K.R. “Zod” Azad, drummer for Stop Motion
From Evan Lei on Fb, 5/21/21: I lost one of my best friends yesterday. I found my friend and he was gone. I remember playing a John Scofield tune with you at the local 46, and then going back to the jam every week hoping you’d be there. I was lucky enough to catch you again after 2 months and invite you to join the band and the rest is history. All of the long jam sessions and rehearsals. All of the late, late nights at our apartment listening to music playing Smash. We never did get to start that math-y project we always talked about. You taught me a lot about music and how to be a better friend. Your laugh was infectious and your energy always brought the room to life. I’m so grateful we had the few years with you that we did. This doesn’t feel real. Things won’t be the same without you. Love you, Zod. I miss you.
My head is spinning, my heart is hurting, and my eyes only see him. The memories of yesterday and the memories of him everyday before that will stay with me forever. I’m holding them close, even though it’s horrific and painful. Please give me time. Please give Evan time. Please give the band time. Our family has lost a brother. We love you Azad.
From Owen Kortz: These two amazing students of mine came by today to donate instruments in memory of K. R. Azad for the Urban Peak music studio. Thanks Faith Allen and Evan Lei of Stop Motion
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Other Notable Musicians’ Deaths…
May 2021
26: Kevin Clark, 32, American actor (School of Rock), traffic collision; Mykola Moshyk, 79, Ukrainian bandurist and music teacher, COVID-19; Rusty Warren, 91, American comedian and singer (Knockers Up!).
25: Tõnu Kilgas, 66, Estonian baritone and actor (Rahu tänav, Those Old Love Letters), cancer.
23: Lorrae Desmond, 91, Australian singer, television presenter (The Lorrae Desmond Show) and actress (A Country Practice, Arcade); Cristóbal Halffter, 91, Spanish classical composer and conductor; Xerardo Moscoso, 77, Spanish singer-songwriter, playwright and theatre director.
22: Raamlaxman, 78, Indian composer (Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Hum Saath-Saath Hain), heart attack.
21: Rana Kharkongor, 69, Indian singer and video director, COVID-19.
20: Zion Aquino, 42, Filipino musician; Samir Ghanem, 84, Egyptian comedian, singer and entertainer, complications from COVID-19; Roberto González, 68, Mexican musician and composer, cancer; Roger Hawkins, 75, American drummer (Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) and recording studio owner (Muscle Shoals Sound Studio); Yoshi Wada, 77, Japanese sound installation artist and musician.
19: Guillermo Aguirre, 40, Argentine disc jockey, suicide; Johnny Ashcroft, 94, Australian country singer; Alix Dobkin, 80, American folk singer-songwriter, lesbian feminist activist and memoirist, brain aneurysm; Mykhailo Dutchak [uk], 67, Ukrainian conductor; Paul Mooney, 79, American actor (The Buddy Holly Story, Bamboozled), comedian (Chappelle’s Show) and writer, heart attack; Martin Turnovský, 92, Czech conductor; Oguz Yilmaz, 52, Turkish folk musician, heart attack.