Downsiid was formed in 2000 by drummer Rich ‘B.rich’ Burgos in Killeen,Texas. The band entered the Central Texas music scene as a 4 piece that was a lot harder sounding and rougher than the Downsiid fan’s know today. The band originally was made up mostly of U.S Army soldiers stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas. B.rich started looking to make some line-up changes. Singer Jason ‘String’ Atwood joined the band after a chance meeting with ‘B.rich’ at a local Tattoo Shop that String owned, and the voice of Downsiid was found. In 2003 DJ Akira MC joined the band bringing Hip-Hop, turntablism, samples and a hype man into the mix. Lennis Hayes and Jeff ‘Spanish’ C. complete the band on bass and guitar respectively. Both members are veterans of the local music scene and complete the hard partyin’, harder rockin’, tear the roof off your club Texas band known as DownsiiD.
Downsiid has enjoyed independent success with their releases: ‘Karma: The Rebirth’ and ‘The Evolution of Ghetto Rock’ which was released by their own record label, Innerglobal Records in partnership with CEO Pete Massey. They have toured the country on self funded tours to include their annual indie fest ‘The Siid Show: Rock N Roll Circus‘, which is in it’s 5th year and now includes 8 Texas cities, “Girls, Grills and Guitars Tour” and “The Freedom Tour” which took them to towns neighboring military bases throughout the South. To date DownsiiD has sold over 10,000 copies of ‘The Evolution of Ghetto Rock’ and are preparing for the release of the highly anticipated follow up, ‘Life of Lies’ featuring tracks by Andy Waldek (Daughtry, Earth to Andy), production by Roy Z (Judas Priest, Halford) and mastering by Maor Applebaum (Halford).
Over the years, Downsiid has had the honor to share the stage with mega groups such as Papa Roach, Taproot, Nonpoint, Drowning Pool, 12 Stones, Primer 55,Tantric, Swisha House and many more. DownsiiD has also ROCKED historic venues like The Whiskey a-Go-Go, The Viper Room, House of Blues Chicago, Dallas and Orlando and Stubb’s ATX to name a few.
DownsiiD continues to grow and reach success in other markets as well. The band currently owns and operates The Music Vault, the premier live music venue located in Harker Heights, TX. DownsiiD also launched their own clothing line, Ghetto Rock Official, which include men’s and ladies apparel. The band continues to dominate in everything they do and continues to be a driving musical force.
