Pop Zeus' Mikey Hodges Dies in Motorcycle Accident

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Dec 19, 2014

Michael Hodges, the Los Angeles-based musician behind Pop Zeus, died last night (December 18) following a motor vehicle accident. Burger Records confirmed his death today. He was 29 years old.

As My News L.A. reports  [via Brooklyn Vegan] , a man was driving his motorcycle down Los Angeles' Broadway when another vehicle turned left into his path and collided with him. The motorcyclist was thrown onto the street, and died of his injuries after being taken to a hospital.

While Hodges was unnamed in the article, Burger Records confirmed in a statement that the Pop Zeus member had died.

"So unbelievably sad to say we lost the talented and amazing Mikey Hodges (a.k.a. Pop Zeus) yesterday. He really and truly was one of the nicest, raddest and most welcoming dudes we've ever had the pleasure to call a friend," the label said in a statement. "We released Mikey's debut cassette, Pop Zeus, a few years back after I discovered his demos while riding on a train for the holidays. I couldn't get the songs out of my head so I made a note in my book to follow up on it when I got home. So very glad I did because it gave us a reason to let this giant puppy dog of a man into our lives. He was one of a kind."

There are currently two separate online campaigns to have Hodges' body sent back to his family in Indiana. So far, between the two, over $17,000 has been raised so far. You can find out more info over here and here.

Pop Zeus' 2012 self-titled effort for Burger was followed up earlier this year by the Tell Me So EP, issued through Gnar. You can stream the releases and see online condolences sent by the likes of former Vivian Girls members Cassie Ramone and La Sera, Das Racist rapper Dapwell, Small Black and more.  

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