LFO Singer Brizz Dead: Confirmed By Bandmate - The Insidexpress

Brad Fischetti, Brian Gillise, Rich Cronin. STARTRAKS PHOTO

Former LFO member Brian “Brizz” Gillis has died. The musician was one of the two remaining original members of the ’90s boy band.

Gillis’s former bandmate brad fischetti announced the news via social media on Thursday, March 30, confirming that his friend passed away a day earlier. He was in his late 40s.

“Every story is made up of chapters. Some develop naturally. Some you have to cut out in your mind,” Fischetti, 47, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, sharing the same message on LFO’s official page. “The first two chapters of the LFO story lost a main character yesterday. Brian ‘Brizz’ Gillis has passed away.”

The New York native noted that he doesn’t “have details” about what happened to Gillis, but revealed: “I’m really struggling to process this tragic loss.”

Fischetti confessed that his relationship with Gillis, who left LFO in 1998 after three years with the group, was “complex” and not always easy.

“It contained moments of great tribulation but also of great joy. I learned a lot from him about the music business and how to put together and rock a show,” the “Life Is Good” singer explained. “And it’s those positive aspects of our relationship that I will lean on now and forever.”

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He continued: “I have prayed for Brian every day for many years. And I will continue to pray for him, for his beloved father, for his friends, his family and those who loved him. Special prayers for Pistol Pete and Terry Edwards; two men who hold a special place in my heart and they certainly held a special place in Brian’s heart.”

Fischetti and Gillis formed LFO, which stands for “Lyte Funkie Ones,” in Massachusetts in 1995 along with Rich Cronin. While the band had some success in the early years, Gillis opted to leave in 1998 to pursue a solo career.

At that time, LFO brought Devin Lima into the fold. The band went on to have a platinum-selling self-titled album in 1999. The record featured some of Gillis’s vocals and included hits like “Summer Girls.”

In 2002, the group broke up, reuniting briefly in 2009. A year later, Cronin died of a stroke after battling leukemia. He was 36 years old. While Fischetti and Lima reconnected in 2017 and released the song “Perfect 10,” their reunion was short-lived.

Lima died in November 2018 after battling stage four adrenal cancer. She was 41 years old.

“I have said it before and I will continue to say it; LFO’s history is a tragedy. If you know what I’ve been up to, you know I’m trying to bring light into the dark,” Fischetti wrote via a tribute to him on Instagram on Thursday. “Trying to find redemption in pain and suffering. Trying to honor the legacy.”

He continued: “Today I honor my former bandmate and friend, Brizz. If you watched the live stream of LFO Story or saw me and the band perform live, you know what Brian meant to LFO. If it weren’t for the hard work and dedication from him in the early days of LFO, the first two chapters, the LFO you came to know and (hopefully) love would not exist.”

The “West Side Story” singer concluded by writing, “I know that soon or maybe already, Rich and Devin will say hello to Brizz. And I hope that together they make some sweet sounds. I’d love to. Rest this brother. Be calm.”

Gillis is survived by his partner, janelle joscaand his father.