Pitchfork

Bryan Harvey, former singer/guitarist for the bands House of Freaks and Gutterball, was found dead along with his wife and two children in the basement of their Richmond, Va., home on New Year's Day. According to various news sources, the family members were victims of an unspeakably heinous crime. The throats of Harvey, his wife Kathryn, and their daughters (nine-year-old Stella and four-year-old Ruby) were slashed before their house was set on fire by an unknown assailant on Sunday afternoon. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the Richmond police have not released any information regarding a suspect at this time.

Harvey's former bands never achieved widespread fame, but they did gain some attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s on college radio and MTV. House of Freaks, which featured Harvey on guitar and vocals and Johnny Hott on drums, pre-dated the two-piece band craze of our current decade. They released four albums in their six-year existence, for such labels as Rhino and Giant. In the early 90s, Harvey and Hott joined former Dream Syndicate member Steve Wynn in the band Gutterball, which recorded and toured throughout the first half of the decade.

Hott and his daughter were the ones to discover the burning house on Sunday, when they arrived to help set up for a New Year's Day party.

Harvey moved back to his hometown of Richmond from Los Angeles in the mid-90s to focus on his family. He worked for the Henrico County school system. Music wasn't completely out of his life, however, as he put together a new band called NrG Krysys in the last few years. The band played a New Year's Eve gig the night before the slaying. Harvey's wife, Kathryn, was-- along with Jim Bland, head of Richmond record store Plan 9-- the co-owner of a popular toy store, House of Mirth.

Steve Wynn told the New York Post, "It's just a shock. He was an amazing guy, a great guy. He and his wife loved life, and embraced all the good things in life. Being around him really inspired me and completely invigorated my love for writing music."