Lou “L.A.” Kouvaris, Riot’s original guitarist passed away at the age of 66, the band announced.
Manager Giles Lavery recently reported that Kouvaris had been suffering from symptoms similar to COVID-19, the illness caused by the pandemic, coronavirus, but no cause of death was confirmed.
Kouvaris was a member of Riot from 1975 to 1978, and had appeared from the band’s debut album, 1977’s Rock City. When he left, he went on as a session musician, notably appearing on recordings by the Village People, and a series of projects – he opened a commercial production studio in L.A. in 1988. He’d made few guest appearances with Riot V when they renamed themselves following Reale’s death in 2012. Last year, he reunited with his former colleagues as Riot Act, concentrating on the band’s first three LPs.
“Riot has lost another brother,” the band said via social media. “Lou played on the very first Riot record ‘Rock City’ and performed with the current lineup many times as we are family. We are saddened by his passing.” They added that they intended to “continue in his and the Riot family honor,” and concluded: “Rest in Power Lou! Now start working on music with Guy Mark and Rhett! Shine on Warrior!”
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In 2019 Kouvaris explained how their new project came to being, he told Forgotten Scroll: “I went to Japan in 2015 with Riot V as special guest; I did a little tour with them. Riot V was very gracious and the rest is history.” He added: “We are going to do an album, resurrect some old and bring in some new songs.”