The bassist for the Indie outfit the Shins and Flake Music, Neal Langford, has died at age 50, according to BrooklynVegan.

The news comes from Shins frontman James Mercer, who shared on Instagram that “one of the best friends I (Mercer)’ve ever had has passed.” He commented on how important Langford was to him personally.

He shared many memorable moments he had with the bassist. “I mean this is the guy who talked me into getting over my shyness and up on the stage. He put me in front of the microphone! He was the catholic school kid who showed me how to sneak into the back of the old El Rey theatre and get a ‘free’ beer. An invaluable person! Who turned me onto Dinosaur Jr. and Interview Magazine and the Cocteau Twins and countless other piles of cool stuff. He would pick me up in his stepdad’s El Camino and we’d listen to his latest mixtape. With our swerve on. Driving when we probably shouldn’t have been. Where we shouldn’t have been. We were like that. A long time ago.”

He concluded his tribute, saying that “There’s too much to the story but I loved him. And I owe him a lot. Neal Langford you were always loved and you always will be.”

Rest in peace, Neal Langford. You will always be loved.