Local band will star at Roofless, an outdoor concert
Rocky Dies Yellow is a band from Morgan Hill which has an impressive track record for a group so young. With a full length CD already a year old and another due out before June, the group is not your average garage band.
Their personality and a lot of catchy, melodic rock tunes by lead singer and bassist Ryan Shepherd have made the band very popular amongst Morgan Hill kids, and played recently at the Live Oak Patriot Club “Patriotpalooza,” a benefit concert for troops in Iraq.
Last March Rocky Dies Yellow claimed first prize at the Live Oak Battle of the Bands. They were pretty excited.
“I screamed like a woman. No offense to women,” said Shepherd.
“Yeah, you scared me man,” added drummer Thomas Tissot.
All that personality comes across on stage. Tissot, who with his current haircut looks a little like Austin Powers, drives the band on drums, making sure to look good in the process. Shepherd plunks out cool bass lines as he croons powerful lyrics, sometimes about teenage love but mostly just everyday life. Rhythm guitarist Chris Richardson concentrates stoically, which is in line with his hardcore persona of piercings and tattoos.
And Danny Gomez, he’s just Danny Gomez. Danny wears a serene half-smile as he wows the audience with rock-solid guitar licks.
All seniors at Live Oak, except Tissot, who attends Mount Madonna School, Rocky Dies Yellow came together about three years ago with longtime Boy Scout buddies Shepherd and Tissot.
Shepherd was the leader of Boy Scout Troop 730. He and Tissot often decided what the rest of the boys would be doing, whether it was official Boy Scout business or just goofing around.
Mike Case, their Boy Scout advisor of four years, described how Shepherd once planned a “survivor campout” where the boys gathered food in the woods and caught fish. At the end of the trip, Ryan thought up a challenge where the scouts would see how far they could get across a river by climbing along a rope strung to the other side.
“All the boys tried and tried, and most of them couldn’t get more than half way. Then at the very end of the day, Ryan tried and got all the way across, even flipped upside down at the end to wave back at us. Really an amazing kid,” said Case
They decided to form a band, going through a succession of members and joining up with Chris Richardson soon after. With long black hair and a couple of piercings in each eyebrow, Richardson is the much loved black sheep of the group. He plans to express his liberal politics in a new song described by Tissot as a “super punk-rock, political song against Bush.”
Family roots in music spurred most band members to begin playing. For Richardson though, it was a surprise 1000 peso note he found in his dresser one day years ago.
“I took it down to The Music Tree and bought my first cheapo guitar,” said Richardson.
Danny Gomez is the latest addition, supplementing the band’s already excellent musicianship with his refined guitar skills. Gomez is a powerhouse; he started playing at 5 years old, and today practices his guitar from the time he gets home from school to when he goes to sleep.
“I always knew he was going to be good, just from the way he practiced and his good ear,” said Nick Renny, Gomez’ cousin and former member of Morgan Hill bands Kevorkian Christmas Special and Corrupt Youth.
Wondering about their name? Rocky Dies Yellow is a phrase coined in the 1930’s gangster movie “Angels with Dirty Faces.” Don’t look for some charged inner meaning, the name just sounds cool.
Up until recently, you could recognize Rocky Dies Yellow by the snazzy suits they’d wear to shows. Shepherd explained that they just liked to dress up, and the band was a good excuse. They took the suit theme to the next level last year when they played on television for a KTVU sponsored Battle of the Bands. After buying cheap suits from Goodwill, they covered them with shiny spray paint and glittery Elmer’s Glue.
Aside from their large following at Live Oak, the grownups like them too. Many parents of Rocky Dies Yellow’s friends listen to their music, and you can spot a few fans over 30 years old at most shows. That’s probably due to the upbeat style mostly influenced by bands like Weezer and The Clash, but sometimes reminiscent of bluesy, Rock n’ Roll styles as well.
“Their music is fresh and original and has good roots. But they’re also trying to do their own thing and it’s neat that their not just playing covers,” said Case.
“Adults like us ‘cause there’s no screaming and it’s easy to listen to,” said Tissot.
The question every high school band asks this time of year is, “what happens after graduation?” The guys from Rocky Dies Yellow are all college-bound, and though most of the members are planning on staying local, Shepherd is considering the University of Denver and UC Santa Cruz. So there’s a chance that the band may be parting ways at the end of the summer.
But the four musicians all look forward to careers in music. For now though, fans can anticipate their upcoming CD.
“We”re not quite sure what it’s called yet” It’ll have somewhere between 12 and 300 songs,” laughed Shepherd.
Rocky Dies Yellow will be playing locally June 5 at “Roofless”, a concert sponsored by the Morgan Hill Youth Advisory Committee at the the Community Center Amphitheater, where 8 other local bands will join them for a community event sponsored by the City of Morgan Hill Youth Advisory Committee. “Roofless” is the first teen-oriented event of it’s size organized at the community center, and many young music fans are very excited. The concert begins at 2:30 p.m. and it’s free of charge.
The band also encourages fans to buy their original, self-titled CD for $7 and their cool T-shirts for $10.
For details on upcoming shows or to download music, visit the bands website at www.rockydiesyellow.com
