Heart attack kills punk rock frontman, guitar player and producer Steve Albini
Steve Albini performs with Shellac during the Primavera Sound Festival in Madrid, Spain, in 2021
May 8 (UPI) — Independent rock producer and musician Steve Albini, 61, died of a heart attack Tuesday, Variety and the New York Post reported.
Albini founded, owned and served as the primary engineer of Chicago recording studio Electrical Audio, produced several successful LPs, and founded his own punk rock bands in Chicago.
Albini founded the trio Big Black and toured and recorded with the band from 1981 until its breakup in 1987. He also co-founded the punk rock trio Shellac, which recorded and toured during the 1990s and 2000s.
When he wasn’t recording or touring with his bands, Albini enjoyed success as a record producer for many popular bands, including Nirvana, the Foo Fighters, Jesus Lizard and Pixies.
Albini notably produced Nivana’s 1993 LP “In Utero,”which was the band’s final studio recording before the death of singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain.
Albini also enjoyed a successful stint as a professional poker player who won a gold bracelet and $105,000 in prize money during the 2018 World Series of Poker.
He won another gold bracelet and nearly doubled his 2018 winnings during the 2022 World Series of Poker.
Albini was born in Pasadena, Calif., moved with his family to Missoula, Mont., as an adolescent and gravitated to the Chicago area while studying journalism after being graduated from high school.