Matt Harris, who played in Oranger, Overwhelming Colorfast, The Posies and other groups, died this week. No cause of death has been given but the sad news was shared via The Posies' Facebook: "“It is with a very heavy heart we acknowledge that the news circulating today is true. Matt Harris, the bassist for the Posies from 2001 til 2014, has passed away. Matt lent his incredible skills, mischievous humor and abject sweetness to many Posies tours and his brilliant bass lines are captured on our albums"Every Kind of Light (2005) and Blood Candy (2010). Rest well, Matt. You will be missed.”
Harris was a regular in the San Francisco indie rock scene of the '90s, having spent time in pop-punk group Overwhelming Colorfast before forming Oranger with singer/guitarist Mike Drake (who also played in OC), bassist Chad Dyer and drummer Jim Lindsay. Mixing punk with '60s pop, Oranger were one of the more exciting indie rock bands to come out of the late '90s, and all four of their albums are fantastic. (Oranger's second album, The Quiet Vibrationland made our Indie Basement Best of 2000 list.) When Oranger fizzled out in the '00s, Harris joined The Posies, and he's also played on records by Spiral Stairs, Ian Moore, and more.