Marc Trovillion, Ex-Lambchop Bassist, Dead at 56

Marc Trovillion, former bassist for the Nashville alt-country band Lambchop, died last week from a heart attack. He was 56.

Yesterday, Lambchop member Jonathan Marx issued a statement on the band’s behalf to the alt-weekly Nashville Scene. In it, he called Trovillion a “charter member” and said that “the band’s origins can be traced directly to his Nashville bedroom.” He also emphasized Trovillion’s “freewheeling spirit,” which was a crucial element in band’s eclectic style, and his “innate sense of humor.”

Check Out All the Hottest New Rock Pictures

The bassist was featured on every Lambchop album up to and including the 2002 LP Is a Woman. He is survived by a son, his mother and two brothers. A trust has been established in support of his son, Hatch.

For more reflections and details on donations, read the full band statement statement below:

As he often liked to say, Marc was a charter member of Lambchop. The band’s origins can be traced directly to his Nashville bedroom, where Marc, Kurt Wagner and original guitarist Jim Watkins first got together in 1987 for weekly practices, equipped with only a Casio keyboard, an amp and a mic strapped to the bedpost.

No matter where Lambchop might have been — in smoky practice sessions, packed into a 15-passenger van, or playing the great concert halls of Europe — Marc’s steady, solid bass playing and his innate sense of humor served as the glue that kept Lambchop together. “Buddie T,” as he was known by friends, supplied the band with a steady stream of jokes, off-the-wall stories and whatever beer could be found close to hand. Along with helping to define the band’s sound, he also made his own contributions to Lambchop’s recorded output, including “The Theme From the Neil Miller Show,” the closing track from What Another Man Spills.

Listen to any Lambchop recording up through Is a Woman, and that’s not just Marc’s bass playing you hear — all around the notes, you’re hearing his freewheeling spirit, his love of music, food, drink and people. Though Lambchop eventually swelled to include more than a dozen members, and though Marc himself stopped playing regularly with the band after he relocated to Chattanooga a decade ago, that spirit has always remained a guiding force — and it will continue to as long as Lambchop is a band.

Marc leaves behind a son, Hatch; two brothers; his mother; and all of us who loved him. He will be dearly missed. For those who would like to honor Marc’s memory, a trust has been set up for his son Hatch. Checks can be made out to the Marc Trovillion Legacy Trust and mailed to 825 Kirkwood Ave., Nashville, TN 37204.