Stephen West (born December 8, 1966) is an American musician. From 1993 to 1999 he was the drummer for the indie rock band Pavement appearing on four of their studio albums. Since Pavement broke up, he has also become active as an artist in Rockbridge County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Early life

A native of Richmond, Virginia, West went to high school with future Pavement bandmate

Bob Nastanovich Robert Nastanovich (born August 27, 1967) is an American musician and member of the indie rock band Pavement, as well as a former member of Silver Jews, Ectoslavia, Pale Horse Riders, and Misshapen Lodge. Early life Bob Nastanovich was born i ...

; the two first met when West was fourteen years old. He then attended

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

, where he majored in art, before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and working as a security guard at the

Whitney Museum The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

. One of his coworkers at the Whitney was

Stephen Malkmus Stephen Joseph Malkmus (born May 30, 1966) is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and as a solo artist. ...

, another of his future bandmates in Pavement.

Career

Pavement: 1993–1999; 2010; 2019–2022

West was recruited to join Pavement in 1993, after the band dismissed their original drummer, Gary Young. West's first performance with the band was on their 1994 album ''

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain ''Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain'' is the second studio album by American indie rock band Pavement, released on February 14, 1994 by Matador Records. The album saw the band move on towards a more accessible rock sound than that of their more lo-fi ...

''; he remained in the band until they broke up in 1999. While in Pavement, West was frequently criticized and disparaged by Malkmus for not being technically proficient enough. West has been described as an "infinitely more competent" drummer than Young, although Young himself disagrees. He is the subject of "Westie Can Drum", a B-side released on the Pavement single " Stereo". He has appeared on their 2010 reunion tour as well as their 2022 tour.

Marble Valley: 1997–present

While a member of Pavement, West started a solo project, Marble Valley, of which he is the frontman. Marble Valley released its debut album in 1997. In 2010, Marc Hawthorne of ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards ...

'' described Marble Valley as "...a strange bird, playing around with pop, postpunk, psychedelics, rap, and whatever else it can get its hands on in service of songs that can go from weird to weirder."

Silver Jews: 1994

He performed drums and backing vocals on the Silver Jews album “ Starlite Walker.”

Personal life

As of 2003, West lived in rural Virginia with his wife and children.He lived in Brisbane, Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Steve Living people 1966 births American rock drummers Pavement (band) members Musicians from Charlottesville, Virginia Virginia Commonwealth University alumni 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Silver Jews members 20th-century American male musicians