TV On The Radio's Gerard Smith has passed away at the age of 34. It was announced last month that he had been struggling with lung cancer since the completion of the band's most recent record, Nine Types of Light. Smith was the band's bassist, and also played on Dear Science and Return to Cookie Mountain. This message was posted on their website:

"We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer. Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly."

With this sad news comes the cancellation of five TVOTR tour dates.

4/20 Detroit, MI - St. Andrew's Hall
4/22 Chicago, IL - Metro
4/23-24 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
4/26 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre

(Photo by Shawn Brackbill)