Features

Group At Work: Maserati

Photo by Fred Weaver

On November 8, 2009, 34-year-old drummer Gerhardt “Jerry” Fuchs fell down an elevator shaft and died. Fuchs was a member of Maserati, The Juan MacLean, !!!, Turing Machine and played live with MSTRKRFT and LCD Soundsystem. His death—a freak accident—occurred while instrumental psychedelic post-rock band Maserati was recording its third full-length album, Pyramid of the Sun, which it released almost exactly a year after Fuchs’ passing. As far as anyone knows, the album’s final song, “Bye M’Friend, Goodbye,” was the last thing he ever recorded.

The remaining members of the band, Coley Dennis (guitar), Matt Cherry (guitar) and Chris McNeal (bass), knew there was little choice of how to proceed. “Obviously, we had to finish this record and fulfill all of the wishes that he wanted put down,” says Dennis. “He had a vision, so that was rule number one. We’re gonna finish this and we’re gonna do it the way he wanted it done.”

The band elected to get out of its hometown of Athens, Ga. where it had tracked drums and created a loose skeleton for the album, and finish Pyramid of the Sun in Austin, Texas. Some songs were almost fully realized, while others contained huge gaps. But the band members knew what Fuchs wanted. Not only did they feel his presence every step of the way, almost guiding them, but for several songs he also wrote out a map indicating where instruments should enter and exit.

The result is a celebration of Fuchs’ groundbreaking motorik drumming (though he was also known for his ability to play anything from metal to disco) and Maserati’s finest album to date. While the group toured in support of the record this past November with drummer A.E. Paterra of the band Zombi, Maserati’s future is unclear.

“You can’t replace someone like [Jerry],” says Dennis. “Not as a musician, not as a friend. Often times, when a friend or family member passes—when you reflect on them—it’s always very positive and glowing, and you raise these people up larger than life. But I feel like you don’t even have to do that with Jerry—he was the best drummer I’ve ever seen.”