RIP Piotr Grudziński

I should explain that I'm new to their music, becoming a fan after photographing them at their Southampton gig towards the end of 2015, and I hadn't (yet) taken the time to learn the names of the band members other than their lead singer Mariusz Duda and their keyboardist, Michał Łapaj, both of whom I follow on Facebook.

I'll be honest, when I first saw on Facebook Riverside announcing the news of Piotrs passing, I didn't know the name, and thought it was a friend of the band, so the news didn't really sink in.   Later than day a black square appeared on the Instagram profile of Riverside, and it was only then that it clicked.

Piotr Grudziński was their guitarist, and someone that I'd photographed just a few short months ago.  He was 40 years old.

While I might know good music when I hear it, I'm not qualified enough to write about it, so I'll borrow some words from a blog written by Eric Heter who said;

"Due to his incredible versatility, describing Piotr’s guitar playing would consume a large number of adjectives. Piotr could shred and slash with the best of his heavy metal heroes in bands such as Iron Maiden. He could bleed notes from his guitar with the skill of a Steve Hackett or a David Gilmour. He could burst forth with beautiful melodies. He could provide atmosphere. At times, such as on The Curtain Falls from Riverside’s debut album, he could even drop hints of jazz."

As I type I'm listening to Riverside's 2013 album "Shrine Of New Generation Slaves", which is rather excellent.

Thank you for the music Piotr.