Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, Jack White's keyboardist in his touring band, was found dead today (Oct. 14) in Mexico.
As Consequence of Sound reports, White's label Third Man Records announced the news earlier. "It is with great sadness that we tell the world of the passing of the incredible musician Isaiah "Ikey" Owens," the label's website reads. "He will be missed and loved forever by his family, friends, bandmates and fans."
The site went on to state that out of respect for Ikey, the rest of White's tour in Mexico would be cancelled. Mexican news site Periodico Digital broke the story, writing that Owens was found in his hotel room in Puebla. Drugs and alcohol were in the room, but the cause of death is under investigation.
Owens joined up with White in 2012 and is credited on the guitarist's most recent album, Lazaretto. According to AllMusic, Owens worked on two Mars Volta albums - 2005's Scab Dates and 2009's Octahedron. He put together Free Moral Agents and produced and played keys on their 2004 album Everybody's Favorite Weapon. The band released their second studio album, Control This, in 2010.
"We will all miss you Ikey," Third Man's statement continues. "You were and are an incredible artist."
Tributes to Owens have been flooding Twitter, including Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea tweeting, "r.i.p. the beautiful ikey owens." Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell added, "Terrible news about Ikey Owens. Such a fine musician."
"When your bandleader was onto something, you hired this dude to play keyboards," The Roots' ?uestlove added, linking to the video below, via Tri State Indie.
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