Swell Season Offer Grief Counseling to Concertgoers Who Witnessed Suicide

Posted on Aug 26th 2010 10:00AM by Dan Reilly
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Al Pereira, WireImage

After the tragic suicide of Michael Pickels at a Swell Season concert last week, the band is offering free grief counseling sessions to any fans who were at the show. The group and its crew met with counselors after the events, which they talked about in an official statement on their website.

"While we likely will never gain the answers we need, what we did get out of the conversations were of great service to our mind, body and soul," the statement said. "In regards to coping with what we witnessed it was a step in the right direction. We have come to realize that some of those in attendance may be in need of similar counseling and may not be receiving it. Our hearts go out to you and we want to encourage you to talk to someone who has experience in these types of matters."

The Swell Season contacted Kara, a support organization in Palo Alto, Calif., to set up four group counseling sessions that will take place over the next few weeks, starting Thursday, Aug. 26. According to the Associated Press, approximately 1,900 fans witnessed the 32-year-old Pickels leap to his death at Saratoga's Mountain Winery, landing only a few feet from singer Glen Hansard.

"We ask that you continue to send the same positive energy to the family and friends of Michael Pickels, who need equal support to get through this difficult time," the band said.

In other Swell Season news, Hansard recently revealed to Spinner that he and Marketa Irglova will take some time off to work on separate projects. Hansard will return to his other band, the Frames, for a tour while Irglova will most likely work on a solo album. Despite several inaccurate reports to the contrary, this does not mean the Swell Season are breaking up. As Hansard wrote on Twitter, "If anyone is going to announce the end of the Swell Season it'll be us. Forget what anyone else says. Were not breaking up."

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