I'm hoping a larger write up comes along. He sounded like a good dude beyond his years in bands. And you could always count on seeing at least one ubiquitous black and white SWEEP shirt/hoodie on a midsized city tour stop, well beyond the duration of that band.

BrendanK wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 7:26 am

shit, what a force they were

I was at this show and it was intense. Only time I ever saw these guys live. RIP.

Nate Dort wrote:

BrendanK wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 7:26 am

shit, what a force they were

I was at this show and it was intense. Only time I ever saw these guys live. RIP.

a lot of people are throwing this video out there because, of course, it is insane. however, the funny thing is that for those of us who lived in chicago and saw them frequently, i feel like every show was like this. this was their normal output. a complete force.

really saddened by this news, he was always very kind to young me playing shows and as I noted to FM steve, he played in the same adult baseball league as us in the early 2000s.

rest in peace.

zorg wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 6:52 am

Mickey242 wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:07 pm My hero, Joe Meek, shoot himself 56 years ago today.
You all should listen to Telstar!

Brilliant art, but this being a MURDER-suicide, I see no need to eulogize the man himself.

" Meek killed his landlady Violet Shenton and then himself[40] with a single-barrelled shotgun that he had confiscated from his protégé, former Tornados bassist and solo star Heinz Burt, at his Holloway Road home/studio. Meek and Shenton argued over his noise levels and the rent that he still owed before Meek picked up the shotgun"

Good enough for eulogy in song at least

Was really bummed to hear the news about Steve, my old band played a bunch of shows with the Sweeps back in the day, they were always incredible, just a force of nature. There was one show at the Knitting Factory where for some insane reason they played before us, and while going on after them was terrifying it was also a great inspiration, we played as hard as we ever did.

I didn't know him well, but there was one show at Princeton where I remember sitting and talking with him for a half hour and he really made an impression as a super nice, genuine dude who really listened and engaged with people. There's so much I've forgotten from those days but that conversation always stuck with me.

RIP.

Not familiar with the Sweeps but I LOVE that Check Engine record.

RIP

My old band played with STLJ a few times way back, and it was always incredible to watch them do their thing. My interactions with Steve were always genuine and memorable, and just came across as a guy with a lot of life in him. I remember bumping into him at the fireside years later and him remembering exactly who I was - that kinda small thing that separates the great folk from the good.

Depression and feelings of hopelessness can hit any of us, no matter how good we seem to be doing from the outside. Please think about sharing resources for those in need when you share these memories of Steve.

MoreSpaceEcho wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 2:34 pm I didn't know him well, but there was one show at Princeton where I remember sitting and talking with him for a half hour and he really made an impression as a super nice, genuine dude who really listened and engaged with people. There's so much I've forgotten from those days but that conversation always stuck with me.

RIP.

Was this Princeton show in 2007 (or so) at the Terrace Club?

mdc wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2023 2:41 pm Depression and feelings of hopelessness can hit any of us, no matter how good we seem to be doing from the outside. Please think about sharing resources for those in need when you share these memories of Steve.

The few larger sites that wrote about it cited "following a brief illness" but not much detail beyond that. Maybe I missed something; not that it changes much in the end but that would be extra hard to take.

My understanding is that he died by suicide.