Steve Foley (drummer)
Encyclopedia
Steven Foley was an American
drummer who played for Curtiss A
, Things That Fall Down, The Replacements, Bash & Pop
, Wheelo and several other bands in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. He played live for the most part but he recorded with songwriter Peter Lack and he appears in a Replacements video, "When It Began", nominated twice in the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards
. Foley toured Europe and the United States with The Replacements and played their final show at Grant Park
in Chicago in 1991.
area with six siblings who were all interested in music. He played for the Overtones and Things That Fall Down who were among the favorites of Kevin Cole then of First Avenue, and with the Suprees, Snaps, Routine 11, Bang Zoom and Trailer Trash. Foley was a drummer for Curtiss A
for ten years when he most likely did not record on Twin/Tone Records
.
now known as "Slim" replaced guitarist Bob Stinson
, who was fired in 1986 after the tour for Tim
and died at age 36 in 1995. Foley replaced drummer and painter Chris Mars
, who left the band in 1990.
Westerberg and Tommy Stinson went out looking for a drummer in 1990, decided on Foley, who was willing, and asked him to drive them all to an audition. They skipped the audition which became their first practice together when their just-released album All Shook Down
happened to be in his car's CD player—loudly when Foley turned on the ignition. The band as well as observers knew at the time that it was self-destructing.
Foley first played with The Replacements publicly for First Avenue's twentieth anniversary. After seeing him play with this band at the Orpheum Theatre, his father finally decided that Foley was a professional musician. Starting in January 1991, The Replacements toured Europe for Warner Bros.
' Sire Records
for All Shook Down as the opening act for Elvis Costello
. But their review in New York was poor and they broke up, perhaps because Westerberg was in pursuit of a solo career, or they just quit. What is known is that Paul Westerberg
, Mars, and Bob and Tommy Stinson
who formed The Replacements played rock music
that was perhaps the most legendary and might be the most influential so far to emerge from Minnesota. Second only to Bob Dylan
, Westerberg has been called the state's most influential rock songwriter.
At number 69 (Don't Tell a Soul
reached 57) on the Billboard 200
, All Shook Down was The Replacements' second-best selling album. It received four stars from Rolling Stone
who called The Replacements "America's best band". Allmusic didn't like it but gave the album four and a half stars, and, undated, appears to predict the band's breakup.
Early on The Replacements refused to make videos but later made commercial videos for Sire and MTV
. Approximately at the time of Foley's tenure, "Merry-Go-Round" with a supporting video with Mars on drums reached number 1, "When It Began" with a clay animation video with Foley on drums reached number 4, and "Someone Take the Wheel" reached 15 on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks.
When Warner's Rhino
released four early Replacements albums from Twin/Tone in April 2008, Stinson and Westerberg discussed a reunion in Billboard. Westerberg was in favor of waiting for the reissues of the four Sire albums later that year. Which drummer they had in mind might be unknown. Stinson had praised Foley's work which was on beat rather than behind it like Mars. Westerberg was impressed initially that Foley knew so much of The Replacements' material but also criticized him as he did most of his bandmates. Josh Freese
played drums and Mars contributed backup vocals but not drums on a Rhino compilation in 2005. Practice in October 2008 was with Michael Bland
.
and in 1994 both Steve and brother Kevin Foley toured for and may not have played on their 1993 album Friday Night Is Killing Me on Sire / Reprise. In 1997 Foley recorded Something Wonderful with Lack in the band 69 later known as Wheelo.
More recently Foley sold Nissan
cars. He married in 2007 and lived in south Minneapolis across the street from Mars, both of whom owned BMW motorcycles. Wheelo reassembled in late 2007 at least for practice throughout 2008, and according to a bandmate, "Steve's last cymbal crash came down during a raucous, frenzied, and ridiculously silly jam in the key of 'b'." He had been sober for fifteen years but he had been medicated for depression and anxiety. Foley died at age 49 from an accidental overdose of prescription medicine; though some papers reported it as a drug overdose. He is buried in Lakewood Cemetery
in Minneapolis.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
drummer who played for Curtiss A
Curtiss A
Curtiss A, the Godfather to the Minneapolis rock scene, is both a musician and a visual artist. One of the original artists on the Twin Tone label, he performs one of the most popular shows in the Twin Cities, an annual tribute to John Lennon held at First Avenue.Curtiss formed Wire, his first Twin...
, Things That Fall Down, The Replacements, Bash & Pop
Bash & Pop
Bash & Pop were an American alternative rock group formed in 1992 by Tommy Stinson in Minneapolis, Minnesota following the breakup of previous group, The Replacements...
, Wheelo and several other bands in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. He played live for the most part but he recorded with songwriter Peter Lack and he appears in a Replacements video, "When It Began", nominated twice in the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards
1991 MTV Video Music Awards
The 1991 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 5, 1991, honoring the best music videos from June 2, 1990, to June 15, 1991. The show was hosted by Arsenio Hall at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles....
. Foley toured Europe and the United States with The Replacements and played their final show at Grant Park
Grant Park (Chicago)
Grant Park, with between the downtown Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan, offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat. It is also crossed by large boulevards and even a bed of sunken railroad tracks...
in Chicago in 1991.
Minneapolis bands
Foley grew up in the Hopkins, MinnesotaHopkins, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,145 people, 8,224 households, and 3,741 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,205.9 people per square mile . There were 8,390 housing units at an average density of 2,058.2 pe square mile...
area with six siblings who were all interested in music. He played for the Overtones and Things That Fall Down who were among the favorites of Kevin Cole then of First Avenue, and with the Suprees, Snaps, Routine 11, Bang Zoom and Trailer Trash. Foley was a drummer for Curtiss A
Curtiss A
Curtiss A, the Godfather to the Minneapolis rock scene, is both a musician and a visual artist. One of the original artists on the Twin Tone label, he performs one of the most popular shows in the Twin Cities, an annual tribute to John Lennon held at First Avenue.Curtiss formed Wire, his first Twin...
for ten years when he most likely did not record on Twin/Tone Records
Twin/Tone Records
Twin/Tone Records was a record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that operated from 1977 until 1994 and helped several local groups receive national attention. The label was born from the Minneapolis punk rock music scene, which included venues like Jay's Longhorn Bar. The label was begun by...
.
The Replacements
Two members of Curtiss A bands replaced two members of The Replacements. Bob DunlapSlim Dunlap
Bob "Slim" Dunlap is an American rock musician. He is a Minnesota-based guitarist and singer-songwriter who is best known for replacing The Replacements's original lead guitarist, Bob Stinson in 1987...
now known as "Slim" replaced guitarist Bob Stinson
Bob Stinson
For the baseball player, see Bob Stinson Bob Stinson was the founding member and lead guitarist for the American rock band The Replacements.-The Replacements:...
, who was fired in 1986 after the tour for Tim
Tim (album)
Tim is an album released in October 1985 on Sire Records by the alternative rock band The Replacements. It was their first major label release...
and died at age 36 in 1995. Foley replaced drummer and painter Chris Mars
Chris Mars
Chris Mars is an American artist and musician. He was the drummer for seminal Minneapolis, Minnesota alternative rock band The Replacements and later joined informal supergroup Golden Smog before launching a solo career. He is also a painter, and has more or less left music behind to concentrate...
, who left the band in 1990.
Westerberg and Tommy Stinson went out looking for a drummer in 1990, decided on Foley, who was willing, and asked him to drive them all to an audition. They skipped the audition which became their first practice together when their just-released album All Shook Down
All Shook Down
All Shook Down is the final album by the band The Replacements, released on September 25, 1990 .This album was originally intended to be band leader Paul Westerberg's solo artist debut. As a result of its initial intent, All Shook Down is marked by numerous session, side and journeyman-musicians,...
happened to be in his car's CD player—loudly when Foley turned on the ignition. The band as well as observers knew at the time that it was self-destructing.
Foley first played with The Replacements publicly for First Avenue's twentieth anniversary. After seeing him play with this band at the Orpheum Theatre, his father finally decided that Foley was a professional musician. Starting in January 1991, The Replacements toured Europe for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
' Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
for All Shook Down as the opening act for Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
. But their review in New York was poor and they broke up, perhaps because Westerberg was in pursuit of a solo career, or they just quit. What is known is that Paul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg
Paul Westerberg is an American musician, best known as the former lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter of The Replacements, one of the seminal alternative rock bands of the 1980s. He launched a solo career after the dissolution of that band...
, Mars, and Bob and Tommy Stinson
Tommy Stinson
Thomas "Tommy" Eugene Stinson is an American musician best known for his work as the bassist for The Replacements and Guns N' Roses as well as the post-Replacements groups Bash & Pop, where he performed guitar duties, and Perfect...
who formed The Replacements played rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
that was perhaps the most legendary and might be the most influential so far to emerge from Minnesota. Second only to Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Westerberg has been called the state's most influential rock songwriter.
At number 69 (Don't Tell a Soul
Don't Tell a Soul
Don't Tell a Soul is an album released in 1989 by The Replacements.The album was a stylistic change from their previous albums. Where Tim and Pleased to Meet Me could be classified as alternative or punk, this album was more of a straightforward rock album. Reviewers noted the music's more mature...
reached 57) on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, All Shook Down was The Replacements' second-best selling album. It received four stars from Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
who called The Replacements "America's best band". Allmusic didn't like it but gave the album four and a half stars, and, undated, appears to predict the band's breakup.
Early on The Replacements refused to make videos but later made commercial videos for Sire and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. Approximately at the time of Foley's tenure, "Merry-Go-Round" with a supporting video with Mars on drums reached number 1, "When It Began" with a clay animation video with Foley on drums reached number 4, and "Someone Take the Wheel" reached 15 on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks.
When Warner's Rhino
Rhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
released four early Replacements albums from Twin/Tone in April 2008, Stinson and Westerberg discussed a reunion in Billboard. Westerberg was in favor of waiting for the reissues of the four Sire albums later that year. Which drummer they had in mind might be unknown. Stinson had praised Foley's work which was on beat rather than behind it like Mars. Westerberg was impressed initially that Foley knew so much of The Replacements' material but also criticized him as he did most of his bandmates. Josh Freese
Josh Freese
Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
played drums and Mars contributed backup vocals but not drums on a Rhino compilation in 2005. Practice in October 2008 was with Michael Bland
Michael Bland
Michael Bland is best known as a drummer for Prince starting in 1989. He was with Prince during The New Power Generation era and played with him live and on albums for 7 years....
.
Later years
After The Replacements disbanded, Foley joined Stinson in Bash & PopBash & Pop
Bash & Pop were an American alternative rock group formed in 1992 by Tommy Stinson in Minneapolis, Minnesota following the breakup of previous group, The Replacements...
and in 1994 both Steve and brother Kevin Foley toured for and may not have played on their 1993 album Friday Night Is Killing Me on Sire / Reprise. In 1997 Foley recorded Something Wonderful with Lack in the band 69 later known as Wheelo.
More recently Foley sold Nissan
Nissan Motors
, usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn ....
cars. He married in 2007 and lived in south Minneapolis across the street from Mars, both of whom owned BMW motorcycles. Wheelo reassembled in late 2007 at least for practice throughout 2008, and according to a bandmate, "Steve's last cymbal crash came down during a raucous, frenzied, and ridiculously silly jam in the key of 'b'." He had been sober for fifteen years but he had been medicated for depression and anxiety. Foley died at age 49 from an accidental overdose of prescription medicine; though some papers reported it as a drug overdose. He is buried in Lakewood Cemetery
Lakewood Cemetery
Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown area...
in Minneapolis.