Anton Fier
2022-09-14
Published by The Independent, October 13, 2022
Headline: Renowned NYC Musician Dies By Assisted Suicide in Switzerland After Having “Completed Life.”
A renowned genre-bending drummer who played with musicians from Michael Stipe to Herbie Hancock died by assisted suicide in Switzerland after having “completed life.”
Anton Fier, 66, travelled to Basel, Switzerland, where he died by assisted suicide at the Pegasos clinic on 14 September, according to a cremation notice.
Exit International director Philip Nitschke told The Independent that Fier was not suffering from terminal illness, but wanted to die on his own terms after feeling he had accomplished everything he could in life. Fier had also alluded to an unhappy childhood and how the discovery of music had changed his life.
In online tributes and articles marking his death, friends and musical collaborators painted a portrait of a hugely influential and complex musician who had fallen on difficult times.
“He had a lot of pressures and a lot of anxieties,” friend and singer-songwriter Lianne Smith told the Times. “But when he played music, he was a complete human being.”
Cleveland-born Fier became a key figure in New York City’s music scene in the 1970s and ‘80s.
He joined influential rock group The Feelies in 1978 and went onto found the supergroup Golden Palominos in the 1980s, becoming the sole constant in an ever-changing lineup of musicians that featured guest appearances from REM frontman Michael Stipe and former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon.
Fier also played with experimental jazz band The Lounge Lizards and toured and recorded with legendary pianist Herbie Hancock in the 80s.
The Feelies paid tribute to their former bandmate in a Facebook post.
“As a musician, Anton held himself to a very high bar, which in turn inspired those around him to be better,” the band wrote. “We all lost a wonderful musician, a truly great drummer. And peace has found him.”
The above is taken from a larger article published by The Independent, October 13, 2022.
Headline: Renowned NYC Musician Dies By Assisted Suicide in Switzerland After Having “Completed Life.”
A renowned genre-bending drummer who played with musicians from Michael Stipe to Herbie Hancock died by assisted suicide in Switzerland after having “completed life.”
Anton Fier, 66, travelled to Basel, Switzerland, where he died by assisted suicide at the Pegasos clinic on 14 September, according to a cremation notice.
Exit International director Philip Nitschke told The Independent that Fier was not suffering from terminal illness, but wanted to die on his own terms after feeling he had accomplished everything he could in life. Fier had also alluded to an unhappy childhood and how the discovery of music had changed his life.
In online tributes and articles marking his death, friends and musical collaborators painted a portrait of a hugely influential and complex musician who had fallen on difficult times.
“He had a lot of pressures and a lot of anxieties,” friend and singer-songwriter Lianne Smith told the Times. “But when he played music, he was a complete human being.”
Cleveland-born Fier became a key figure in New York City’s music scene in the 1970s and ‘80s.
He joined influential rock group The Feelies in 1978 and went onto found the supergroup Golden Palominos in the 1980s, becoming the sole constant in an ever-changing lineup of musicians that featured guest appearances from REM frontman Michael Stipe and former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon.
Fier also played with experimental jazz band The Lounge Lizards and toured and recorded with legendary pianist Herbie Hancock in the 80s.
The Feelies paid tribute to their former bandmate in a Facebook post.
“As a musician, Anton held himself to a very high bar, which in turn inspired those around him to be better,” the band wrote. “We all lost a wonderful musician, a truly great drummer. And peace has found him.”
The above is taken from a larger article published by The Independent, October 13, 2022.