Paul Preminger, founding drummer of Vancouver-punks The Smugglers, has passed away from a heart attack. Smugglers vocalist Grant Lawrence remembered Preminger to Straight.com as:

A guy that hit the drums hard, and who lived hard. He was a Joe Pesci, bulldog kind of a guy, but very smart, very funny, and very kind….He was one of those guys who'd sit on the couch and answer every single question on Jeopardy!, and you'd be like, 'What the fuck? How does this Bukowski-esque character know all this?'

"He was much more experienced in every facet of life. He had a hundred stories. It was like touring with a merchant sailor. And he had a lot of strange quirks. He developed a quirk where he'd puke before every show, sometimes on-stage.

Paul recorded one album with the band before leaving in 1992 to become a chef. Our condolences to his friends and family.