Gary Young, the original drummer for US indie-rock band Pavement has died aged 70.
His passing was confirmed on social media by the band’s frontman Stephen Malkmus.
“Gary Young passed on today,” he wrote on micro-blogging site X, formerly known as Twitter on Thursday.
Adding: “Gary’s Pavement drums were ‘one take and hit record’…. Nailed it so well. RIP.”
Record label Matador Records, which released the band’s 1992 debut album Slanted and Enchanted, also shared a tribute online.
“We were exceedingly lucky to know the amazing human, drummer, producer and solo artist Gary Young,” wrote the label. “Much love today to his family, friends and bandmates.”
Born in New York in 1953, Young was a former hippie who began drumming for punk bands in the 1980s and working as a talent booker.
Pavement started out as a duo consisting of guitarist-vocalists Malkmus and Scott Kannberg. Back in 1989 they were recording a session at Young’s home studio Louder Than You Think, which Young was producing, when he offered to drum for them. The result was the group’s debut EP, Slay Tracks: 1933–1969.
After the EP proved a success, Jason Fawkes was brought in as the band’s new drummer, though a reported dispute with Malkmus led to Young returning to produce and drum for their next two EPs, Demolition Plot J-7 (1990) and Perfect Sound Forever (1991).
Once they hit the live circuit Young began to gain a reputation to to his wild mid-gig antics which were fuelled by an alcohol problem.
The drummer was said to have served food to concertgoers and greeted them at the door, performed onstage headstands during other bandmembers’ songs, and would run around the venue.
Young eventually managed to get sober in 1998.
He left Pavement in 1992 with his final contribution as the band’s drummer being the EP Watery, Domestic, though he returned to produce two tracks on their 1999 EP Major Leagues.
After that he continued to play music, releasing three albums with his own group Gary Young’s Hospital (in 1994, 1999 and 2004) and a solo record titled Malfunction in 2016.
In 2010 he delighted fans by joining his Pavement bandmates for a reunion gig in his hometown of Stockton.
His life was the subject of the recent documentary Louder Than You Think which had its world premiere at this year’s SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas.
