I read that Phil Lesh has passed on, shine on....

I just can't...

But the music never stopped. 

Word is coming out about the death of Phil Lesh. Eric Alper wrote this a short while ago: "Phil Lesh, legendary bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, has passed away at 84. His pioneering spirit and deep, soulful playing shaped the Dead's iconic sound and influenced generations. His legacy of creativity, community, and endless jams will live on."

Phil was the biggest influence on my approach to bass playing. Rest in peace.

So grateful for him.

Hoping nothing but the best for friends and family as they move through their grief.

I'm speechless...

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/phil-lesh-grateful-dead-dead-1234809976/

He has meant so much to our Alembic community here, and to me.  And yes, thank you Phil.

Thank you, Phil.

Today, the inevitable....

Really hard to process this.
My heart goes out to everyone who was close to him.

Impossible to put into words my emotions today.  Phil was truly a musician, through and through.  Definitely one of the all time Alembic bassists.

RIP

Bones

I am grateful that you guys here inspired me to start listening to the Dead and Phil's bass playing. I'm definitely a fan of his playing.
R.I.P.
Jazzyvee

That is some very sad news..
Through this forum I was introduced to the Grateful Dead. At first I didnt quite get it but then I listened to "Unbroken Chain" and became an instant fan. Thank you Phil for your wonderful bass playing and music.

The drummer in one of my bands, who's a real Deadhead, let me know.

Phil's bass playing has always had the power to fascinate, entrance, amaze, and delight me. Sometimes I hear something he played - could be old, could be newer, maybe from the studio, maybe live - that makes me laugh out loud with joy, smile, shake my head and murmer "oh, Phil!" under my breath.

I can't claim to play like him (can anyone?) but he has been an influence on my ever since I started playing bass; and of course it's partly because of him that I own an Alembic bass.

Some good words I found online:

... his lines held so much melody that one could listen to a song for his playing alone.
  -- NY Times, Phil Lesh, Bassist Who Anchored the Grateful Dead, Dies at 84

"What makes the Dead's sound so distinct from any other kind of rock and roll may be Lesh's bass," Nick Paumgarten noted in a 2012 New Yorker piece....
  -- Variety, Phil Lesh, Bassist for the Grateful Dead, Dies at 84

Where I live, sometimes we get thunderstorms where the lightning starts high overhead, thunder crackles and rumbles across the sky for a long time, then comes a BOOM! when it finally reaches the ground; after that, the echoes resound and slowly fade.

Phil, we're left with just your echoes now, we'll be listening to them for a long time. Thank you, and rest in peace and love.

Lightly edited from my post on Talkbass