New Found Glory Guitarist Chad Gilbert Dies Aged 45
Chad Gilbert, founding guitarist and backing vocalist of New Found Glory, has died aged 45.
Chad Gilbert, founding guitarist and backing vocalist of New Found Glory, has died aged 45.
Gilbert died on September 20, with the news confirmed by his wife Lisa Cimorelli and his New Found Glory bandmates. The band said he passed away peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by friends and family, with his wife and mother by his side.
“On the morning of September 20th, Chad Everett Gilbert passed away peacefully in his sleep,” the band wrote in a statement. They said they were devastated by how quickly he had died, but grateful that his final moments had been peaceful and surrounded by the people closest to him.
The statement also reflected on Gilbert away from music, describing him as a husband and father first and saying that his family had been his greatest source of pride.
Gilbert had been living with cancer for several years. He was first diagnosed in 2021 and revealed earlier this year that he had undergone emergency brain surgery after doctors discovered three tumours.
Despite his treatment, he returned to the stage in June, performing with New Found Glory in Nashville.
He formed New Found Glory in Florida in 1997 and remained at the centre of the band for almost three decades. As guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter, Gilbert helped shape the sound that would take the band from the late-'90s punk circuit into one of the defining names of the early-2000s pop-punk scene.
The band's breakthrough came with their 2000 self-titled album, followed by Sticks and Stones in 2002. The latter produced some of their best-known songs, including “My Friends Over You”, and helped establish New Found Glory as one of the major names of the era.
Gilbert's work extended beyond New Found Glory, too. He played with Shai Hulud and Hazen Street and worked as a producer for other artists within the punk and alternative scene.
His bandmates reflected on that contribution in their statement, describing his guitar playing, songwriting, humour and drive as a defining part of New Found Glory for almost 30 years. They also spoke of the relationship between the members as a brotherhood, something that had continued through the band's many years of touring and recording.
The statement was signed by New Found Glory members Jordan Pundik, Ian Grushka and Cyrus Bolooki, touring guitarist Dan O'Connor, and Gilbert's wife Lisa Cimorelli.
For anyone who came up with pop-punk in the late '90s and 2000s, New Found Glory were difficult to miss. Gilbert was there from the beginning, through the records, tours and festivals that helped carry that scene far beyond the venues where it started.
He was 45.