Bo Lueders, founding guitar player for Chicago's Harm's Way and co-host of the Hardlore podcast has passed away. The announcement was made yesterday through Hardlore co-host Colin Young, his band, and his girlfriend. Although the cause of death was not publicly, resources for suicide and crisis help were made available through the announcement.
Lueders founded Harm's Way in 2006 with band members from his Straight Edge band Few and the Proud. Since then, Harm's Way has gone on to release five records and five EPs, through Organized Crime, Closed Casket Activities, Deathwish, and Metal Blade. Their latest release was 'Common Suffering', released in 2023.
In 2022, Lueders founded the Hardlore podcast with Colin Young of Twitching Tongues/God's Hate. The podcast has over time become a cultural staple for the heavy music community, featuring interviews with legendary figures in punk, hardcore, and metal.
Following his death, tributes have come in from many people throughout the heavy music community that new or worked with Bo over the years, including Brody King of God's Hate, Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed, and Harm's Way frontman James Pligge.
From Hardlore podcast co-host Colin Young:
Bo,
I am writing this in hopes that it reaches you in some way cosmically. I will love, mourn, and celebrate you forever.
This beautiful thing we built together was the greatest honor of my life, and my only solace is knowing that we documented a lifetime of memories, at first to share with the world, but now to look back on and preserve your warm, kind soul forever.
Say hey to Cayle and Cliff Burton for us, and feel free to stop by and haunt me any time.
Every song is about you now.
Let’s do it all again in the next life.
From Harm's Way frontman James Pligge:
I struggled to come up with the right words because how can you sum up a lifetime of friendship in a small paragraph?
I met Bo 24 years ago, we were just young hardcore kids searching for our place. I was fortunate enough to meet Bo and Chris at the same time and we hit it off right away. From then on we created a bond that not many people can ever say they have with someone. I was able to play music, eat expensive food and see some of the world’s most beautiful places with him. We spent hours together in hotels rooms, in the drivers seat or shotgun just talking about the Sopranos or listening to Crowbar. It’s hard when everything you’ve done in the last 20 years is with someone who’s now gone and I’m going to really miss him.
Bo really cared about his friends and was a funny, kind and smart person. We lived a life not many get to do together and it is that I am forever grateful.
The last thing I’ll say is that there is nothing more important than your family and friends. Make sure to call them, see them and make plans with them. In the end the love and bonds we make with people will live on forever. Now Bo will live on in our memories, although I wish for nothing more that we could make more, I am glad we got to live the life we did together.
I love you and Rest in Power
From Jamey Jasta, Hatebreed:
This beyond tragic. We love you Bo! You changed the game. You helped people and made a massive impact at young age. I am grateful to have experienced your infectious positivity & kindness. So many people have/will think of Bo and go “man I love that guy” and that’s real. I wish we could’ve told him more. It’s always the good ones. So sorry. Life can be so cruel. My sympathies to all who loved him and that’s a lot of you. Be gentle on yourselves and others today.
A fundraiser has been started to assist Bo's family in covering funeral expenses for his passing.
Update: The fundraiser has been closed, due an incredible outpouring of support from the music communities. After exceeding the requested funds by over 10x, the organizer Colin Young has announced that the extra funds will be donated to organizations offering mental health services in the Chicago area.
From Colin Young:
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and to donate, it means the world to me and Bo's family/friends. I went for a walk immediately after creating this page, and by the time I looked at my phone again, you had all exceeded the goal tenfold.
With the donation goal automatically updating throughout that duration, I quickly rounded down the current amount to end the goal... and then you all just kept donating. We cannot thank you enough for this beautiful outpouring of love and support for our sweet Bo throughout these darkest of days.
We've decided to stop any future donations, and guarantee that a LARGE portion of what has been donated will be redistributed to various mental health services in the Chicagoland area. Thank you all.
- Colin
