Former Portland Electronic Musician Joey Casio Among the Missing Following Oakland Club Fire

Casio was scheduled to perform at the Ghostship venue on Friday night when the blaze broke out.

Joey Casio performing at PDX Pop Now 2010. IMAGE: Nathan Backous.
By Matthew Singer

A formerly Portland-based electronic musician remains unaccounted for following the deadly fire at a warehouse venue in Oakland this past weekend.

Joseph Matlock, better known as Joey Casio, was scheduled to play Friday night at Ghostship, a performance and art space in the Fruitvale neighborhood, under the name Obsidian Blade. According to the East Bay Express, Matlock entered the venue around 11:15 p.m. About 10 minutes later, the fire broke out.

Officials have placed the confirmed death toll at 36 so far. As of the publication of this article, Matlock was listed as missing. On Sunday, Pitchfork mistakenly reported that he was confirmed to be among the victims.

While Casio made his name as a producer in Olympia, Wash., he relocated to Portland briefly a few years ago. He performed at PDX Pop Now in 2010.

Several friends and fans began posting tributes to Matlock on social media over the weekend, including K Records owner Calvin Johnson, who's begun selling a collection of singles Matlock recorded for the label to raise money for the Ghostship Fire Relief Fund.

On Monday morning, officials announced they were halting the search for bodies due to hazardous conditions, and said it may take days to finish.

We will update this article as news becomes available.

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