Tomates Rocky

By chance… that’s how Tomates Rocky was born. In 2007, two of the band members:  frontman, Nicolas Bowen (aka Proliante), and drummer, Anibal Robles (aka Senor Rupe), were asked to play a jam session at a friend’s birthday party. Using only a classic Casio home keyboard and a simple drum, the stage was set to seriously begin making music. For both of them, it was like finding water in the middle of a desert, which created more thirst to make new and original music – different from anything that had come before it – and the seeds of the tomatoes began to germinate. Catchy melodies, a mixture of elements familiar to anyone who grew up in the 80’s… like sounds taken from Atari and Nintendo, music from Spanish TV, such as “Martes 13” and “Sabado Gigante” and a small dose of Orlando Urbina, who played keyboards on weekend evenings in the supermarket in downtown Santiago, Chile, in the 90’s, when Santiago still had a small town feel. From all of these influences came the idea of “Supermarket Psychedelia,” a term that denotes fresh ideas, crisp rhythms and savory sounds. Tomates Rocky cooks up this produce with a dash of humor, a few parts of theatrical spice and a sprig or two of vocals that makes for a just right blend of tasty musical flavors.

Little by little, new members joined the band. Francisco Diaz (aka Sawna Lawna) added percussions. Gonzalo Tugas (aka Boruga) came in with vocal arrangements and extra keyboards. And Maria Eugenia Goldenberg (aka G) added guitar and electric bass. After several experimental sessions using different instruments, Tomates Rocky’s started to gel giving the band inspiration to move on to the next step – playing live. On November 17, 2007, they played their premier performance at the Bar Maule 353 in Santiago and they’ve been cooking up their recipes for all to enjoy ever since.

Soon the members of Tomates Rocky began evolving. Gonazalo moved on and in came Sebastian Bielefeldt (aka Lips on Fire) to play guitar and they began collaborating with Cristobal Tobar (aka Tobylove).

Beginning from the very first performance, Tomates Rocky has not stopped surprising the world. They rapidly gained momentum in the local Santiago music scene, all the while nurturing the seed into a verdant and vibrant bush that began bearing luscious and juicy fruit including the next step on their journey – their first album. After several productive sessions, the first harvest resulted in “De Malloco a su Mesa” (loosely translated to “From Craziness to your Table”). In 2011, Tomates Rocky received governmental funding for re-mastering the work, the production of 300 vinyl LP’s (becoming a classic collector’s item) and a free download MP3 version of the album.

In 2013 the band is focused on producing their soon-to-be-released second work at Estudios Domino, located at the headquarters of their wonderful record company, Armatoste Brazo Discografico, in Santiago — and spreading tomato seeds thoughout the world!

Tomates Rocky are:
G– electric bass and voices
Proliante – frontman, keyboards and voices
Señor Rupe – drums and voices
Sawna Lawna – percussions and voices
Lips On Fire – electric guitar