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Andrew Richardson of the Crush and ZVEX Effects passes away

by Andrea Swensson

September 04, 2014

Andrew Richardson, guitarist for early 2000s Adeline Records signees the Crush and the sales manager for the respected guitar pedal company ZVEX Effects, passed away on Monday. He was 36 years old.

"We are truly in shock," Richardson's wife, Marisa, wrote yesterday when confirming the news. Richardson went missing Monday morning and was found dead on Tuesday.

Respected throughout the Twin Cities music scene for both his work at ZVEX and his time spent playing in punk bands in the late '90s and early 2000s, Richardson is probably best known for his time in the Crush, a pop-punk band that appeared poised to follow in Dillinger Four's footsteps. The Crush was one of the first bands to play the venue side of the Triple Rock Social Club when it opened in 2003, and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day was so taken with the band that he released their second album, Here is Where I Cross My Fingers, on his Adeline Records and tapped the band to open for Green Day in front of thousands at London's Wembley Arena.

"It was Andy who would push us to keep going. Push us to be something bigger, louder, faster. Not just as a band, but as individuals," writes Jason Miller, Richardson's former bandmate in the Crush (and the current frontman of the Evening Rig). "We fought, laughed, cried, starved, kicked and screamed, partied beyond belief, putting our guts into it all. The most important piece we gained from that time was the bond and friendship that will forever keep us woven together."

Prior to the Crush, Richardson also played in the punk band the Book of Dead Names. "He was our brother, our dear friend, a loving husband and a father," the band posted yesterday. "Nothing but a heart of gold and his friends and family knew this."

"Andy was a loving person that touched many of our lives. Never anything but cool," added Richardson's friend Sean Tillmann, a.k.a. Har Mar Superstar. "Depression is real. Affects me too, in a real way. No explanation necessary. Just wish I could've been there in some way."

Richardson is survived by his wife, Marisa, and a 3-year-old son, Bronson. A memorial fundraiser has been set up for his family on the site YouCaring.com.

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