Music Industry Mourns Loss of Beloved Agent Dave Shapiro in San Diego Plane Crash

Loving tributes are being paid to a music agent and a famous drummer after they were both killed in a plane crash.

Talent spotter
Dave Shapiro and former The Devil Wears Prada sticksman Dan Williams
were two of six passengers involved in the San Diego,
California
tragedy.

A private Cessna 550 aircraft
veered into a suburban street in San Diego and crashed
at around 3.45am local time on Thursday (10.45am GMT), injuring eight people on the ground.

Shapiro’s Sound Talent Group confirmed his death in a statement that paid tribute to the work he’d done down the years, representing bands like Sum 41, Story of the Year, and Pierce the Veil.

‘We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder [David], colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy.’

Shapiro’s aviation company Velocity shared: ‘From BASE jumping to aerobatic flying, helicopters to twin engines, flight instructing to furthering his own education, doesn’t matter to Dave as long as he gets to be in the sky.’

While Williams’ death is yet to be confirmed by police, his former Devil Wears Prada bandmates posted about their shock and heartbreak on Instagram.

Sharing a picture of the drummer, they said of Williams – who left the group in 2016 after 11 years: ‘No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.’

Williams was a founding member of the Christian heavy metal group and performed on several of their albums, including US top 20 releases With Roots Above & Branches Below and Dead Throne.

Alternative music podcast State of the Scene shared a post about the crash: ‘Heart goes out to Dave Shapiro and Daniel Williams’ family and friends. What a tragedy this week has been.’

On Reddit, AwareEmergency57 said: ‘Genuinely devastated by this. I looked up to him as a drummer and as a person. God damn man, it feels like everyday has been filled with demoralizing headlines and this one is hitting hard. Life is just unfair.’

FlimsyTomatoes also said: ‘Man, [Shapiro] launched the careers of so many great bands. He was also the drummer of [rock band] Cinematic Sunrise. Such a sad day.’

Prior to the crash, Shapiro and Williams uploaded pictures from inside the plane, which appeared to show Williams was sitting in the co-pilot’s seat while Shapiro flew the plane.

Shapiro leaves behind his wife Julia – the pair tied the knot in 2016. In 2020, he said of her: ‘Despite all the uncertainty in our business, and in the world, I still wake up grateful every day.’

As well as managing bands in the alternative rock scene in
California
, Shapiro also represented 90s number one stars Hanson and A Thousand Miles singer Vanessa Carlton.

After the crash, several homes and cars were also damaged. 100 people have been evacuated from the Murphy Canyon area of San Diego, which lies to the north of the city.

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