Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Steve Soto, founder of punk rock stalwarts the Adolescents who played in a series of bands during nearly 40 years in the Southern California music scene, has died. He was 54.
Adolescents' singer Tony Reflex shared the news on the band's Twitter page. The coroner's office says Soto died Tuesday at home in Orange County of natural causes.
A multi-instrumentalist, Soto played bass in Agent Orange, which he co-founded in 1979. The band was one of the first to combine punk rock and surf music.
He left a year later to start the Adolescents, which went on to release eight albums, including 2018's "Cropduster," and recently completed a U.S. tour.
Soto was also a member of Manic Hispanic and Joyride.
Fellow California rockers Offspring tweeted that Soto was "an inspiration."
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
