The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Matt Bellinger

Planes Mistaken for Stars

Jason Heller, writing about the passing of Planes Mistaken for Stars’ Matt Bellinger:

A basic obituary isn’t enough to sum up a life, let alone one that had as much impact as Matt’s.

When I met Matt in 1998, I had yet to even dream of being a journalist. Back then, I worked the cash register at Wax Trax, while Matt and the other members of Planes lived in Peoria, Illinois, where they had grown up. Their singer-guitarist, Gared O’Donnell, visited Denver frequently in the ’90s to see his mom, who lived in Colorado.