Limp Bizkit co-founding bassist Sam Rivers tragically died over the weekend at the age of 48. Now, frontman Fred Durst has delivered a touching tribute to his longtime bandmate.
“Sam Rivers, legend, truly. He’s like a gifted, unbelievably sweet, wonderful person,” Durst began his video, shared via Instagram account. The singer then went down memory lane, recalling how he and Rivers first connected.
“I had this particular idea for this style and sound and I just couldn’t get it together right. So I decided I’m going to go out and find the right players to do this and bring this thing together,” Durst explained, looking back. “In my mind you had to start with the rhythm section, the bass and the drums. I didn’t know who I was gonna meet first to put this idea together… I saw Sam play and I was blown away. He was playing a five-string bass too and I’d never seen anyone using a five-string bass. He was so smooth and good and he stood out and I could hear nothing else but Sam. Everything else disappeared besides his gift.”
Durst approached Rivers that night and expressed interest in forming a band together. “He looked at me and says, ‘Killer, I’m in. Let’s do it,'” the singer recalled.
Chemistry between the rockers was instant. “Sam had this thing where anything I could spit out of my mouth … ‘Try this, try this or do this or this,’ Sam could do it and do it a thousand times better than I could hear it in my head,” Durst continued.
While much of the tribute focused on their musical relationship, Durst also touched on their friendship and long shared history.
“It’s so tragic that he’s not here right now and I’ve gone through gallons and gallons of tears since yesterday and I’m thinking, ‘Sam’s a legend, you know.’ He did it. He lived it,” said Durst. “With Limp Bizkit, it was such a journey and such a massive roller coaster and here we are having this incredible moment and it’s going so beautifully smooth and Sam was just really, really happy about it. We rocked stadiums together, been around the world together and spent so many moments together and I know that wherever Sam is right now, he’s smiling and being like, ‘Man I did it.’ And man did he do it.”
“I just knew that I was very, very, very fortunate to have him in my life and I’m so grateful, incredibly grateful to have shared part of this journey with Sam Rivers,” the singer said in closing.
Watch Durst’s full message here.