Benjamin Curtis of School Of Seven Bells Dies

Benjamin Curtis, the gifted guitarist and producer of School of Seven Bells and formerly of Secret Machines, died on Sunday after battling T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma for nearly a year. He was 35.

Curtis, a native of Oklahoma and a longtime Dallas resident before moving to New York, also played with the bands UFOFU and Tripping Daisies.

In a statement on Facebook, School of Seven Bells' management, Curtis' family and bandmate Alejandra Deheza thanked everyone who had supported Curtis during his illness via benefits, charitable contributions and other means:

"Last night, Dec. 29th 2013, we lost our friend and brother Benjamin Curtis to his fight against cancer. While we had hoped to delay this announcement until a more suitable time when his friends and family could feel better prepared and settled to greet any correspondences from folks attempting to reach out, unfortunately the news has prematurely leaked.

So we felt it would be appropriate to at least offer an official acknowledgement from us, in light of all the fans who loved and supported Benjamin and his music. We kindly ask that his immediate family, friends & bandmates' privacy be respected during this time, and that instead, any inquires, well wishes, or notes-of-consolation be sent through School of Seven Bells’ management, where it can be shared with them at the suitable time. They can be sent to a special e-mail address here: sviib@wizkidmanagement.com If relevant, further information will be made available through the suitable channels in the near future.

We can’t thank all of you who supported him and his music through the years enough. All of you who attended or participated in the various benefits in and around New York City over the past year since his diagnosis, and of course those who contributed and gave generously to help support him throughout that journey. You made it possible for all of us, and for him, to see how truly loved he was and how many lives he had touched through his music by your gestures. We will all miss this incredibly talented and rare person every day, but we are fortunate enough that he shared with us his music, and that is something that we can keep forever."

Below, watch Benjamin with School of Seven Bells in session at The Alternate Side in 2010. You can also read and watch videos of Alisa Ali's interview with the band here.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISV7pT29eXA]