14 Dec 18th-Dec 24th, 2025 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Penzone: This much I know. (Daly) He was from Virginia, and he started learning how to play the guitar back then. He would be hanging around all these country blue- grass pickers because it’s Virginia, and then he got into the rock and roll thing. He told me once a long time ago that he used to follow George Thorogood and the Destroyers around like we used to follow him around, you know, with the Geezers and Hellfire. Deborah McDevitt Gill (owner of Sun Club): My earliest memories of Kevin go back to my first years in the Arizona music scene, when Grant & the Geezers were part of that wild, magnetic world that pulled so many of us into what Tempe would eventually become. Even then, Kevin stood out — humble, sharp- witted, and carrying a spark that made every room feel more alive. Years later, when I owned and booked the Sun Club, our paths crossed again in that beautifully chaotic way the scene always seemed to work. Whether it was Hellfire, Grave Danger, or one of the many bands orbiting that community, Kevin wasn’t just someone who played shows — he showed up for people. He’d sit in with friends, jump onstage when someone needed him, and elevate the night without ever making it about himself. Bands like Dead Hot Workshop, Beat Angels, and the Pistoleros were regulars in that world too, and Kevin moved through that shared circle with such ease — always connecting, always adding that quiet bril- liance only he could bring. And truly, our paths never stopped crossing. Wicked sense of humor Fink: When we worked together, he would come to work, and I would see him on the security cameras. He would come driving up in his pickup. The overhead door was raised by the time he got there, and I would see him just creep by real slow. He’d be down in his seat like a low rider with his wayfarers on, not even looking at the camera, just flipping me a bird as he drove by in slow-mo. Every fucking day, he did that. It was great. We always talked a lot about gratitude and being grateful. I mean, we were both train wrecks (when we were younger), but I was always so grateful to spend time with him. Kevin was a really good worker. He would sometimes send over these musi- cians (to work for me), and I would give him shit because a lot of them would just want to stand around and tell stories instead of work. Kevin wasn’t like that, but he was always trying to help people out. When Kevin came to work, though, he came to work. I would always ask him why he would send me over a bunch of slackers when he could have just come and gotten the job done. Alan Bishop (Sun City Girls): Kevin was not only a great guitarist and performer but an overall great guy, always upbeat and funny as hell. Here is a story from 1983 when I lived near Kevin in Tempe. A drummer who lived next door to me invited Kevin to come over to hear his new trio play their songs. After running through their set, he asked Kevin what he thought of their sound. Kevin said, “It’s Rubbish!” The next day, Dave knocked on my door and proudly handed me his new band business card, which said “Rubbish - Music for Nobody.” That’s how respected Kevin Daly was — even his insult was revered. Michael Roberts (aka Mike Skullbuster, friend and bandmate): He just made me feel at home from the day I met Kevin. He was like a big brother to me, and I’m sure everybody has said the exact same thing. Every time I was around him, if some- body needed something, he’d be like, ‘Hey, let’s go help those people,’ and if I needed it, he was there for me. It was never about Kevin and anything he ever did, man. He would say, “We are all adopted. Unless you were born here in Arizona, then Arizona adopts us, and it makes this little family.” Roy Valencia (Overstand, ex-Grave Danger, Leppard Skynnr): Kevin’s songs are so fun to play. Out of all the bands I’ve ever been in, I miss playing in Grave Danger the most. We might open with a surf song, then play a rockabilly song, then a punk song, then a swing song. He could write anything. He would do this thing when he was doing a solo, where he would sometimes just go and go, but he had this signal where he would raise his foot to let us know he was going back into the verse or chorus. He was so good. It was an honor to play with him. Gill: Even after my Sun Club years, I remember seeing him in Flathead for a time — just another reminder of how seamlessly he flowed through the heart of the Arizona music landscape. What I carry with me now isn’t one specific show, but the feeling of his presence — the generosity, the camaraderie, and the way he helped shape the sound and soul of Tempe. I’m grateful to have shared those wild and beautiful years with him. Kevin Daly in the ’80s. (Grant Cleaver) End of An Era from p 13
