Rick Froberg, singer, guitarist, and founding member of the post-hardcore band Drive Like Jehu, died Friday (June 30) in his hometown of San Diego, California. He was 55. Froberg died of natural causes, according to his longtime bandmate guitarist John Reis.
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“Rick passed away suddenly last night from natural causes,” shared Reis on Instagram. “His art made life better. The only thing he loved more than art and rock n roll was his friends. He will forever be remembered for his creativity, vision, and his ability to bring beauty into this world. I love you, Rick. I will miss you for the rest of my life.”
Born January 19, 1968, Froberg grew up in San Diego and Brooklyn, New York, and helped define the post-hardcore sound with his bands with Reis.
Prior to forming the Drive by Jehu in 1990, Froberg and Reis — who would later front Rocket From the Crypt—played in the band Pitchfork from 1986 through ’90. The band’s sole album, Eucalyptus —following their 1989 EP Saturn Outhouse— is considered a post-hardcore classic.
Drive By Jehu defined their distinct sound by abstract song structure and Froberg’s unmistakable howls. After signing to Interscope Records, the band released their self-titled debut in 1991, followed by Yank Crime in 1994 before disbanding in 1995. Froberg and Reis went on to form Hot Snakes in 1999, and following a brief hiatus in 2005, the two formed the band The Obits and released three albums with that band before disbanding it in 2015.
Hot Snakes reconvened in 2011 and remained active through the present with the band’s fourth album, Jericho Sirens, in 2018 and the most recent singles, “Checkmate” and “I Shall Be Free,” in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
In 2014, Drive Like Jehu also reunited for a performance at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park in San Diego, and played several other festivals, including Coachella.
Outside of music, Froberg also worked as a visual artist and illustrator, designing album art, merchandise, and other promotional artwork for his bands, Rocket From the Crypt, and Sparta, among others.
No information on Froberg’s survivors is available at this time.
Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Redferns
