Brian “Brizz” Gillis, a founding member of the beloved ’90s boy band LFO, died on Wednesday (March 29). He was 47 years old.
His former bandmate Brad Fischetti shared the news in an Instagram post. “Every story is made up of chapters. Some develop naturally. Some you have to cut up in your mind. The first two chapters of the LFO story lost a main character yesterday. Brian ‘Brizz’ Gillis passed away,” he wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of the musician, noting that he did not have any “details” surrounding his cause of death.
“I am really struggling to process this tragic loss,” he continued. “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 find redemption in pain and suffering. Trying to honor the legacy.”
Fischetti added, “My relationship with Brian was complex. It contained moments of great tribulation but also of great joy. 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.”
Gillis’ death comes almost five years after the 2018 death of LFO singer Devin Lima, who lost his battle with stage 4 cancer at age 41, making Fischetti the only surviving member of the group.
The pop trio formed in 1995 in Massachusetts as Lyte Funkie Ones, before Gillis left the band in 1998 to pursue his own ventures and was replaced by Lima. The group broke up in 2010, following the death of lead singer/songwriter Rich Cronin from leukemia, then reunited without Gillis in 2017 as a duo featuring Lima and Fischetti.
“I know that soon or maybe already, Brizz will be greeted by Rich and Devin,” Fischetti concluded his post. “And I hope that together, they will make some sweet sounds. I would really like that.”
