Former Third Eye Blind bassist Jason Slater died earlier today at 49 years old. Slater died from liver failure at a hospital in Maui, Hawaii. Slater is survived by his daughter Alyssa Carlson, who was unaware of his health issues until receiving a call from the hospital last month.
A representative for Third Eye Blind told TMZ that it “is always a sad time… when a spirited member of the music scene is taken too soon.”
Slater played in the early version of Third Eye Blind, playing on their demo in 1993 with frontman Stephen Jenkins and guitarist Kevin Cadogan and engineer/producer Mark Hensley. The band used multiple drummers until establishing their classic lineup in 1995, with Jenkins and Cadogan being joined by bassist Arion Salazar and drummer Brad Hargreaves.
Cadogan departed in 2000, while Salazar left in 2006. Slater later produced four Queensryche albums from 2005 to 2013. He also worked with Revenge of the Triads, featuring Nine Inch Nails’ Charlie Clouser and Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen.
Despite their frequent lineup changes and Stephen Jenkins and Brad Hargreaves being the only classic members left, Third Eye Blind have remained active in recent years, releasing a new album called Screamer last year, featuring the song “Light It Up” co-written by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan. Kevin Cadogan and Arion Salazar have also toured playing Third Eye Blind songs in recent years, with Cadogan’s 3EB replacement Tony Fredianelli also in the lineup.
