Kelowna resident and former Matthew Good Band bassist dies at 52

The Okanagan music world is in mourning today after learning about the death of Rich Priske over the weekend.

Priske, 52, was a Kelowna resident originally from Vancouver who was the bassist for Matthew Good Band until they broke up in 2002.

He kept playing with Matthew Good until 2005 as the musician embarked on his solo career.

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I was sad to hear of the passing of MGB bassist Rich Priske. My deepest condolences go out to his friends and family. That night/day at Trader Vic’s in Hamburg will remain immortally etched in my memory. Rest In Peace Rich.

A post shared by Matthew Good (@matthewgoodgram) on Jul 11, 2020 at 8:14pm PDT

“I was sad to hear of the passing of Matthew Good Band bassist Rich Priske,” Good wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

“That night and day at Trader Vic’s in Hamburg will remain immortally etched in my memory. Rest in peace, Rich.”

Priske, who was also known as Rich Rock, performed with other acts throughout his career as well, including Bif Naked, the Real McKenzies, DSK and others.

More recently, Priske settled in Kelowna and became a big part of the city’s music scene, playing shows at various venues like O'Flannigan's Pub, Whiski-Jack’s Pub and the OK Corral Cabaret.

Plenty of local musicians have taken to social media over the last two days to express their sadness over Priske’s sudden death and share their memories of the popular musician.

Friends have indicated that the cause of death was a heart attack.