Steve Albini, a severe poker participant whose day job was recording among the most influential musicians of the final 25 years, died of a coronary heart assault Tuesday, Could 7. He was 61.
Albini owned Electrical Audio, a recording studio in Chicago that grew to become a kind of Mecca for among the largest bands of the 90s and past. The checklist of bands he recorded goes into the 1,000s, and consists of among the largest cultural influencers of the final a number of generations — Nirvana, The Breeders, The Pixies, Superchunk, Silkworm, Slint, The Jesus Lizard, PJ Harvey, Sunn O))), and The Marriage ceremony Current.
He famously refused to just accept royalties on albums, as a substitute thought of himself as a kind of plumber getting paid to do a sure job. It simply so occurred that his job was to document rock ‘n roll bands that went on to promote hundreds of thousands.
Albini additionally performed guitar and bass in a number of bands, the longest, Shellac, which is scheduled to launch its sixth album, “To All Trains,” on Could 17. The post-hardcore trio had been collectively since 1992 and had been getting ready a tour to help their new launch.
Albini the poker champion
Albini was a lifetime card participant who has been a part of common dwelling video games since his school years, and was identified to chop recording periods brief with the intention to chase whales in Indiana poker rooms and past.
He thought of his finest recreation Stud, and he gained his first World Sequence of Poker bracelet in a $1,500 Stud occasion in 2018. That closing desk included 2000 WSOP Major Occasion winner Chris Ferguson and Jeff Lisandro, a six-time WSOP winner, 4 of which got here in stud and its variants. Albini gained $105,629.
Albini gained his second bracelet in 2022 in a $1,5000 HORSE occasion, which was his closing money on the WSOP in Las Vegas. It was good for $196,089.
He considered poker as a “betting recreation that includes playing cards” which was “an mental drawback” to be solved. He was as soon as a mixed-game teacher at CardRunners, and his long-running legendary small-stakes dwelling recreation was generally known as a lab for mixed-game variants.
His dwelling recreation attracted a few of Chicago’s finest mixed-game gamers, together with Brandon Shack-Harris, Eric Rodawig, Matt Grapenthien, Jason Gola, and Matt Ashton. A brand new variant of poker referred to as Slingo — which is known as after a track by one in all Albini’s shoppers, punk band Bare Raygun.
He additionally posted 100s of time as “electrical” on 2+2 boards, largely focussing on mixed-game variants like Razz, Stud 8, Badugi, and 2-7 triple draw.
“The whole lot in my life is available in items, in components. Poker is one a part of my life,” Albini informed WSOP reporters after his second win in 2022. “So after I’m enjoying poker, I attempt to decide to it. I attempt to take it severely. I attempt to ensure I dedicate the eye to it that it deserves as an occupation.
But it surely’s solely a part of my yr. I solely play tournaments on the World Sequence of Poker. I play money video games informally in Chicago. It’s part of my livelihood, however it’s not my career.”
Albini is survived by his spouse Heather Whinna.
