Masquerade owner Dean Riopelle RIP
Details regarding memorial service will be posted here as soon as they become available.
The Atlanta music community is saddened to learn of the tragic death of Dean Riopelle, the owner/president of Masquerade who passed away Tuesday morning (Sept. 24). It was reported he had a heart attack sometime last week which resulted in a coma and no documented brain activity, and due to the severity of the damage and low expectations of recovery, his family had to decide that he be taken off life support. He was 53 years old, and is survived by his mother and two children.
Over the many years of operation under Riopelle's watch, Masquerade had grown into a popular entertainment facility that saw such diverse performers as Merle Haggard, the Zombies, the A3C Hip-Hop Festival, and countless other diverse punk, hard rock, hip-Hop, and alt. country acts, covering most of the popular music spectrum.
Riopelle often performed as "13," the frontman for the notorious Impotent Sea Snakes, a consortium of odd characters whose music was laced with profanity, dark humor, accompanied with outrageous costumes and stunts. The Snakes were a regular feature at Masquerade for many years, but their live performances had slowed down significantly over the past few years.
In his Milton community, Riopelle was also well known as a controversial figure, often called the "Monkey Man." He raised monkeys and many other non-native wild animals on his property, and recently got a permit to turn it into a zoo of some sort, which was hotly contested by many neighbors.
Details regarding memorial service will be posted here as soon as they become available.