Eric Toline Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 This is a homage to a good friend and my first boom op when I was mixing in Chicago 25 years ago. Steve had been fighting gastro intestinal issues for a long time and they finally got the best of him yesterday. Some years ago he moved to the Washington DC area and established himself as one of the goto mixers in the area. Sufficeit to say he will be missed by all who had the unique pleasure to know him. The memories of the good times and you will never fade. RIP "Boom Boom Shaka Laka" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Mayer Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 So sad to hear this. I had been following the random updates we got on his Facebook account, he fought long and hard. RIP Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gilchrist Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Steve suffered from Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, a chronic and progressive disease with no known cause. It eventually leads to liver failure. Steve had been hospitalized for a little over 2 months at the time of his passing. A liver transplant would have prolonged his life or maybe even eliminated the disorder but no suitable donor was available. If you're not already an organ donor, sign up now. It's simple, costs nothing and saves lives. http://www.organdonor.gov/becomingdonor/ http://www.dmv.org/organ-donor.php Best regards, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Riordan Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Please allow me to tell you a little about Steve "Boom Shaka Laka" LaFayette. Steve was the sweetest, warmest, most open hearted and easy going guy you'd ever meet. He never had anything negative to say about anyone and would do whatever he could to help someone else out. He had this soft spoken Texas thing going on. He had a great smile and an infectious laugh. He loved music and English football (soccer). He was engaged to be married to his long time love Theresa. Steve was dealt a bad hand. He had been battling a genetic liver disorder for a very long time. And even though he had to deal with health insurance issues, public health care (Cook County Hospital), expensive medication and the inability to get on a donor list, his demeanor was always bright and positive. He used to have smiley face stickers on his headphones. Steve was my boom operator in the beginning of my freelance career. We started out doing independent shorts. One of the firsts we were paid $75 a day and slept on the floor of the producer's parents house out of town. We did a bunch of independent features together. Our corporate and commercial jobs allowed us the freedom to work on independent "art" films. We enjoyed the camaraderie of working on small shoots with good people and the feeling you get when everyone on the crew is working together for something. We often worked with many of the same people. They were family. After many independents we finally got our union cards. When I got asked to mix my first union feature, Steve was my first call. The next year we were fortunate to have two features at Sundance, an independent and our first union picture. We worked together for so long we were like an old married couple. Too often I was the grumpy old man yelling at Steve for no good reason. For this I'm eternally sorry. Steve eventually moved to DC and I was not good about keeping in touch. The seriousness of his health problems and his passing came as a shock. As I prepare for the biggest and longest job of my professional career, I can't help but reflect back on the beginning with Steve. How much we learned together about production sound and filmmaking. Things they don't teach you in school and there were no internet forums back then. Set etiquette, working with other departments and actors, plant mics, how to be humble and pick your battles, travel, etc. the list goes on and on. These things you can only learn by doing the work. Many of the relationships we started back then have grown over the years to lead to bigger and better things for me. I've been very fortunate the last few years and I owe a great deal of that success to Steve LaFayette. I'm sorry I didn't tell him that. So Stevo, thank you buddy and know you will be missed but not forgotten! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Wonderful reminiscence, Alex! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 So young RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Anderson Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 That was an amazing read, Alex. It's easy to get caught up in a particular shot. Which turns into getting caught up in a particular scene. Then a job. It's easy to let the work blind you to some of the more important relationships in our lives. After reading that post, I can only imagine Steve felt the warmth of your friendship even in the most trying days on set. It sounds like he was a special person that some were lucky to spend their daily 12 hours of captivity on set with. Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriskellett Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Beautiful words Alex, Steve told me some of the stories from his early days when I got to know him after he moved out east here. Sound Speed Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollandaudio Posted May 16, 2015 Report Share Posted May 16, 2015 Condolences to the family and Thanks for the info. Glad there's a space on the forum for these posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Gilchrist Posted May 30, 2015 Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 Steve's obituary and details of the memorial service on June 6 can be found here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?n=steven-jones&pid=174963397&fhid=2180 Best regards, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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