Gradwell House studio launches fundraiser for late founder Steve Poponi’s family
The week since the local sound person passed at age 48 has seen an outpouring of love from the local music community.
When veteran South Jersey sound engineer Steve Poponi passed away suddenly on October 31st, the reactions from artists and friends across the regional music scene mixed a profound sense of grief alongside a swarm of memories that were, more often than not, quite hilarious.
For someone like Poponi, this is fitting: at 48, he was a big brother figure to several generations of local musicians. Someone who could ease the most stressful situation at a gig or in the studio with class clown antics, like stage diving with a slice of pizza or pirouetting in front of LED screens before showtime. He was a lovable curmudgeon who’d tease you mercilessly from behind the mixing board — his roastings became the thing of legend, particularly as tributes to him trickled out on social media — while at the same time inspiring you to be the best artist you could be. From his time in the influential emo band Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start to his founding of The Gradwell House, a recording studio and rehearsal space in Haddon Heights that has been a creative hub for the South Jersey and Philadelphia scenes for the past 20 years, Poponi’s impact on the local music scene runs wide and deep.
He was on tour when he passed, and is survived by his wife Nicole, and daughters Jane and Clara. This week, his partner at Gradwell House, Dave Downham, launched an online fundraiser to support the Poponi family, and noted that future events and fundraisers to celebrate his memory are in the works.
“Steve was not content to live an ordinary life or to do things that he didn’t want to do and he tried to inspire others to do the same,” Downham wrote on The Gradwell House’s social media. “He inspired me and I take much comfort in the fact that he was exactly where he wanted to be when this happened. What better crystallization of a life than to find and fulfill your purpose and be stoked doing it.”
For more on how to support the Poponi family, visit The Gradwell House’s website.
