He was comfortable in the Bunker because he shaped it to be the kind of place he would be comfortable in. Tony has a very light touch as a moderator, using the banhammer only in extreme cases, so Steve took it upon himself (along with some of us others, but he was always the ringleader) to chase away trolls (aside from the usual trolls that any community attracts, Scientology has a whole stable of professional trolls, and Howdy’s “spidey sense” about who they were and what games they were up to was second to none), and to smack down regulars when their posts were not in line with what he wanted the Bunker to be.

He liked to affectionately rag people for being from Cleveland.

It’s so nice of you to do this, I know internet meet-ups are unusual, and it takes a strong force to make them happen. I will unfortunately still be in England then, but I will check back for updates. Cleveland is perfect: it was home base for so many bands Steve loved (Rocket From the Tombs, Pere Ubu, Electric Eels, etc.). He was also a huge fan of the Cramps, who were from that area.

That kind of makes it even more amazing how spot-on you were.

He was an admired friend, though we never met in person </3

Oh my god, I just watched the video and it made my cry (and fuck you Steve for laughing at me (in that eyes-half-closed-blowing-out-smoke-heh-heh way) because I know you could be a maudlin motherfucker so LEAVE ME ALONE!). Sorry – seriously, thank you so much for doing that and posting it. The funny thing is, it wouldn’t have been any different if I had made it myself 30+ years ago. You hit the high notes: bones (Steve actually gave me his horse-tooth necklace, which I treasured), whiskey (our tastes tended more toward Southern Comfort when we were friends, but that was probably because my young palate was more suited to the sweet stuff, and Steve was being agreeable), creepy movies (although I might add Taxi Driver, which was one of his favorites), and cigarettes, fo’ sho.’ Marlboro Reds box. And we won’t get into the drugs here. I would also add music, which really inspired Steve when I knew him: we bonded over our love of the Cramps and always energized each other’s enthusiasm with new and old favorites. But for a minute there, in your video, I felt him, which was weird and scary and great, because whatever the details, I can tell you knew him, and that came through. Thank you.

Found a picture of this fool:

No, and I don’t hope to, beyond what he felt comfortable sharing here. I don’t really hope to learn “what he was really like.” That is always a fool’s errand, in my book. But I also realize he was private, so the fact that he chose this community to share his thoughts means, to me, that he felt comfortable here, which is huge, and that you all were quite lucky. I could have used a daily, or weekly or monthly, dose of his worldwisdom over the last few years/decades.

I can vouch for this one. Steve was living with his father in an apartment on Gough St. in SF and LeVey lived nearby and went out of his way to be seen and noticed everywhere he went (he used to lead a small lion or tiger or some such around in public). As you all can imagine, Steve saw through that dog-and-pony (or man-and-feline) show in a heartbeat.

Thank you so much for all this info! I am processing and responding as fast as I can. But I had a tiny epiphany worthy of our friend. I was wondering why Bob Eckert posted to the Youtube page of Steve’s band on Guy Fawkes Day. Random troublemaker? But of course: the Anonymous Guy Fawkes mask. I live now in York, England, where Guy Fawkes was born and educated. So this whole thing has come full circle: me>Steve>COS> Anonymous>Fawkes>York>me. Steve truly worked/works in strange and wondrous ways.