Eric Vandercar—husband, father and longtime friend of the live music scene—has died at the age of 53. Vandercar and five others were killed last night when a commuter train on Metro-North’s Harlem line struck a car in Westchester County, NY. He is survived by his wife Jill and their two children.

Vandercar, who worked at Morgan Stanley for 27 years before taking a job at Mesirow Financial last year, developed a reputation as one of the scene’s most beloved tapers, having recorded hundreds of shows since the 1990s. Many of his recordings of bands like moe., Spin Doctors, The Radiators and more can be found on the Live Music Archive.

moe. took to their Facebook page this afternoon to express their sadness and offer their condolences to Vandercar’s friends and family:

Words can’t express how devastated we are today. We’ve lost so much more than a major moe. fan, we’ve lost a very good friend. Eric Vandercar will always be remembered – whether he was enjoying the music from the front row, or hanging out backstage with us, chatting with that easy smile of his. He was there during our early days at the Wetlands, and we just recently got to spend time with him in Jamaica.

An avid music supporter, a husband, a father – Eric, along with his wife Jill, have been a constant and familiar presence in all of our lives over the last couple of decades. And once they had kids, they made their love of music a family affair. Our hearts go out to Jill, Jake, Sadie and to the extended Vandercar and Shiner families, as well as all those who knew Eric.

Jambands.com and Relix would also like to offer our deepest condolences to Vandercar’s friends, family and all those who loved him.