Now defunct San Francisco punk rock band The Lucky Stiffs recently announced the death of their former guitarist Shin "Shinister" Kodachi. The band announced:

It sadden us to write this, but our former guitarist and family member Shin took his own life on the night of the 23rd in Japan. He was a great human being, loved music and friends. We are honored to have shared a stage, home and laughs with him. This is a rough time for us all, and we thank you all for the support. Please keep his family in mind as well, this is such a hard thing to go through.You will be missed Shin, hope the pain is gone now.

The band last released Gold in Peace, Iron in War in 2007 and broke up later that year. Our deepest condolences go out to Shin's family and friends.