Dead City Sunday: To most, just a band name or three words cleverly strung together. To Kimberly Brothers, Nic Musser, Ronny Wiedeman, and Zac Day those three words have a much deeper meaning. Growing up in a small dead town in Northern California can leave kids as well as adults very few options when it comes to keeping occupied. Now sure, for the older crowds there’s always the “9 to 5” jobs that are mostly dead ends, but that leaves much to be desired and still doesn’t apply to most people under the age of 18. So in the summer of 1999 after leading musically inspired childhoods, these four 14-16 year olds got a boost in direction from fate itself. Introduced to each other at a get-together-and-jam session barbeque in Auburn, California, the lives of the members of this group had unknowingly forever been changed that hot August day. It just so happened that the drummer (Kimberly, 18) and singer (Zac, 18) that guitarist Ronny (20) and bass player Nic (21) were looking for, in a way fell right into their hands. At the time, Zac and Kimberly were only looking for a bass player since Zac also played guitar, but because Nic and Ronny only came in a package deal, unfortunately they had no choice but to give Ronny a shot as well. So it began, and the first few practices produced some absolutely terrible music that only satisfied the four that were creating it, but what else could be expected from two 14 and two 16 year olds? They blended the sounds of hardcore, punk, metal, and funk into musical pieces described at the time by the band with two simple words, “sick dude.” That December brought the band’s first stage appearance in Newcastle, CA, followed the next week by a show in Folsom, CA. Many practices and arguments, and practice arguments about practices followed as the band that would be called Dead City Sunday started to grow up, or at least grow older. A few demos were recorded and released, proving the fact that this band was serious about their music and further reinstating the horridness of their still maturing sound. This however could not stop destiny, and eventually as time took it’s course, the lack of maturity still seen in their personalities slowly dissipated from their music. Sharing the practice room, stage, and studio to record their debut EP “Konnichiwa” in June of 2002 as well as becoming best friends outside of the band brought together a musical balance. The same balance that ended up winning the group a battle of the bands against many other popular local acts and bringing more confidence to their stage presence and musical writings. The craziness and energy of the band is something that can only be witnessed at a Dead City Sunday show, which is probably a good thing because it allows people fair warning. The very not so girly, hard hitting, stick breaking, “whoah, duck she’s throwing it at you!” techniques, and technicality of Kimberly’s drumming mixed with Nic’s extra-funky, very stinky, rattle your balls into your stomach low end bass, provide the band with the rock solid badass beats that are the backbone of a band that could only be driven to take over the world or destroy it in the process. Throw in some of the super sweaty, pretty stimulating for some reason, completely A.D.D. driven, and disgustingly hairy guitar riffs that can only be brought to you by Ronny Wiedeman himself. Then top it all off with the beautiful, luscious crooning and nasty, “It doesn’t matter where I spit, I’m screaming here!” seizure inducing shrieking and absolute craziness of one Zac Day, and you have got yourself the special platter of the week, Dead City Sunday. You wont even have room left for anyone to ask you, “Would you like fries with that?” So if you’re still wondering, “What does Dead City Sunday mean?” Here’s your answer: It’s the struggle to combat boredom in a town where even if you were lucky enough to discover music, you better not break a string while practicing on your favorite day of the week, because the only music shop in town is closed on Sundays.