Rick Froberg — the leader of Drive By Jehu, Hot Snakes, Obits, and more — has died at 55. His longtime bandmate John Reis shared the news in an Instagram post, writing: “Rick passed away suddenly last night from natural causes. His art made life better. The only thing he loved more than art and rock n roll was his friends. He will forever be remembered for his creativity, vision and his ability to bring beauty into this world. I love you, Rick. I will miss you for the rest of my life.”

Froberg was born in Los Angeles in 1968. He joined the band Pitchfork shortly after it formed in 1986 in San Diego; they broke up in 1990, and Froberg and Reis would go on to start the influential post-hardcore band Drive Like Jehu. They released two studio albums, 1991’s self-titled and 1994’s Yank Crime.

Drive Like Jehu stopped being an active concern after Reis focused on Rocket From The Crypt, whose album art Froberg created — Froberg also created the artwork for the rest of his bands. The pair linked up again for Hot Snakes. That band released three albums before going on hiatus in 2005. Froberg then started another band, Obits, who released another three albums between 2009 and 2013.

Drive Like Jehu got back together in 2014 to do a reunion tour, which included a stop at Coachella. In 2017, Froberg and Reis started up Hot Snakes again and released Jericho Sirens the following year. In an Instagram post just a couple weeks ago, Froberg said that another Hot Snakes record was almost done.