On Sunday, May 4, Josh Sack passed away after a nine-month struggle with cancer. Sack, best known as the drummer in Philadelphia's The Brakes, was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) last August, but regained his strength long enough to tour with his band in October and attend rehearsals as recently as last week. Despite his young age, Sack had an impressive resume, supporting the likes of the Dave Matthews Band, The Hold Steady, Live, Willie Nelson, O.A.R., Widespread Panic, John Fogerty, The Disco Biscuits, The Benevento/Russo Duo and Grace Potter and appearing at marquee festivals like moe.down, All Good, High Sierra, Wakarusa, Jam on the River and Mountain Jam. The Brakes have also earned a reputation as an in-demand live act and regularly pack clubs, particularly near their Northeast home.

Along with his band, Sack became the face of H&R Block when The Brakes were featured in the company's "TaxCut program" advertising campaign. The campaign placed The Brakes on the back cover of magazines like Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly and on network television across the country. In 2006, The Brakes were also anointed New Groove of the Month on Jambands.com.

Last spring, The Brakes undertook a dual city residency at New York's Knitting Factory and Ardmore, PA's Milkboy in Ardmore, PA, which were recorded for the live album A Tale of Two Cities. The album will be released this Tuesday on Hyena Records.

Funeral services will be held at Joseph Levine & Sons in Broomall, PA at 11:30 AM, Tuesday, May 6. The family respectfully requests that contributions in his memory be made to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Condolences, memories or messages to the band can be sent to '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text3374 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> As of press time, The Brakes are still scheduled to appear at Little Rock, AR's Sticky Fingers on May 7.