We are sad to report that Jack Terricloth, who has led Brooklyn’s unpidgeonholable World/Inferno Friendship Society for 25 years, has died at age 50. From the band:

We are devastated to say that our guiding spirit, instigator, inciter—the person who, to most of us, lived under the name Jack Terricloth—has left us for the astral plane. We will be working on plans for a celebration of his extraordinary life. For now, we want to thank Jack for inspiring this remarkable community—something more than simply band, family, or scene—which changed the lives of so many people in ways which are hard to articulate, and which is perhaps the most enduring part of his legacy. Please raise a glass of your choice in his memory; we shall not see his like again.

Born Pietro Ventantonio in 1970, he was first a member of Bridgewater, NJ punk band Sticks and Stones in the late ’80s and early ’90s before forming World/Inferno F.S. The band’s first album was 1997’s The True Story of the Bridgewater Astral League and they’d go on to release six more albums, the most recent of which was 2020’s All Borders Are Porous to Cats. Jack was the sole constant in the group, which saw over 40 members pass through over the years. More than their albums, the band were famous for their theatrical live shows, especially their annual Hallowmas shows which were always elaborate spectacles that, like Jack, were one of a kind.

Rest in peace, Jack.

Read a few tribute from Franz Nikolay, Damian Abraham and more, below.