I heard only last night that Chris Foley, formerly of the Dallas band Transona Five, died Sunday from causes yet to be determined. Foley's been playing with the Austin band The Swells for quite a while, and on the band's MySpace page, keyboardist and vocalist Stephen Thurman posted this brief notice on Monday: "On Sunday, Jan. 28, we found out that our bass player Chris Foley was found dead in a hotel room. We don't have all the details yet, but the police do not think it was foul-play. Foley was a great bass player and an even better friend. We will forever miss him."
Transona Five, so named for a Stereolab track and part of the local scene at a time (mid-'90s) when Centro-matic and Bedhead were influencing all the coolest kids, still maintains a MySpace page. This week, along with a notice about a memorial service taking place tomorrow in Austin (at 9 a.m. at Shady Grove, 1624 Barton Springs Road), the band has also posted several recollections and descriptions of their old friend. Writes G.P. Cole: "We all loved you, Foley. You were the guy who would always go somewhere for a while, whenever you'd need some time by yourself, you know? We might not even know where you went, but, we knew you be back sometime. Surface, I'd call it. It's the hardest thing, Foley, to know you won't this time. We loved you so much."
There are also several old and unreleased Transona Five songs on the page -- including "Coin Toss," on which Foley more or less stars, and the heretofore unheard "Dana Is," which is, indeed, heartbreaking. --Robert Wilonsky
