In Memoriam: Willy Graves (1980-2008)

Willy Graves, formerly of The Plot To Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, has passed away. His former bandmates made the announcement via their myspace page:

As I'm sure many of you have already heard, our dear friend Willy Graves passed away Sunday, September 14th. During our years together, we felt more like a family or a gang than we did a band. Every high and every low we experienced together. Willy brought so much to our band artistically, aesthetically, and in terms of general morale.

When the going got tough (and believe me, things would get fucking rough), we could always count on Willy to be the eternal optimist. Whether we were getting beat up in Salt Lake City, having our tires slashed in Baltimore, or getting pint glasses heaved at us in Wellington, NZ, we could always count on Willy to crack a joke or act silly to distract us from the lows. Same goes for all the highs we experienced together. All the amazing shows we got to play, amazing places we got to see, and amazing friends we got to meet; Willy lived all these things 100%. I've never seen him happier than when we raising hell in some foreign country.

We discovered so many things together, went through so many things together - it's unbelievable that he is gone so young. He had a lot more love, humor and art to give the world. This is everybody's loss. Please keep him in your hearts and remember him for the son, brother, musician and friend that he was.

Our deepest condolences to his friends and family.