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Smash Bandits Drummer Dies In Fall

The drummer and founder of popular ska band the Smash Bandits has died after a fall in a Washington mountain range.

Richard Grey Liston, 28, of Portland, Oregan, fell while climbing on Saturday morning on Mount Olympus – the highest peak in the Olympic National Park.

Despite immediate rescue attempts by other climbers, including a paramedic, the drummer was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Peninsula Daily News.

The news site said he landed among rocks and glacier ice.

The fall happened at around 7.45am on Saturday, on the eastern face of the Mount Olympus – the highest and most prominent peak in the range, reaching 7,980 feet.

His body was recovered by Mountain Rangers and airlifted off at about 8pm, according to the news site; the operation was ‘complicated’ by snow it said.

The cause of the fall was still unknown, according to Barb Maynes, spokeswoman for Olympic National Park, quoted in oreganlive.com.

News of the 28-year-old’s death has shocked fans of the popular seven-piece ska-punk band.

A post on the band’s Facebook page pays respect to Grey Liston, who is described as an ‘absolute inspiration’.

Posted together with a picture of Grey drumming, the message says: ‘He gave his life to something he loved to do, and that’s just the kind of guy Grey was.’

It goes on to say that he started the band over a year ago, despite people questioning what ska music was.

‘You knew what kind of band you wanted to be a part of, and you did everything in your power to make that happen, just like everything else in your life.

‘When you wanted something, you gave your life to making it happen. And you wouldn’t stop until it became so,’ the Facebook message says.

The post is followed by scores of replies from fans sharing their condolences and sadness.