Keaton Pierce, lead vocalist of Kentucky rock/post-hardcore band Too Close to Touch, has suddenly passed away.
According to his bandmates, Pierce died “suddenly and unexpectedly … due to a medical condition he had been dealing with privately.”
“Keaton lives on through these songs that we made together. He lives on through that feeling you get when you listen to them,” the band wrote on social media.
Pierce was the lead vocalist of the band since 2013. The band had a hiatus before their surprise EP, I’m Hard to Love, But So Are You, Vol 4, released on December 4, 2020.
The first Vol was released on January 18, 2019.
Pierce leaves behind fellow bandmates Mason Marble and Kenneth Downey.
Fans are taking to Twitter with an outpouring of love for the fallen singer, discussing with each other what Pierce’s lyrics meant to them.
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“Keaton’s lyrics saved me,” one user wrote.
Me neither, ive been sobbing the whole afternoon
i wouldnt be here still without TCTT. keaton’s lyrics saved me
— jack (@livingdeadcl0wn) March 26, 2022
“You felt everything he sang through his songs,” another fan tweeted.
https://twitter.com/Stephen110296/status/1507802929440428037?s=20&t=p_jSyuXJ9Bnr6wCfERxE-g
“before i cave in specifically got me out of the worst period of my life, it saved me [sic],” tweeted a fan with their condolences.
https://twitter.com/sakurabluez/status/1507764738880684043?s=20&t=p_jSyuXJ9Bnr6wCfERxE-g
I’m absolutely heartbroken. I love you, @KeatonPierce. I’m going to miss you so much 💔 pic.twitter.com/sVtLKFqYxf
— Alyson Coletta (@alysoncoletta) March 26, 2022
Today is too hard. @KeatonPierce you were a man with an incredible voice but you were so much more than that. I remember hanging in vans and showing each other our demos, it was so clear to me how much you loved music. May you Rest In Peace. Love you brother.
— Evan Couture (@evancouture) March 26, 2022
‘Eiley’, from the band’s 2016 Haven’t Been Myself, served as a eulogy to Pierce’s 3-year-old sister Eiley Joymaria Grace LuoMinYing Pierce who passed away in December 2015. In a song packed with sombre guitars and aggressive drum beats, Pierce questions why his sister was taken and begs to be taken instead. His voice cracks, and he cries during the song’s bridge, which fades into “the strongest chorus of the album“.
In an interview with Prelude Press, Keaton revealed how emotional he got during the song.
“In the bridge of ‘Eiley’, when I tracked it, I got choked up. I actually started kind of crying, and just like pushed through the take.”
Keaton Pierce leaves behind many fans who are devastated by his loss and are also reeling from another rock legend, Taylor Hawkins’ death. May they both rest in peace.
For more on this topic, follow the Rock Observer.
Listen to Too Close to Touch’s heart-wrenching song’Eiley’, sung by Keaton Pierce here:
