Steve Riley, “His individual legacy will indeed live on.” - Blackie Lawless

The entire W.A.S.P. family are saddened to hear of the passing of our friend and former bandmate Steve Riley. Steve was a native of Boston and came from a large family. He had several brothers, which from the beginning I dubbed, "the Dalton Gang". That came from an old Quick Draw McGraw cartoon and in a fun type of way they reminded me of some crazy kind of wannabe outlaws. They all loved the name so it stuck.

It was Steve's drumming you hear providing the steady beat on songs such as "Wild Child", "Blind in Texas" and "I Don't Need No Doctor". Those songs helped cement our legacy and Steve was a big part of that. Most drummers have some the best humor in any band. It's just the way they are wired and he was no exception. Steve could make a dog laugh and that's no joke. For any band, being on the road can be a grind. If you have someone in the band that can come in and break the tension just by being themselves, then that's a gift that's sorely missed when that vacuum can no longer be filled.

One of the "Dalton Gang" has now slipped away and our hearts are truly saddened. He will be missed. But his individual legacy will indeed live on.

God Speed Steve Riley

B. L

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