I'm very sad to report that our very own Carl Stephen "ironbut" Koto passed away on July 2, presumably from the lung cancer he informed us about in late May. Several of us have been concerned about his absence and both Ric and I (and maybe others) tried calling him to no avail, eventually receiving notice that the line was no longer in service. I tried searching for information but did not find anything until this morning I finally found a death notice for Carl Koto in Eugene, Oregon at age 66, and that must be him. 😢

Steve was a great and gentle guy and a fantastic Head-caser. His reel to reel rig will be remembered as one of the all-time best headphone experiences for many, many people. I'm happy that he had a few years of retirement in Eugene when he could make music and take it easy, but it truly sucks that he didn't have longer. 

Just to prove how humble and unassuming Steve was, I couldn't find a decent picture of him so I hope others can find more to post here. RIP Steve, you will be missed.

Damn. Bad news Al. RIP Steve!

RIP Steve!

Very sad news. His reel to reel was the best front end I've ever heard. A very nice and humble guy. RIP Steve😪

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Terrible news.  Steve was as likeable and easy going as a person gets.  RIP ironbut.

Edited December 12, 20214 yr by guzziguy

Feared this news, but still a bit of a shock. Thanks for conversations in the shared car rides Steve. Thanks for letting us know Al. 

Very sad to hear. RIP, IB.

RIP Steve  A true gentleman of Head-Case. You will be missed.

Very very sad news....RIP.

RIP, Steve.

Fuck. Steve was such a real guy, so damn friendly and easy to talk to. Will be missed. 

Very sad news. I didn't know Steve very well, but he was such a valuable contributor for so many years.

Godspeed, Steve.

That is very sad indeed! 

Steve was an awesome guy. He will be sorely missed. I remember our trip to Hayward for some beer event. That was a really fun day!

He definitely left too soon.

R.I.P. Steve

 Very sad an unfortunate news. RIP, Steve. I didn't have the luck of meeting him or having a close communication, but I always had the feeling that he was a great guy from his posts. Fuck cancer.

RIP @ironbut
This one hurts.  I do remember vividly meeting him at your house, Al, and indeed he was so kind and humble and genuine and affable...and wiry, for some reason I remember his physique.  I remember laughing when I found out his moniker was "iron butt" because he didn't seem to have an ounce of fat on him.  IIRC, he was a marathon runner or something, but an absolute health nut.

Fuck cancer.

Fuuuuck.  RIP Steve.  

I can only echo the sentiments of others, shit, this sucks.  RIP Steve.

RIP Steve

I’ve been privately wishing him well. 

Thanks Al for letting us know. 

RIP Steve.

Does anyone have links to any music compositions Steve may have posted online?

14 minutes ago, dsavitsk said:

RIP Steve.

Does anyone have links to any music compositions Steve may have posted online?

 

RIP, Steve. 

Steve was a fantastic and giving guy. The world would be a much better place if we had more Steve's around. You are truly missed my friend.

What a great guy. So sad. RIP, Steve.

RIP Steve, I'll be raising a usual to your memory.