Ikey Owens – Skin Back Alley

Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, keyboard player with Jack White’s band, has died. He was 38.

Owens was found in his hotel room in Mexico on the 14th of October. The cause of his death has yet to be disclosed. The remainder of Jack White’s Mexican tour dates have been cancelled as a mark of respect.

A statement on White’s website reads: “It is with great sadness that we tell the world of the passing of the incredible musician Isaiah “Ikey” Owens. He will be missed and loved forever by his family, friends, bandmates and fans.”

As well as his recent stint with Jack White’s band, Owens played with numerous other prominent groups and artists. He played as a member of Long Beach Dub Allstars, with Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López in their dub reggae band De Facto and later the Mars Volta, and solo under the moniker Free Moral Agents.

Bixler-Zavala paid tribute to Owens via Twitter, writing: “I AM PROUD TO HAVE PLAYED WITH IKEY OWENS. I WILL MISS HIM DEARLY LETS KEEP HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS CLOSE 2 OUR HEARTS & IN OUR PRAYERS.”