



GLENDALE (WITI) -- The victim of a weekend house fire in Glendale has been identified as 49-year-old Steven Kleiber, a longtime Milwaukee musician.



Kleiber was the only one home at the time of the fire, around 10 p.m. on Saturday, February 8th. His body was found in the living room where the fire is believed to have started. The home is a total loss.



Kleiber played bass and toured with the Willy Porter Band. Friends described him as a prankster who was fun to be around.



"I'm just going to miss him so much because he really was a brother to me," said Willy Porter. "We were all living the dream, and that youthful exuberance and just being a tribe together. That forges a bond that, I don't think you can get that anywhere else. There's a big hole in our hearts but we're going to work to fill it with good stuff."



Porter and others are working to establish a scholarship fund for bass players at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Kleiber's memory.



"It would be great to have a scholarship to really memorialize Steve, but also to support the continuing of that music in the next generation of ours," said Matt Borkowski.



The conservatory says Kleiber's musicianship can live on by the contributions so others can be the driving force on bass. Those starting the scholarship say they are planning a fundraising concert this fall in Kleiber's memory.



Related Stories:

