photo by Niffer Calderwood

Reports are emerging on social media that Mikey Nelson – aka Mikey Dees, lead singer/co-founder of the band Fitz of Depression and member of The Stuntmen – has died. A cause of death has yet to be revealed, but the news was confirmed this afternoon on The Stuntmen’s Facebook page.

Dees was a fixture of the Northwest punk scene since co-founding the Olympia, Wash. band Fitz of Depression in 1988 alongside original members Jim Koontz and Craig Becker. The band cut their teeth playing local shows in the Northwest for years before releasing their debut self-titled LP in 1991 on the record label Meat. Their next subsequent releases Let’s Give It A Twist and Swing were both released on the iconic Olympia record label K.

Fitz of Depression reconfigured many times over the years with Dees being the main consistent member throughout their tenure. In 1991, the band famously held a benefit concert to pay off Dees’ traffic violations in order to help him avoid jail time. The band was joined on stage by Nirvana and Bikini Kill and the show was filmed and featured in the 1996 grunge documentary Hype!.

The band first broke up in 1997, but reunited once in 2000 for a tour with Bad Brains and then again in 2002, playing shows off and on in the subsequent years. In 2018, the band announced plans to tour and record a new album this year, but the recordings have yet to be seen. Most recently, Dees has been performing bass in the Olympia group The Stuntmen.

Revisit highlights of Dees’ music with favorites from Fitz of Depression and The Stuntmen below.