Lit drummer Allen Shellenberger died last Thursday aged 39, it has been announced. He had been suffering with a brain tumour.
Shellenberger was diagnosed with a malignant glioma brain tumour in May 2008 and immediately began receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatment at the Cedars-Sinai Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute in LA. He continued to perform with Lit until last autumn, when he became too ill to proceed.
Formed by Schellenberg and school friends Kevin Baldes, Jeremy Popoff and A Jay Popoff in 1990, the band changed their name to Lit in 1996. Signing to RCA in 1998, they released the album 'A Place In The Sun', which yielded a number of hits, including 'My Own Worst Enemy', which went to number 16 in the UK charts.
In a statement, the drummer's bandmates said: "To know Al was to know laughter. He had a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. Words cannot begin to express how much he will be missed. This was our brother and not a day will go by that we won't think about him. Right now we're trying to find the balance of mourning his loss and celebrating his life. Allen has experienced more in his 39 years than most people dream of in ten lifetimes. This is a tremendous loss for us, our fans, and also for Allen's family who took such good care of him during his battle with cancer".
He is survived by a daughter and his parents.