I'm sure many or most of you know this, but Steve was my neighbor when I was a geeky preteen and teen living in Chicago. Every week, bands would show up in nondescript vans (though the Breeders had a Budget rental van with Ohio plates), unload equipment at odd hours, and for the most part we wouldn't see or hear much of anything happening at the house. But on occasion, me or my folks would cross paths with the likes of the Jesus Lizard, Bailter Space, the Breeders, Jawbreaker, Urge Overkill, Shellac, etc. Everyone was always extremely nice to me, and hence I'd buy their records when they came out, completely stunned at the genius coming out of the house across the street from me. And everyone was weirdly different, vibrating through the universe on a different set of waves than most other folks we knew. It became very easy for me to understand that it was OK to not be like everyone else, and that you could find a sense of community through music. Steve's loss is extremely personal for me, not because I knew him well (though he was incredibly nice to me when I asked if I could see his studio one day, and then another time he let me buy a ton of Shellac merch). All of this is to say that I can say how much of a loss this is not just to musicians, fans, or anyone who bought a Big Black or Shellac LP, or a PJ Harvey or Nirvana LP he engineered. Steve was a necessary and ethical voice who wanted people to think for themselves. He wasn't afraid to be controversial or direct, but I can attest he was patient, kind, and wickedly funny too. Every now and then, someone leaves the party early that leaves such a vacancy, and you know that nobody will ever fill it quite the way they could. Steve is one of those people. A true original, and someone the world needed at the time he was there. 61 seems young, but he used those years well and wisely.
