October 16, 2005 – David Reilly died from complications of a coma
OCTOBER 16, 2005 – Singer/songwriter/producer DAVID REILLY (b. May 5, 1971 in Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania as David Fitzgerald Reilly) died from complications of a coma brought on by pain medication for an abscessed tooth. He was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.Reilly started banging on the piano and anything else that was put in front of him, at an age that most people have yet to acquire skills of recollection.
By age six, he was unsure HOW he could play music, he just knew he always did. Picking up other instruments along the way such as drums, guitar, and bass, he managed to save his money for a 4-track recorder, and now singing and songwriting were becoming the focus. Needless to say, when somebody is playing 5 instruments, writing songs, and now learning the art of recording them around the age of 10, school and other aspects of life take a back seat.David had plans of being a recording artist when other kids were making the tough decision between fireman, police officer, and veterinarian, and his determination was unwavering.
High school represented the time in his life when selling tapes that he dubbed at home, became a full-time job as well. These tapes started to build a sound that combined a lot of the 80s influences from the time with 70s rock feel, and an ever-present David Bowie undertone. After countless names, logos, images, and styles, David went to high school and met Jeff Turzo, giving birth to God Lives Underwater. By the age of 21 recording deals weren’t something he dreamt about any longer.Music mogul Rick Rubin saw, in God Lives Underwater, something he could develop over time, for a low risk, and foresaw “realistic” results. Rubin’s American Records released God Lives Underwater’s first album, a self-titled EP, and second album called “Empty,” which spawned minor radio hits “No More Love” (which also appeared on the soundtrack to “Johnny Mnemonic”).
GLU then made a move to A&M Records, who went on to release their breakthrough second full-length “Life In The So Called Space Age,” which generated the hit, “From Your Mouth.” The single enjoyed extensive play on alternative rock stations and MTV alike, and saw the band hitting the road for several years of mostly sold out shows alongside notable artists including KMFDM, Korn, Stabbing Westward, Life of Agony, Filter, Far, Type O Negative, Genitorturers, Deftones, No Doubt, and Sublime, playing virtually every radio festival in the country, and all the while building a huge, rabid fanbase.1999-2003 brought the band covering David Bowies “fame” for the film “15 minutes,” the death of Davids Fiance Seven in a train accident, the bankruptcy/merger of A&M, the bankruptcy of the company riffage, who had taken control of 1500 and the album by GLU to be called “Up Off The Floor”, and the Marriage of Jeff Turzo.
Then the band broke up after releasing a total of four albums.Reilly then moved on to solo work and other projects. In addition to his repertoire as a writer and vocalist, Reilly was a multi-instrumentalist and producer with extensive synthesis/sampling knowledge, and with his GLU partner Jeff Turzo stayed busy with other production and remix projects as well, including remixes for Skinny Puppy, Rob Zombie and Messiah, and organizing and contributing to 1998’s “For the Masses: A Tribute To Depeche Mode,” which would also feature tracks from Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins, Failure, The Cure and Monster Magnet.In 2001, Reilly released a solo album consisting of four untitled instrumental tracks under the band name Robot Teen America, titled “Living In Syn.” This album was dedicated to David Reilly’s girlfriend, Monica Young, whose nickname was “Seven.” She was struck and killed by a train in November 2000. As a result, he released 77 CDs: 70 to fans and six to friends and one to himself. Each CD was numbered and signed by Reilly and only available through the Internet. In 2002, Reilly started the rock band Fluzee, who released one album titled “7” before breaking up the following year.June 2004 saw the release of God Lives Underwater’s “Up Off the Floor” on Megaforce/Locomotive.
Reilly also embarked on a short solo acoustic tour, supported by drummer Benjamin Juul and guitarist David Trusso, in support of his EP Inside, which wasn’t released until the end of the tour.In 2005, before his death, Reilly signed to Sony Music/RuffNation Records, and would have released his debut solo album “How Humans R(x)” in 2006. 2005 was to see Reilly’s return to touring in support of the unreleased How Humans R(x) album, as well as new material centered around the death of his fiancée Amy with former Spiritualized guitar player Gregg Hale, but Reilly died unexpectedly.
Tour dates were scheduled at the time of his death, and the album was left unfinished, not to be released until December, 2009, with only 100 physical copies of the album being printed and sold exclusively online.A digital box set (42 tracks) of hard-to-find solo tracks & high-school band demos was released to iTunes in October, 2013 titled “David Reilly – Life After The So Called God Lives Underwater Age.”A book about David Reilly and God Lives Underwater was released on October 16, 2007, by Brian Paone, titled “Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts.” The official God lives Underwater / David Reilly posthumous website was launched in April, 2014 containing as much music and videos and interviews that could be compiled.
SOURCES
http://www.davidreillyglu.com/
http://www.davidreillyglu.com/about
https://www.findagrave.com/…/david-fitzgerald-reilly