Michael Houser, 40; Founding Member of Widespread Panic

Michael Houser, the guitarist and singer who channeled a bluesy, Southern roots sound into the improvisational performances of the rock band Widespread Panic, has died from complications related to pancreatic cancer. He was 40.

The Athens, Ga., native died Saturday, according to a posting on the band’s Web site, the same forum that Houser used in July to announce to fans that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Houser, a co-founder of the band, also sat out the Widespread Panic summer tour, and it was unclear Monday how his death would affect the group’s future. As of Monday afternoon, the group was still scheduled to play this weekend in Englewood, Colo.

Widespread Panic is among the jam band culture, a subgenre of rock that bows to the Grateful Dead tradition of emphasizing intensive touring, improvisation in live performance and cultivating a communal fan sensibility with an almost tribal ethos. With long, complex songs, the jam bands are often ignored by mainstream radio, but “Airplane,” “Chilly Water” and “Can’t Get High” are instantly recognizable entries in the Panic songbook for the group’s loyal following.

The origins of Panic trace back to the University of Georgia in 1982 when Houser and singer John Bell began collaborating. The band, eventually a sextet, released its first album, “Space Wrangler,” in 1988, and has followed that with 10 more releases, the most recent in June called “Live in the Classic City.”

Although critics often see excess in the long solos of many jam bands, Houser has been praised for his craft and restraint. “Houser is apparently not deeply infected by the fusion bug, but is a steady rock player,” a Times reviewer wrote last year. “Sitting beside his amplifiers, he sounded like a committed student of classic rock guitar moves, more Duane Allman than aimless noodler.”

Houser is survived by his wife, Barbette, and a son, Walker. In a statement released Sunday, the family is encouraging contributions to the Michael Houser Music Fund, a program at Athens Academy.