Steve Rileys influence over the 80s rock scene is crazy. Being part of 3 bands' most successful albums is something you don't ever see. Rock needed him to be part of the big movement

Aw, man! RIP He was in two of my fave 80's bands - WASP and LA Guns.

I knew Steve for short while, he was such a authentic guy so nice, not fake at all. His wife is a sweetheart. 💔

i’ve been speechless all day

Rip Steve

RIP Steve....this news came completely unexpected...🙏

So sad to hear about Steve. He was a great dude. You probably don't remember me but I was the guerilla journalist that made sure LA Guns were on the covers and print of the local music tabloids in Kansas City, MO. and Orlando, FL. for the early tours... Phil and Tracii were always nice but Steve and Kelly let me hang out with them backstage at the venues. RIP Steve. 🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏

Mike, thanks for taking the time to post this tribute. Steve was a great player with an identifiable sound and feel. I got to meet him in NYC at the Cocked & Loaded after party. He took the time to chat with me about drummers, click tracks (he hated them) and Led Zeppelin. He was a cool guy and I’m glad I got the chance to meet him. R.I.P.

he seemed down to earth , honest guy.. God Bless Steve !!!!!

damn, sorry for your loss brother!

Good to see u man,this is such a loss he was an awesome drummer the Cocked and Loaded album was a inspiration to me and he sounded powerful ,am sorry for u loss bro much respect to u and condolences to his wife and family band mates,and his friends 🙏 🙏 ❤️🖤😢

Condolences from Scotland. RIP Steve. I was genuinely saddened to hear this news today.

Sorry for the loss of your old friend, dude. I've watched many of his interviews and I was always impressed by how nice and amiable he was. At least he got this last record out before he passed. RIP, Mr. Riley!

Very sad news. Great drummer and great feel. I loved L.A. Guns with Steve. Best wishes for all of those close to him.

What a great heartfelt tribute to Steve Riley. It's nice to hear from someone who knew him and respected his accomplishments. "You're with Bonham now", beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

too young....Steve is one of the best!

R.I.P Steve (Rest In Percussion)

R.I.P Riley, absolute hero drummer!!!

I had the chance to work for Steve and L.A. Guns on Man in the Moon Tour, great guy. Lots of fun , R.I.P.

I had wondered if you were going to make a video, I'm glad to see this

Excellent drummer loved watching him play he made it look easy. I have seen LAG play 7 or 8 times over the years and steve almost always took time to chat, take pictures and sign merchandise with fans at gigs. Huge loss to the rock world. Rip steve riley.

This was spot on accurate! Thank you for all kind, true words!!!🖤 RIP Stephen

I never knew about his stint in Keel;I noticed he wasn`t looking real healthy the last time I saw him doing an interview........anyway,thanx for the info,the stories and rest easy Steve Riley...........From the Downeast coast of Maine,thanx....

Taken too soon! Condolences to Steve and his family, friends and bandmates!! RIP Steve ❤ from Canada 🇨🇦

Very cool tribute!. For the record, up to American Hardcore, all L.A. Guns albums had gone Gold with Cocked and Loaded reaching Platinum according to the press release I had. Steve was a Revere, Mass. native, and one of the first rock stars I interviewed, with a feature that appeared in the Revere Journal in 1996 - during the American Hardcore rebranding, if you will. Already an L.A. Guns fan, (I’d seen them live probably about 70 times since 1988), putting together his career retrospective made for a great interview. I first saw Steve with L.A. Guns at The Channel in Boston in 1988. It was my first club concert. Still have my Electric Gypsy Summer 1988 t-shirt from that night. It is dishrag thin, but still fits. My ears rang for a week and the rest is Hurley history.. Nearly a hundred shows later, lots of great memories remain. At a show at Mama Kins in Boston in the summer of 1997, I crashed the backstage area. I was met by Steve and a bunch of the Riley family, who already knew of me after reading my feature, which was both cool and weird all at the same time. I huddled with my buddy Mols for a quick picture with Steve, before their road manager inevitably kicked us out. Since that time, I looked forward to bumping into Steve and his brothers (who Blackie Lawless infamously dubbed the Daulton Gang) at subsequent L.A. Guns shows in and around the New England area, as well as a few times in Las Vegas as special guest with the Sin City Sinners Throughout the various ups and downs, playing clubs, arenas and back again, he always remembered me, always had me down as a +1 on the guest list at shows, and always treated me well. He will be missed. RIP Steve Riley!

Sad in a lot of ways. Steve always came across as genuine. I love the music he was a part of. I never thought he was the bad guy. I think the way Steves's side was explained in this video was perfectly said by a true friend.

Steve was a good guy and a kick ass drummer.

Oh Damn. So sad to hear this. So sorry for your loss. R.I.P. Steve🖤🙏

Thank you. I've been a fan of Steve since I was 12. And I honestly took his side in the LA Guns drama. Him and Kelly never talked trash like Phil and Tracii did. Steve was pretty much the only constant in LA Guns minus that one time Bones was in on drums briefly. Still looking forward to that Riley's LA Guns Dark Horse album that is coming soon. Just saw him live in May at the M3 Festival and he still sounded great. Love the Show No Mercy clip you played. One of my favorite drummers. Thank you for speaking from your heart. I'm going to be ordering your book Tales from the Gutter once I get paid. RIP Steve. Too young. I'm so sad.

Steve was a cornerstone for 80$ metal. Great seeing LA Guns in 88 with AC/DC, got to meet him in 02, cool 😎 👍 guy. (Brought Kelly Nickels out last few years).

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for your loss. It is a shock for everybody. Gone to soon. Rest in Peace Steve. 🙏Prayers to you and Steve's family and bandmates.

Shocked and sad when I saw the news earlier today. I thought of you right away. So sorry for the loss of your friend. RIP Steve 💜🙏🏻💜

Great guy !You will be missed Steve !Rest in peace !😭😭

Sorry for the loss of Steve, He was a stand up dude for sure. Met him on more than one occasion. And I know you'll miss him for sure, I'm sorry for you as well. Thanks for sharing your story. You lived a hell of a life and were blessed to have known him..

The people that badmouth Steve just don’t get it. In order to become one of the biggest bands in the world (I mean on the GnR, Def Leppard, Metallica, Jovi, Motley level) you have to go all in and make major sacrifices and when you were trying to do that in the 80’s as a heavy band it took even more sacrifice because “metal” was seen as a lesser music form even while metal bands went platinum and did stadium tours. Steve knew what the sacrifices were. That’s why he went with Kovacs instead of Jones after the first record. It’s almost impossible to get a major deal with a small management firm. That might not be popular or “street” but it’s called the music BUSINESS, not the music friendship. lol I know I’m really just parroting what you’ve said so many times, Mike but I get it! Steve wasn’t just trying to make himself rich and famous, he was trying to make ALL 5 GUYS rich and famous! What would have benefitted one member would have benefited the whole band! I guess that’s hard to understand for some people. Steve should be remembered as a musician that saw some amazing things thru a 40+ year career in a rough business. He was a big part in both major metal waves to come out of L.A. and he did it without a divorce or addiction issues. That in itself is absolutely incredible! Anyway, I’m sorry for your loss, Mike and my sincerest condolences go out to Steve’s family, friends and fans all over the world. His legacy will live on in one of the most unique careers in music history.

Yes agree I’ve never believed the BS Traci days spews about steve. I only met steve once but could tell he was a straight up sweetheart of a guy. And as a fellow drummer his influence is undeniable. So underrated RIP.

RIP Steve

So sorry to hear about the passing of Steve Riley! Thank u for sharing your stories and your perspective on thingz! He was a true professional in the Rock'N'Roll sense!...I have a cassette copy of L.A. Guns LiVE IN Boston '89 Cocked N Loaded Tour that aired on radio. Steve shined! 🇮🇪🍀🥁🤘🎶 -J.s.

R.I.P. Steve

One of my favorite drummers, huge influence on me. No one had a better drum sound in the late 80s than Steve. Huge loss ❤️

Dam can't believe I'm just now hearing this! DAM! Thoughts and prayers to the family🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏😔😔😔😔😪😪😪

Thanks for the tribute and for giving us a behind the scenes window into the life. I'm sad Tracii hasn't said anything but not surprised either.

RIP Steve you will be deeply missed 😢

thank u for this post, brother. joey.

Steve Riley is a top notch percussionist. And always looked forward to watching him the several times I had the chance. My condolences to everyone connected 🤘

I loved hearing your unique perspective. So many fascinating details that you had from such a personal experience. Sorry for your loss. Rock on Steve.🖤🖤🖤

Take care Corky

man...loved his swing on those classic Ludwigs...kiss my love goodbye trip into is fine wine! RIPSteve

I got to meet Steve several times over the years even recently. The last was Steve and Frankie together at the same time in Daytona. We were staying in the same hotel a couple years ago in Daytona. Great man. Steve is a legend to me and will be greatly missed.

I just pulled up the 88 Philly show opening for AC/DC- I don’t know the history of LA Guns but 30 seconds into the video I’m like “ that’s the drummer on Live in the Raw” I picked up on it immediately! Great drums !

Steven Riley was one of the two best and exciting drummers in the early 80s. The other being Stephen Kaufmann of Accept.

I was lucky to see Steve at his last gig at The Cannery in Las Vegas. I met the band except for Steve. News was that he was using a cane to get around. He was a great person and drummer. Loved his sound on Shrinking Violet! RIP!

Man I’ve been listening to that a million times since it came out and had no idea it was u introducing. Ha ha. Amazing. In Australia it was on the ‘rip n tear’ vinyl single. 🤘🤘

I have seen LA Guns 5-6x live here in Austin over the past thirty years. I am 54 and remember LA Guns when they first hit in the late 80's. They along with Faster Pussycat were suppose to be the next BIG run of LA / West Coast hair bands ie keep the party going. Then grunge took over in 92 and the LA scene died and disappeared. LA Guns needed to come out about five years earlier.

Great video. The Bzz were the first unsigned band to ever appear on Dick Clark. Such a great album. They should of been huge. RIP Steve !

You’re the first person I thought about, when I learned of his passing. Btw…your book, is on my nightstand. God bless.🙏🏼

Yep. Roadmaster... great local band with many soon to be famous guys. “Adam Smasher” MTV v-j Toby Myers Bass JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP RIP Steve "Never Enough" and "The Ballad of Jayne" followed, pushing album sales over 1,000,000 and earning the band its first platinum record award

Wow , Its so insain that were all dying..slowly we all are

Hey brother I love you I know you're 'pushin' air' up there in Heaven. Love to Cathy Clayton Diane & Scotty I love and miss you all

Drummers are good business guys! Seen it many times.

@Corky I used to love your posts on Metal Sludge. Steve was, if I'm not mistaken, also a touring drummer for Steppenwolf. He was a legend and will be missed

The Lawyers were a rocking band!

😢

Hey Mike, do you think Kelly should continue with Riley’s LA Guns

sad stuff man.

I never knew him but my Guitar teacher played with them as a opener he never met Riley but he did teach his Brother Guitar

I can't understand why Blackie Lawless let him go.

Steve had a nice groove. 😊 Didn't appreciate the trash talk from the other side.

can you do a video on the song electric neon sunset ,what it means to you. i like the song .

Steve Riley was a kickass phucking drummer just listen to W.A.S.P. LIVE IN THE RAW 🙌🏻

Great tribute my friend 👍