Friends rally to support Josh Schwartz (Further, Beachwood Sparks, Painted Hills) as he battles ALS
Kevin Bronson on
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When it was announced last week that a compilation of early-’90s singles by L.A. lo-fi legends Further would be released in September, it was only natural that I would mentally connect the dots with the original players. Further were brothers Darren and Brent Rademaker, Josh Schwartz and Kevin Fitzgerald. Among them, they went on to play in Beachwood Sparks, the Tyde and Circle Jerks, among others, with the brothers Rademaker spotted just last week playing a Tyde show at the Echo.
The latest on Schwartz, however, is heart-wrenching. Not long after he released his gorgeous, Laurel Canyon-esque 2010 album as Painted Hills, the formidable guitarist was diagnosed with ALS, a disease he has been battling for more than three years. Friends have now begun an online fundraising campaign to pay for stem cell therapy in Mexico that is not available in the U.S.
After the jump, a song from the Further compilation:
Further were lo-fi before you were.
||| Stream: “California Bummer”
[…] Friends continue to rally in support of singer-guitarist Josh Schwartz, a creative force in the bands Further, Beachwood Sparks and Painted Hills. Schwartz, who was diagnosed with ALS more than three years ago, has sought experimental stem cell therapy not available in the U.S., and an online campaign raised more than $25,000 to pay for the treatment. […]