Steve West
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. He has also become active as an artist in Rockbridge County, Virginia.
Steve West
- Name
- Steve West
- Born
- 8 December 1966
- Birthplace
- Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- musician
- Education
- Virginia Commonwealth University
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
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. He has also become active as an artist in Rockbridge County, Virginia.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Steve West. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3973418
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Steve West • Born — 8 December 1966 • Birthplace — Charlottesville, Virginia, United States • Origin — Rockbridge County, Virginia • Genre — * Alternative rock • indie rock • Instrument — Drums • Years Active — 1993–present • Label — * Matador • Echostatic • Current Member Of — * Pavement • Marble Valley • Past Member Of — Silver Jews
Early life
Early life
A native of Richmond, Virginia, West went to high school with future Pavement bandmate Bob Nastanovich; the two first met when West was fourteen years old. He then attended Virginia Commonwealth University, where he majored in art, before moving to New York City and working as a security guard at the Whitney Museum. One of his coworkers at the Whitney was Stephen Malkmus, another of his future bandmates in Pavement.
Pavement: 1993–1999; 2010; 2019–2023
Pavement: 1993–1999; 2010; 2019–2023
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; 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 disagreed. 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 2022-2023 tour.
Marble Valley: 1997–present
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 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
Silver Jews: 1994
He performed drums and backing vocals on the Silver Jews album Starlite Walker.
Personal life
Personal life
As of 2003, West lived in rural Virginia with his wife and children.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1966
Steve West was born on 8 December 1966.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Allen, Mike. Pavement drummer, Steve Keene show work at Roanoke College. The Daily Progress. September 8, 2017.
- 2.Jovanovic, Rob. Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement. Justin, Charles & Co. 2004. 9781932112078.
- 3.Itzkoff, Dave. Pavement Will Return. The New York Times. September 17, 2009. 0362-4331.
- 4.Groot, Joey. 6 Great Bands with Unconventional Drumming: Pavement, the Velvet Underground, and more. Music Times. April 16, 2014.
- 5.Straight Outta Stockton: Life Lessons from Pavement's Gary Young. Noisey. August 19, 2015.
- 6.Patterson, Troy. Pavement's Greatest Hits. Slate. March 18, 2010.
- 7.Ankeny, Jason. Marble Valley Biography & History. AllMusic.
- 8.Hawthorne, Marc. Pavement's Promise. SF Weekly. June 23, 2010.
- 9.Hogan, Mike. Stephen Malkmus. Pitchfork Media. February 1, 2003.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
authority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,866 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Steve VaiPerson
- Steve VawamasPerson
- Steve WacholzPerson
- Steve WalshPerson
- Steve WillaertPerson
- Steve WilliamsPerson
- Steve WilliamsonPerson
- Steve WilsonPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Steve West?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.