Steve Foley, who replaced Chris Mars as the Replacements’ drummer during the band's final year of existence, died this past weekend of an apparent accidental prescription-drug overdose. He was 49.
As reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Foley had been “by the book” sober for almost 15 years. He had struggled with depression and anxiety in recent years, however, and at the time of his death was employed as a car salesman.
Prior to his brief tenure with the Replacements, Foley had been a fixture on the Twin Cities music scene, playing with legendary artist Curtiss A and a host of other bands. Mary Lucia, a popular Minneapolis DJ and younger sister of Replacements leader Paul Westerberg, described Foley as “a beautiful and gentle soul, the kind of dude that strange things happened to.”
According to the Star Tribune, visitation will take place this Friday at 11 a.m. at Washburn-McReavy Funeral Chapel in Edina, Minnesota, with burial to follow at Lakewood Cemetery.―Russell Hall