Steve Soto
August 23, 1963 – June 27, 2018
Steve Soto, best known as the co-founder of influential Southern California punk bands, Agent Orange and the Adolescents, has passed away. The 54-year-old musician died in his sleep on June 27, 2018 – reportedly of natural causes. A multi-instrumentalist, Soto played bass in both bands – first in Agent Orange, which formed in 1979, then in the Adolescents, which he helped form the following year. Along with Social Distortion and the Vandals, Soto and his groups would emerge as the most influential punk bands, hardcore or otherwise, to come out of Orange County during the early ’80s. Members of the Offspring, Green Day and Rancid have since noted Soto’s direct influence on them. Signed to the legendary independent label, Frontier Records in 1981, the Adolescents released eight studio albums and several EPs, live albums and singles throughout their career. Over the band’s 38 on-and-off years of existence, Soto was the only constant through the break-ups and reunions.
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