Born on December 8, 1966, in Charlottesville, Virginia, Steve West launched Marble Valley as his solo outlet while holding the drum chair in Pavement for many years. He had already crossed paths with Bob Nastanovich during high school, a connection that later extended to the band, and he went on to study art at Virginia Commonwealth University. After moving to New York City, West took a security post at the Whitney Museum in the company of Stephen Malkmus, who would soon become Pavement’s frontman and another close collaborator. The storied indie outfit parted ways with Gary Young in 1993, at which point West was brought in as drummer and made his first appearance with the group the next year on the widely praised Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. Marble Valley’s debut album, Sauckiehall Street, surfaced in 1997, followed three years later by Sunset Sprinkler. A six-year interval preceded the arrival of the third full-length effort, Wild Yams.
