Biography

Originally from Detroit, Riley worked as an assistant audio engineer for George Clinton's stable of Parliament-Funkadelic

Parliament-Funkadelic

Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...

 bands. He is credited on albums Trombipulation

Trombipulation

Trombipulation is a 1980 album by the funk band Parliament . It was released by Casablanca Records. It was the last album of original material produced by the group. Unlike previous Parliament albums, George Clinton did not serve as sole producer of the album, as other P-Funk figures assisted in...

and The Electric Spanking of War Babies

The Electric Spanking of War Babies

The Electric Spanking of War Babies is the twelfth studio album by American funk band Funkadelic, released in 1981 on Warner Bros. Records. The title is an allusion to the Vietnam War and baby boomers...

. He also occasionally served as a session musician for his friends.

In the early eighties, he relocated to Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 where he played various musical instruments in several bands including Savage Beliefs. He joined Big Black

Big Black

Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...

 playing bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

 in 1984. The following year, he produced and played saxophone on the Ward EP by End Result. In 1990, he played bass, piano, and percussion on the Algebra Suicide album Alpha Cue.

In 1993, he suffered a stroke from which he has largely recovered, with his cognitive processes fully intact. Reports of a failed suicide attempt

Failed suicide attempt

Failed suicide attempts comprise a large portion of suicide attempts. Some are regarded as not true attempts at all, but rather parasuicide. The usual attempt may be a wish to affect another person by the behaviour. Consequently, it occurs in a social context and may represent a request for help....

or a drug overdose were patently untrue; there is a history of early stroke on his mother's side of his family.

In 2003, Riley moved to Warsaw, Illinois.