As an artist and public person, Steve was incredibly inspiring to a weird, angry Evangelical teen logging on to the forums from suburban Portland in 2004. His connection to independent Christian music through bands like Danielson and ZAO offered a Jesus-sanctioned escape from a very sheltered culture, like peering through a keyhole into a room full of ugly, fascinating paintings. Later, when I wanted to learn about home recording, he made me feel like shit for owning a computer, then distilled a year of intermediate physics into a two paragraph post on this very forum. Like a lot of people here, I wonder if I ever would have picked up a microphone if not for his declarative, informative writing made available free of charge.

As a guy in a room, he was very kind to me, enjoyed telling music stories and exuded patience as I excitedly babbled nonsense about recording my acoustic guitar. I ran into him a few more times and the last time I saw him, he was walking into a Jewel aka the people's grocery store, surely stopping in for the ingredients to a Michelin-star meal. Rest in peace.

1. this years BBQ needs to make the Earth tremble from joy/celebration.

2. Back in the day we all got together and organized a Silkworm Tribute show at The Empty Bottle. Should we try to something similar for Steve, a celebration or something? Raise some money for EA or make sure the 24 hour Letters to Santa stuff gets some $$$. In crisis I just want to problem solve and help and ideas are just rattling around my brain.

Just wanted to add that this news made me glad I have taken steps to get healthier - cutting my drinking and cautiously getting back into exercise - and I hope maybe some other folks can use it as inspiration as well. It'd be a worthy tribute for a guy who was all about the community.

It’s a cruel and unfair world. I’m so sorry for all.

Few people outside my immediate circle impact my worldview. Steve is one of about 3-5 artists that profoundly shaped my interactions with art and life. I remain astounded at his ability to craft language and succinctly distill a topic to its essence.

I saw the New Year open for Shellac at Sons of Hermann hall and I couldn’t bring myself to go interrupt him and Matt K. as they were talking. I often say hello and thanks to bands for whatever reason when I recognize them, but that night it seemed too daunting. I wish I had.

FM kazoozak here. I don’t know what else I can say that others here haven’t already but I wanted to pay my respects. It’s been a weird mix of devastation at the news of Steve’s passing and the comfort of reading so many people’s recollections of what he meant to the community here and to the wider musical world.

All I can say right now is that I would be a much different person if I hadn’t joined the forum seventeen years ago. I’ve drifted in and out but I know this place and the friendships I made here have been a net positive in my life, and that doesn’t happen without Steve.

Requiescat, Steve. Love to his family, the EA staff, his bandmates, and to you all.

Just crushed. 100% my life is where it is today because Steve added a message board to the studio website.

Last time I interacted w/ SA in person was when Maple Stave was recording in B in November 2022 and he was in A w/ Code Orange. I was doing a backing vocal in the control room, just getting warmed up so not even recording anything, and Steve came in to ask Scott about grabbing some piece of gear. He immediately felt terrible that he'd walked in while someone was tracking, and I brushed it off and told him it was no big deal. Ran into him again later in the kitchen and he apologized profusely again, and even when I said it was just practice he said no, that's all his fault for just walking in without checking first. Totally humble and apologetic in the house he literally fucking built.

The first time I became cognizant of Big Black was back in college. I was coming down from a long stretch of hard rock and metal, and my friend, Kevin, was about to thrust me headfirst into underground music. We were hanging out in his garden apt in Lincoln Park. A tiny hovel lit with black lights and various posters on the wall. The one that struck me was a giant one with the faces of Steve, Dave, and Santiago - they didn't look very friendly. We proceeded to smoke a legendary amount of marijuana and Kevin put on Taste by the Telescopes. My mind was melting from all of the noise and all I could see was the faces of Steve, Dave, and Santiago staring back at me. This night meant so much to me in terms of having my mind expanded to different forms of music, sound, and the underground. The following day Kevin made me a couple of mix tapes featuring the Flaming Lips and the Butthole Surfers. I couldn't get that Big Black poster out of my head. What the hell could they possibly sound like? I didn't find out until later after hearing "Kerosene" on WZRD. Never heard a guitar tone like that married to brutal shuffling mechanized beat and grave bass playing. Blew my mind. Seriously, they kind of frightened me. I couldn't figure them out, but I fucking loved that guitar tone. "Passing Complexion"? Are you fucking kidding me with that insistent shrill playfully sadistic riff. Just gloriously dark with precision and movement.

Much, much later I was having a BBQ and my friend, Kristina, who was a bartender at Augenblick, told me to show up at her bar later. She said she couldn't tell me why, but I'd be upset if I missed it. My friend, Bogdan Sipic and I walked into her bar with Steve and Bob disguising their bodies in the shape of a plane. I'm like, what the fuck is going on? Is this Big Black? Why is there a human drummer? The place was drowned in Todd's cymbals. I soon found out it was Shellac of North America's second ever show (I think their first was at Ajax Records but me memory is a cruel mistress). Looking back on it now, yeah, it seems pretty fucking rad, but that is just how Chicago was back then - a phenomenal city with all manner of underground punk and noise rock happening at any fucking time of the day or night. So glad I lived through it.

One time Steve asked if he could give me a nickname. I'm like, well, if you have to ask for permission then it's not really much of a nickname is it? His reply was something along the lines of he didn't want to be a dick and saddle me with a nickname I hated. That was Steve, one of the nicest and most generous people I've had the pleasure to know. At the lowest point in my life he gave me words of encouragement. Every time I saw him he was quick with a hello and a smile. I could not imagine life in Chicago without his music and the community he fostered. You've probably read this one million times by now, but if it wasn't for Steve I wouldn't have met and become great friends with so many wonderful people; there certainly wouldn't have been Whales. I'm thinking of all of you right now about how much I love and appreciate you being in my life.

And not that anyone has asked, but my favorite pick slide in the history of pick slides lands a couple of times in "Crow."

One of my favorite memories is dancing to "Lido Shuffle" featuring The Hype w/Steve on vocals at Drug Church. I'm so sorry you are gone and my heart is breaking on your passing and the sadness of every single person you've touched.

Requiescat Steve

I was just reminded by a mutual .. cat convention speaker, that Steve was also big in the cat world, haha! Ah man, what a guy

I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to say about this and it's been hard. I only met Steve in passing a couple of times and our interactions were limited to a "hi, cool to meet you". I have enjoyed a ton of music he touched over a career that I find inspiring and I've learned a lot about a craft that I love from tangential, voyeuristic study of what media I could find about how he achieved his results, and later how he felt about music and production on a more philosophical level. The thing that I, myself, benefited from this mans existence was coming to this board and meeting all of you, the people I've met in person and the people I feel like I've known forever and couldn't pick them out in a crowded room. Thank you Steve and cheers to and all of you.

Did notice that there was a short piece on his passing during the Chicago NBC affiliate's news broadcast at ten.

Good to see that get a mention even if the reality of it did kind of hit all over again.