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Last Updated: 12/17/2009

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Status: Single
City: MILWAUKEE
Country: US
Signup Date: 3/12/2005

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Thursday, December 10, 2009 

Almost two weeks ago, a good friend of ours, Mat Arluck, passed away after a battle with cancer. That whole time I have wanted to post something about Mat, but I couldn't find the words & didn't want to cheapen Mat's impact on my life with the wrong words or a quickly thrown together post. Fortunately, Sweet Cobra posted a blog and I can take the easy way out via cut & paste.

For those who didn't know him or who he was, Mat played guitar for Sweet Cobra & was an amazingly positive and encouraging friend. Mat has been a supporter of our band since the very beginning & we have been fortunate enough to play with them several times. I truly regret that we never got to make him a white denim Get Rad jacket as he had jokingly requested. Mat, you will be missed more than any blog could ever express.

Anyway, this is from Sweet Cobra's myspace blog:

MATTHEW ALLEN ARLUCK 1970–2009
It is with the heaviest of hearts we announce that Matthew Allen
Arluck passed away on November 26, 2009 after a hard fought battle
with cancer, surrounded by his loving family at their home near
Seattle. He was 39 years old. Our deepest condolences go out to his
family, friends, and loved ones. There simply are not words to express
the loss we are all feeling during this difficult time. He was a truly
inspirational person and his ambition for creating music, even in the
face of the obstacles that his illness and treatments brought on, was
unparalleled. His passion for writing, recording, and playing shows
remained steadfast until the end.

A BRIEF HISTORY
Sweet Cobra was lucky enough to have Mat Arluck join our band as
second guitar player after the departure of Neeraj Kane during the
recording of “Praise” in late 2003. The plan at that time had
originally been to continue on as a trio, but once we jammed with Mat
we knew that we had to play music together. There was an instant
musical chemistry, and a common love for records, skateboarding, and
good times. He joined Sweet Cobra in early 2004 and we began playing
shows right away and started working on our second album “Forever”.
Mat’s creativity and songwriting was an amazing thing to be a part of
and we feel honored to have been able to play with him. He was a great
musician and an even better friend.

Unfortunately in late 2004 Mat was first diagnosed with a rare form of
stomach cancer. Over the next few years he continued to battle his
illness with a positive outlook and we continued to write music,
record and play shows. Even during some of his sickest moments he
would be the last one sitting at the soundboard, or loading out gear
after a show, or wanting to rehearse– while always having an amazing
sense of humor. His tireless work ethic is an inspiration to us and he
had a musical vision that was so focused.

Early 2009 saw the release of the “Bottom Feeder” EP, and the
recording of our forthcoming album “Mercy”. After recording “Mercy”
this past spring, Mat informed us that he would not be able to
accompany us on our east coast tour with Russian Circles due to his
treatments, but urged us to play as a trio. Upon our returning home,
he continued to play with us locally throughout the summer, and mixing
and mastering of the new album was completed. Once tour plans came
together for our west coast/mid-west tour with Pelican this past fall,
Mat once again was not able to join us due to his health issues
relating to the spreading of his cancer. He once again urged us to
continue our tour plans and wanted people to hear the music that we
had created together.

In early November Mat moved to Seattle to live with his family and
explore further treatments, which sadly proved to be ineffective. Our
last shows with Mat were in September of 2009.

Sweet Cobra will continue on as a three-piece. This music is a huge
part of his legacy and it deserves to live on fully. There is no doubt
that this is what he would have wanted. We also have unrecorded
material written with Mat that we look forward to recording this
winter.

The family suggests donations in Matthew’s name be made to Grind for
Life at www.grindforlife.org, an organization dedicated to providing
financial assistance to cancer patients in need.

MEMORIAL
Arluck Time: A Memorial for Mat Arluck & Benefit for Grind For Life
featuring the music of Mat's bands:
COOLER BY THE LAKE
SWEET COBRA
DEMINER
CRASH COURSE
CLOSING IN
LYNYRD'S INNARDS (Black Flag set)
Thursday, Feb. 4th (Mat's 40th Birthday) Beat Kitchen, Chicago, IL.
More information can be found at www.beatkitchen.com



3:43 AM 
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Saturday, November 07, 2009 
We've been home for two weeks now, so I hope it's better late than never. We really couldn't have done this without the help of so many people. Thank you to everyone who set up a show, played a show, gave us a place to sleep, fed us, came & watched us, heckled us or entertained us in any way. The four of us drove 6500 miles in 13 days in a green Ford Windstar Minivan named "the Green Giant." We all had a great time filled with inside jokes, 5 hour energy shots, black ice, crappy fast food, beautiful weather & overall insanity. Thanks to all of you for feeding that insanity.

Our west coast tour couldn't have happened without the following people: Steven Init, Raise the Red Lantern, Jaci & Alex in Spokane, the Cretin Hop, Adrien & Marginal Way, the Black Lodge, Jason in Seattle, Mitch, Raw Nerves as individuals & a band, Mississippi Pizza, Scott Alcoholocaust, Schlong, everyone @ the Eagle Tavern, Craigums, Robert & Karoline, Yosef, all @ Hazmat especially Margo, Angie, Ryan, Zoe, Arctic Choke & all of Thousand Oaks, Hawk Strange & the Raider Nation, Adam, Old HC Dude, Gerson, Matt Martinez, Chris Pfeffer, Trailer Space Records, Jay in Tulsa, Christopher Tso, Greg in Urbana, Cory VonBohlen, Dave Barber, everyone at the Eagles Nest & last but not least, Amber, Angie, Jeni & Nicole. 

I know I screwed up and missed some people, places & things that ruled. The tour was a blur of awesome and amazing, so please don't feel slighted if your name slipped through the crack. Who knows if we will ever make it out west again, but if we do, we know who we can count on. Thanks for being rad. 

Also, if you've got any pictures or videos, we would love to see them! Thanks again!
3:47 AM 
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Saturday, November 07, 2009 
ThunderInYourHeart.BigCartel.com there, you can order all of the following: ...and much more. thanks for reading.
happy shopping.
1:36 AM 
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Thursday, November 05, 2009 
We were interviewed a long time ago for a zine from Greece called MOUNTZA. I got a copy of the zine in the mail a few days ago and decided to post it here for all of you. MOUNTZA is a pretty bad ass zine. Lots of good bands & it actually looks cool. Thanks to George for interviewing us. Here you go & happy reading. Click to see the larger images.






thanks to everyone who provided us with photos, especially karoline collins, who doesnt get credited in the zine. more info on MOUNTZA at mountza.blogspot.com
10:53 PM 
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Friday, August 31, 2007 
hey dudes. were pretty excited to let yall know that SHIRT KILLER.com is going to be selling GET RAD shirts. SHIRT KILLER is already the internet merch home of many of our good friends including COLISEUM, BARONESS, YOUNG WIDOWS and many many more.

as of now, SHIRT KILLER, is carrying 2 of our designs, 1 which is brand new!!!

check out SHIRT KILLER.com to see these designs along with all the other rad shit they sell.
10:54 PM 
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