Rest In Peace Steve Riley

I found out today that Steve Riley passed away at 67.

He was the long time drummer of L.A. Guns, Riley’s L.A. Guns, and was the drummer of W.A.S.P. and Keel, and Roadmaster, The Lawyers, and The B’zz.

According to a statement from his family, Steve passed away Tuesday, October 24, from a severe case of pneumonia, which he had suffered from for several weeks.

This is very sad.

I was lucky enough to meet him this year, and believe me it was luck (see my story here) but I’m grateful I got to meet him and see him play. 

He was unbelievably kind to me and I’ll never forget that.

He was a great player all the way to the end.

This especially hits home for me because I had a very bad case of pneumonia earlier this year too and have had it quite a few times in the past few years.

I eventually got the pneumonia vaccine awhile back because I was so concerned about getting pneumonia again.

All the greats keep going away and I hate it.  But unfortunately, it’s how life goes.

And this is another reason why I’ve gone to sooooo many shows in the last decade.  Yes the shows are always fun and I want that fun, but also any day could be it for anyone and I don’t want to not see them do what they do best.

I wish all the best to his family, friends, bandmates in Riley’s L.A. Guns and everyone else he has played with, and his fans.

And selfishly as a fan, I hope that the second Riley’s L.A. Guns album will be released.  They released 3 great singles this year and was playing another one live (again see my story link above), but if not, I understand.

I’ll be cranking his music in his memory.

Thanks Steve for the music and for the kindness you showed me.