Pitchfork

Twenty-three year old John Pike, drummer for Syracuse sextet Ra Ra Riot, was found dead near Fairhaven, Massachusetts yesterday (June 3).

According to a SouthCoastToday.com report, Pike had gone missing early in the morning on June 2, after attending a house party. He had played Providence, Rhode Island's Living Room with Ra Ra Riot before the party on the night of June 1.

Police found Pike's body in approximately seven feet of coastal water, in an area known as Wilbur's Point. Authorities believe the cause of death to be drowning, but will not confirm until an autopsy has been performed.

Our thoughts are with John's bandmates, friends, and family during this difficult time.

UPDATE: Ra Ra Riot shared some words on John on their website. Read them there or below.

Ra Ra Riot have been amassing an enthusiastic fanbase on the strength of a high-energy live show and one of the best "Hounds of Love" covers this side of the Futureheads. The band's self-titled debut EP is available now and due for proper release via the Rebel Group on July 10. They have a series of dates lined up with Tokyo Police Club in July, although it is unknown at this time whether those shows will go on as planned.

We are all in a state of shock. Time has been dragging
on slowly since the early hours of Saturday morning.
This has been a difficult time filled with numbing
sadness and many unanswered questions. We all
have tremendous love for our friend, and we have an
endless supply of wonderful memories of him. This has
felt like the unraveling plot of a tragic piece of fiction…
nothing would have prepared us for such
an immense loss.

We are deeply saddened by this, and we know that John
was loved, admired, and respected by everybody who was
fortunate enough to have met him. We are grateful to
his parents for raising such a wonderful person. We are
lucky to have known him, and he has had a profound
effect on us as people, friends and musicians.
We will miss him.

ra ra riot.

Ra Ra Riot dates:

06-08 Hartford, CT - Sweet Jane's
06-29 New York, NY - South Street Seaport Festival
07-24 Cleveland Heights, OH - Grog Shop *
07-25 Cincinnati, OH - Decibel Lounge *
07-26 Chicago, IL - Beat Kitchen *
07-29 Austin, TX - Emo's #
07-30 Houston, TX - Meridian Red Room #
07-31 Dallas, TX - Cambridge Room at House of Blues #
08-01 New Orleans, LA - The Republic #
08-02 Atlanta, GA - Vinyl #
08-04 Greenville, NC - The Spazzatorium Galleria
08-07 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel #
08-08 Baltimore, MD - Sonar #
08-09 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's #
08-10 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
08-11 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's #
08-12 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs #
09-14 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Monolith Festival)

* with Mason Proper
# with Tokyo Police Club