Peninsula Daily News
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OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The 28-year-old man who died Saturday after falling from Mount Olympus was the drummer and founder of a popular Portland, Ore., band.
Richard “Grey” Liston died Saturday morning from injuries in the fall on the east face of the national park’s tallest peak at 7,980 feet.
Liston was the drummer and founder of Smash Bandits, a Portland ska band, Joey Donohue, the band’s guitar player and singer, told www.oregonlive.com of The Oregonian.
Ska combines elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line and upbeat rhythms.
Liston was climbing with a companion when he fell onto rocks and glacial ice around 7:45 a.m. Saturday, according to Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes.
The cause of the fall is still unknown, said Barb Maynes, spokeswoman for Olympic National Park.
Liston founded Smash Bandits more than year ago, Donohue said, adding that Liston was an “extremely influential force” in the band and pushed the group to improve.
“We’ve had this insane motivation, and I honestly think most of it has to do with just Grey, and how he is,” Donohue said. “The band is not going to be the same without him, for sure.”
