18 Facts About Dave Riley

David Michael Riley was an American musician who was the bassist in the punk rock band Big Black from 1985 until the band's dissolution in 1987.

Dave Riley moved to Chicago in 1982 from Detroit, where he had worked as a recording engineer.

Dave Riley became a blogger, and published a book in 2006 titled Blurry and Disconnected: Tales of Sink-or-Swim Nihilism.

Dave Riley died in late 2019 from squamous cell carcinoma.

In Detroit, Dave Riley worked as a recording engineer at a studio where funk artists George Clinton and Sly Stone recorded.

Dave Riley moved to Chicago in 1982 and became bassist in the punk band Savage Beliefs, who released one EP, The Moral Efficiency of Savage Beliefs.

Dave Riley met Big Black guitarist Santiago Durango at a punk show at the Cubby Bear, where Durango, drunk and vomiting in the club's restroom, complimented his playing style.

Dave Riley joined Big Black the week of Racer-X release in April 1985, while keeping his day job as a litigation law clerk.

Dave Riley learned the group's repertoire, and they began writing songs for the band's first LP.

Tensions were mounting within the band, with Dave Riley earning Albini's ire.

Dave Riley worked with other bands in subsequent years: He produced Chicago hardcore punk band Rights of the Accused's 1987 album Dillinger's Alley with Iain Burgess; sang gang vocals on the song "Red" on Flour's self-titled 1988 album; produced Spongetunnel's 1989 EP ; played bass, piano, and additional percussion on two tracks on Algebra Suicide's 1990 album Alpha Cue; and played bass on Bull's "Tinbox" single.

Dave Riley had a stroke in 1993 which caused paraplegia; he was unable to walk, and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Dave Riley was able to get out of the government care system in 2001, and moved into an apartment south of Chicago.

Dave Riley later moved to a farm in west-central Illinois with longtime friend Rachel Brown, who he had met in the late 1980s.

In 2006 Dave Riley published Blurry and Disconnected: Tales of Sink-or-Swim, a book consisting of five satirical short stories and a novella.

Dave Riley started a blog that year titled "Worthless Goddamn Cripple", on which he wrote about his experiences until 2008.

Dave Riley bridged the gap between raw enthusiasm and outstanding musicianship better than anybody else in our peer group and I always admired him for it", while Durango remarked "Many of my favorite Big Black memories involve Dave, including the riot he single-handedly started by taunting the audience at one of our shows in Australia.

Dave Riley was a positive force in my life and I will miss him dearly.