Steve Riley (January 22, 1956 – October 24, 2023) was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

drummer, best known for his work with

Keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

, W.A.S.P., and

L.A. Guns L.A. Guns are an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1983. The lineup currently consists of Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Phil Lewis (musician), Phil Lewis (lead vocals), Ace Von Johnson (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Johnny Mar ...

Career

Riley was born and raised in the Boston suburb of

Revere, Massachusetts Revere (, ) is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Located approximately northeast of Downtown Boston, Revere is the terminus of the Blue Line (MBTA), MBTA Blue Line, with three stations located within the city: Wonderland station, Wonderla ...

. After graduating high school in the 1970s, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career. In 1979, he joined a revival of Steppenwolf, but the lineup broke up later that year. Riley joined up-and-coming L.A. band

and recorded their breakthrough album '' The Right to Rock'' with them in 1984. Later that year, Riley departed Keel to replace founding member Tony Richards in W.A.S.P., another L.A. band whose debut album had recently achieved gold status in sales. As a member of W.A.S.P., Riley performed on the albums '' The Last Command'', '' Inside the Electric Circus'', and '' Live... in the Raw''. Vocalist Ron Keel has described Riley as "driven to succeed and to play". Keel applauded Riley's decision to leave his band for the opportunity with W.A.S.P., saying "I mean, you've got to be ready for those opportunities when they knock". Keel and Riley had remained friends. However, Keel did not give Steve Riley full credit on the recording of the album The Right to Rock instead crediting Dwain Miller the replacement drummer. This remained a source of upset to Riley for many years. Riley left W.A.S.P. and immediately joined rising

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California, United States. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western bord ...

band

in 1987, becoming part of the band's "classic" lineup alongside guitarists

Tracii Guns Tracy Irving Richard Ulrich (born January 20, 1966), known professionally as Tracii Guns, is an American guitarist best known as the co-founder of glam metal group L.A. Guns, as well as the Supergroup (music), supergroups Brides of Destruction ...

and Mick Cripps, vocalist Phil Lewis and bassist Kelly Nickels. He appeared on the albums ''

Cocked & Loaded ''Cocked & Loaded'' is the second studio album by American glam metal band L.A. Guns. Recorded at Hollywood studios One on One, Music Grinder and Conway Recording, it was produced by Duane Baron, John Purdell and Tom Werman, and released on A ...

'', and '' Hollywood Vampires''. Riley was fired from the band in 1992 but returned in 1995. In 2006, there were two L.A. Guns lineups, Phil Lewis's and Tracii Guns's. Riley was a member of Lewis's lineup until it folded in 2016 when merging with Guns's version. Subsequently, Riley created his own version of L.A. Guns in 2019. This version released an album, ''Renegades'', through Golden Robot Records. Following lawsuits over the band name, a settlement was reached in April 2021, allowing this band to continue as Riley's L.A. Guns. Riley also starred as Billy the Bartender in the 2021 American horror

slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...

, '' Blackstock Boneyard'' directed by Andre Alfa.

Personal life

Riley had a wife named Mary Louise and a son named Cole. He also had two brothers named Michael and Daniel. He was a passionate fan of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

, and was described by his family as a "

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

buff". Riley had ambitions to write and publish a memoir of his experiences in the LA metal scene, saying "I have a lot of good stories to share. I have a lot of behind the scenes stories and a lot of photos that I'd like to share too that people haven't seen." Ultimately, his touring schedule made the project impossible to complete.

Illness and death

Riley died with his family present on October 24, 2023, at the age of 67 after a severe case of pneumonia. He had been battling the illness for several weeks. He had reportedly suffered from various health issues in the years prior to his death.

Discography

With Roadmaster

* ''Roadmaster'' (1976)

With the Lawyers

* ''The Lawyers'' (1981)

With the B'zz

* ''Get Up'' (1982)

With Keel

* '' The Right to Rock'' (1985)

With W.A.S.P.

* '' The Last Command'' (1985) * '' Inside the Electric Circus'' (1986) * '' Live... in the Raw'' (1987)

With L.A. Guns

*''

'' (1988) (Track 12) * ''

'' (1989) * '' Hollywood Vampires'' (1991) *'' Cuts'' (1992) (Tracks 5-7) * '' American Hardcore'' (1996) * '' Wasted'' (1998) * '' Shrinking Violet'' (1999) * '' Greatest Hits and Black Beauties'' (1999) * ''

Man in the Moon In many cultures, several pareidolic images of a human face, head or body are recognized in the disc of the full moon; they are generally known as the Man in the Moon. The images are based on the appearance of the dark areas (known as lunar m ...

'' (2001) * '' Waking the Dead'' (2002) * '' Rips the Covers Off'' (2004) * '' Tales from the Strip'' (2005) * '' Covered in Guns'' (2010) * '' Hollywood Forever'' (2012) Riley's L.A. Guns * '' Renegades'' (2020) * ''The Dark Horse'' (2024)

References

External links

L.A. Guns official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Steve 1956 births 2023 deaths People from Revere, Massachusetts American rock drummers Glam metal musicians L.A. Guns members W.A.S.P. members Drummers from Massachusetts Steppenwolf (band) members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Keel (band) members