Bruce Tull, the guitarist and pedal steel player for cult alt-country band Scud Mountain Boys, has passed away.
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According to Rolling Stone, Tull died on June 22 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following a “sudden illness.” The veteran musician was 71.
Scud Mountain Boys frontman Joe Pernice, whose bandmates include Tom Shea and Stephen Desaulniers, shared a tribute on Instagram last week.
“I can’t believe I’m writing this sad news. Our brother in Scud Mountain Boys and friend of nearly 40 years Bruce K. Tull left this world this morning,” Pernice wrote alongside a candid image of the band.
“No combination of words will ever accurately describe the beauty of Tull. Someday I’ll try. But today Stephen, Tom and I are just hollowed by his passing,” the singer continued. “In our grief, we send our love to Nancy, the entire Tull family, and to all who loved Bruce and the music he made.”
Tull’s music career began at the University of Massachusetts, where he was pursuing a PhD in economics. There he met the musicians who would become his bandmates. Originally called the Scuds, the group eventually renamed themselves the Scud Mountain Boys.
The group also evolved its sound. While the band initially played alternative rock, the Scud Mountain Boys eventually shifted toward acoustic country music.
The Scud Mountain Boys signed with Sub Pop, which released the band’s most celebrated album, Massachusetts, in 1996. Over the course of their career, they released four studio albums, with their last, Do You Love the Sun, arriving in 2013. The band continued to tour.
Meanwhile, beyond Joe Pernice’s tribute, fans flooded the comments with their own memories of the musician.
“Such a quirky, tender, and talented human. I always remember his kindness and oh, the beautiful music,” one fan wrote. “He was a sweet, talented guy,” a second fan added.
“Oh, man. I’m so sorry, Joe. It’s tough to lose anyone. I bet he still had a lot of life yet to live. My thoughts are with you and everyone close to Bruce,” a third fan wrote.