DVD Talk Forum - Karl Mueller, Soul Asylum R.I.P.

Can't tell you how much this saddens me. He was a great guy. Met him several times and he was extremely cool each time. I even sent him a "get well" card when I heard he had cancer.

Posted on Fri, Jun. 17, 2005

Bassist from rock band Soul Asylum dies of cancer at 41

BY ROSS RAIHALA

Knight Ridder Newspapers

ST. PAUL, Minn. - (KRT) - Karl Mueller, bass player and founding
member of the Minneapolis rock band Soul Asylum, died Friday morning
in his Minneapolis home, apparently due to complications from
esophageal cancer. He was 41.

Mueller was diagnosed in May 2004 and had spent the past year in and
out of the hospital. His bandmates and wife, Mary Beth, are expected
to release statements in the coming days. Funeral arrangements are
pending.

Soul Asylum rose to local prominence in the `80s before going on to
sell millions of albums in the `90s. Paul Westerberg of the
Replacements and Husker Du's Bob Mould were among the band's
contemporaries on hand for a sold-out, all-star benefit concert for
Mueller in October. The show, held in Minneapolis, raised funds to
help pay his hospital bills.

"Even then, in the face of all that had happened, and was to come,
Karl was still Karl - upbeat, welcoming, humble," said Mould, who
briefly reunited with his long-estranged musical partner Grant Hart
during the benefit concert. "Karl was one of the nicest people I have
ever encountered. He always let you know where he stood, and rarely
had anything but kind words for those around him."

Mueller's musical career began in 1981 when he formed Loud Fast Rules
with guitarist Dan Murphy and drummer Dave Pirner.

"Loud Fast Rules was one hell of a band," said Billy Batson, vocalist
for the Hypstrz and Mighty Mofos, as well as a longtime soundman for
the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. "Karl was a good guy. He was
probably the smartest one in the bunch."

The trio eventually changed its name to Soul Asylum, with Pirner
moving to guitar and vocals. Mould produced the band's 1984 debut,
"Say What You Will, Clarence ... Karl Sold the Truck," which was
released on the local label Twin/Tone Records.

In 1989, the band signed its first of two major-label deals. Three
years later, Soul Asylum's disc "Grave Dancers Union" scored with the
mainstream and sold more than 2 million copies on the strength of the
hit singles "Somebody to Shove," "Black Gold" and "Runaway Train." In
January 1993, the band performed at an MTV-sponsored inaugural ball
for Bill Clinton.

Soul Asylum's 1995 follow-up "Let Your Dim Light Shine" went platinum.
Following a devastating flood in April 1997 in Grand Forks, N.D., the
band performed at the prom for the city's high school students. A
recording of the show, "After the Flood: Live at the Grand Forks Prom
June 28, 1997," was released last fall.

"He was always the quiet one in the band," said Jill Fonaas, a former
publicist for Twin/Tone who also worked for Soul Asylum's management
in the `90s. "He was so down-to-earth and stabilizing for them. And
there was never any pretense, or `rock star-ness' about him. Every
band needs a guy like that, and I think they respected him a lot."

After taking an extended break, Soul Asylum was working on a new album
when doctors found a cancerous tumor in Mueller's throat, between his
trachea and esophagus and just below his vocal chords.

Mueller was in remission by the time of the October concert, when he
performed onstage with Soul Asylum. Earlier this year, Mueller's
cancer returned and he spent his final days at home.

Seeing Mueller battle cancer left a lasting impression on his friend,
former Babes in Toyland drummer Lori Barbero.

"Karl changed my life," Barbero said. "He was the strongest man I've
ever met. His willpower was above and beyond anything I could have
ever imagined. He was truly amazing."