John Pike was drummer for Syracuse sextet Ra Ra Riot. Tragically, he died on June 3, 2007 only 23 years old. John was found dead in the waters of Buzzard Bay after he went missing during a party near Fairhaven, Mass.,



When he was a little kid John Pike used to tap on things like his lunch box or an upside-down pail, so his parents bought him a toy Noble & Cooley drum set from Toys "R" Us. "I was thinking at least it would sound better than what he was playing on," Pike's mom said.



Shortly before his death, Pike and his parents went to pick out a real drum set from Noble & Cooley. The Granville company, a popular drum manufacturer, decided to sponsor Pike in his band. The set he picked out was basic maple wood.



John Pike graduated from Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School in 2002. He was president of his class, and girls would book him for the prom in October. John graduated magna cum laude in 2006 from Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications.



Early June 2007 Ra Ra Riot had just returned from London and were set to tour the United States in July. Unfortunately John Pike played his last show Friday night, June 1 at The Living Room in Providence, R.I. After the show, John and singer Wesley Miles went to a party at Miles' friend's house in Fairhaven, and that was the last time Pike was seen alive.



John Pike left the party alone at 3 am Saturday. Throughout the evening, he had seemed to be enjoying himself, but then his mood changed and he became more "introverted," Miles said. Miles assumed Pike was just leaving to take a walk or make a phone call, but he never returned.



Friends went to look for him, and then police found John Pike's cell phone Saturday afternoon off Wilbur's Point in Buzzards Bay, less than a mile from the house. At low tide on Sunday, just after 4 pm, a Fairhaven dive team found Pike's body about 200 yards from his cell phone.



John Pike was found dead near Fairhaven, Massachusetts on June 3, 2007. He was 23 years old. A funeral Mass was held for John Pike on Saturday, June 9, 2007 at St. Paul Church in Hamilton.