Punk bassist Steve Soto, who played in the Adolescents and Agent Orange, dies at 54

Steve Soto, who founded punk rock stalwarts the Adolescents and played in a series of bands during nearly 40 years in the Southern California music scene, has died. He was 54.

Adolescents singer Tony Reflex shared the news on the band’s Twitter page. The coroner’s office says Soto died of natural causes Tuesday at home in Orange County.

A multi-instrumentalist, Soto played bass in Agent Orange, which he co-founded in 1979. The band was one of the first to combine punk rock and surf music.

He left a year later to start the Adolescents, which went on to release eight albums, including 2018’s “Cropduster,” and recently completed a U.S. tour

Soto was also a member of Manic Hispanic and Joyride.

Fellow Orange County rockers The Offspring tweeted that Soto was “an inspiration.” Also, the band Social Distortion tweeted that Soto will go down as “one of the pioneers not only in the Orange County music scene, but the world.”