuse. The entire text of the interview including some quotes that didnt make the print edition can be found at the magazines web site linked below. Smiths new songs deal frankly and obsessively with drug use and suicide: a quick perusal of the Basement song titles alone yields the now-poignant Memory Lane, Strung Out Again, Lets Get Lost, Shooting Star, A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free and Fond Farewell. Give me one reason not to do it, Smith taunts in Kings Crossing, another unreleased Basement cut. I last saw Elliott Smith at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles nine months ago, a birthday gift from my girlfriend. Out of all the live shows Ive ever witnessed- and Ive seen quite a few- Ive never left a show feeling more uneasy and concerned for the well-being of the artist performing.
In June, Smith was awarded a Best Rock/Pop Songwriter/Composer award from the alternative paper LA Weekly . Smith grew up near Dallas, TX, where he often had trouble fitting in and was physically and emotionally tormented by insensitive schoolmates. Smith went to high school in Portland, OR and attended college in Massachusetts. In 1992, Smith formed Heatmiser with bandmates Neil Gust, Tony Lash, and later Sam Coomes. Heatmiser released three albums and an EP, but it was Smiths self-recorded 1994 effort Roman Candle that drew attention to Smiths spare, confessional songwriting and innovative guitar work. After Heatmiser disbanded in 1996, Smiths solo career took off- eventually landing the singer several songs on the soundtrack to Gus Van Sants 1997 film Good Will Hunting , including the Oscar-nominated Miss Misery. Smith signed with Dreamworks in 1998, quickly serving up the baroque XO and ambitious Figure 8 , backing both releases up with extensive full-band tours. Last year, Smith enlisted Flaming Lips manager Scott Booker to manage his career and shop Basement to indie labels. In the last ten months, Smith had played acoustic sets extensively across the United States, including stops in Los Angeles, New York, Austin, Philly, and Hoboken. Smiths last public performance was at the University of Utahs Redfest festival last month in Salt Lake City. In addition to his work with Heatmiser and his brief but productive solo career, Smith also lent his songs and musicianship to friends and fellow artists including Mary Lou Lord, Pete Krebs, Lois, The Spinanes, Quasi, No.
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