This is a sad one and completely out of nowhere.
Nick and I were very close online friends back in the days before LPLive, (on MSN messenger - now I feel old) tracking down not only show recordings but physical items. I still have the Hybrid Theory skate deck he traded to me for an original release HTEP. We often did bulk buys of collectable lots and would split them - it was a really fun time. He truly cared about the community. the recordings and
and was a super nice and kind person to boot.
He once trolled me by telling me he had an early snippet of Somewhere I Belong. I thought about it all day, got home and he sent it to me. It was a clip of this ringtone -
Here's an old picture I found circa 2007-2008 (per the file marker, could be older) of a pair of sunglasses he rigged up to record LP at a festival. I was always entertained by his stories of what he had to do in order to smuggle recording equipment into shows and festivals:
RIP Nick, you were a truly great friend, family man and member of the LP community.