It is with a heavy heart that we mourn the loss of the indelible Stevie Bodenmiller—a creative and intellectual force who left an undeniable mark on everyone she encountered, and whose unrelenting spirit helped shape the cultural and musical landscape of post-Katrina New Orleans. Stevie moved to the city from Grand Rapids in 2006, quickly becoming an integral figure in the burgeoning downtown arts and music scene.
Her legacy lives on vividly through her work as a core member of the electronic dance and performance art group Statutory Triangle, where she was my bandmate, writing partner, and co-conspirator in some of the most visceral, dangerous, and often literally explosive live performances the city has ever seen. In recent years, Stevie was a familiar sight across town as a committed cyclist—racing down the avenues at breakneck speeds, rarely stopping to chat, and offering little more than a quick, knowing glance to anyone lucky enough to break her gaze from the road ahead. As she wrote in one of our songs for Statutory Triangle, “My only speed is the speed of light”—a truth anyone who knew her can attest to.
As a collaborator, Stevie’s vast knowledge of music, literature, film, and life in the fast lane had an outsized impact on me and on everyone who had the endurance to work alongside her. As a friend, she was magnetic, hilarious, committed, and undeniably complex. She had an extraordinary pull—an ability to lift you up and take you along on wild new adventures.
I met Stevie when I was just 16. Seven years my senior, my friendship with her blew open the doors to a creative world I could hardly have imagined, and her influence shaped who I am on a fundamental level. Two decades later in New York City, I remain deeply involved in the underground arts and music scene, unable to fathom who or where I would be without her. The same goes for the city of New Orleans itself, where few who knew her could deny that her influence is still felt in ways that are only now visible in hindsight.
In her final days, Stevie was met with an outpouring of support from friends who loved her and people whose lives she touched. Despite her estrangement from her family in Michigan, she drew her last breaths in the company of the family she found here in New Orleans, surrounded by those who cared for her deeply.
We lost a real one with Stevie, but I—and so many others—will hold her close forever. Rest well, sister. It’s been a wild ride. —Rhodes Murphy
Top: Stevie performing with Statutory Triangle at Spellcaster Lodge, September 25, 2009. (photo by Gary LoVerde)
