Prayers band live biography

American singer-songwriter

Rafael Reyes (born August 2, 1975), also credited as Leafar Seyer, is a Mexican American author, artist and musician credited with creating the cholo goth genre of music, which lyrically explores the realities of gang and street life.

Reyes frequently mixes Western esotericism with Olmec beliefs.

Biography

Reyes joined the Sherman 27th Street Grant Hill Park gang when he was a teenager to save his father's life after a skirmish at a local market. Upon graduating high school, Reyes opened San Diego's first vegan/vegetarian Mexican restaurant, Pokéz, with his father. After running the restaurant for eighteen years, and after his father's death, he sold Pokéz to his younger brother. In 2011, he wrote and published Living Dangerously, a roman à clef about his life as a gang member, and toured California to promote the book.

Music

Looking for a more direct way to interact with an audience, in 2011, Reyes formed his first band, Baptism of Thieves, followed by Vampire. With the break-up of those bands, he created Prayers (credited under the pseudonym Leafar Seyer) with Tijuana-born Dave Parley. He also performs solo as Nite Ritual.

Prayers released their debut album SD KILLWAVE in 2013, with two videos, "From Dog to God" directed by Chukk Nastee aka Charles Christ and "Ready to Bleed". Prayers then released an EP entitled, GOTHIC SUMMER, in mid-2014. Prayers opened for the Cult during that band's 2014 tour.

Reyes conceived Prayers' video for the song "Gothic Summer," the title track of their first EP, released in May 2014, which won the 2015 San Diego Film Festival Award for Best Music Video. Gavin Filipiak, the video's director also won for Best Editing in the music video category.

On May 26, 2015, Prayers r

Prayers is an electronic rock duo founded in 2013 by Rafael Reyes and Dave Parley. Prayers are the first musicians/artists use the term Cholo goth to define their genre of music which lyrically explores the harsh realities of gang and street life over throbbing beats and swirling synthesizers.

Prayers is influenced by Christian Death, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus, Pet Shop Boys and other Gothic rock and dark 80s music, as well as by Reyes' life as gang member in the Sherman Grant Hill Park 27 gang, one of San Diego's oldest gangs, also known as Sherman 27. He was jumped into the gang as a teenager. Prayers' music, lyrics and image breaks down stereotypes within the Goth and Cholo subcultures.

Prior to forming Prayers, Reyes, who was born Cotija, Michoacán and came San Diego as young child, had created two other bands, Baptism of Thieves and Vampire, and performed in a solo project, Nite Ritual. Reyes and Parley, a Tijuana native, began recording immediately upon meeting. In three days they had recorded their first CD, SD KILLWAVE which they released independently on first as a CD and download and then on vinyl.

Reyes conceived two videos, "From Dog to God" and "Ready to Bleed" for SD KILLWAVE. The first was shot by Charles Parker, while the second, a narrative, was filmed by Gavin Filipiak, who continues to work with band.

Prayers' videos caught the eye of the Cult frontman Ian Astbury who requested the band open for them on their 2014 spring tour of California and Nevada. Later that summer, Prayers released their second CD, GOTHIC SUMMER and Filipiak directed the video for the title track, which subsequently won the 2015 San Diego Film Festival Award for Best Music Video and Best Music Video Editing.

In 2015, the band chose Undocumented Management as their managers.

On May 26, 2015, Prayers premiered the title track of the Travis Barker-produced third CD, "Young Gods" as a video single, through Noisey/Vice Magazin

American rock act

Prayers is an American rock act founded in 2013 by Rafael Reyes, which has included Dave Parley and other members. As the musical project Prayers, Reyes originally collaborated with former member, Tijuana-born synthesizer player, Dave Parley. Prayers began including other artists such as Travis Barker, and Kat Von D on Prayers' third album, "Young Gods." Prayers further expanded, collaborating with Christian Death, Pictureplane for The fifth album, "Chologoth - The Return Of Pluto" featured musicians Annie Hardy and Robert Harvey.

Prayers is the first musician/artist to use the term chologoth to define this genre of music which lyrically explores the harsh realities of gang and street life over throbbing beats and swirling synthesizers.

Prayers is influenced by Christian Death, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus, Pet Shop Boys, Xmal Deutschland and other gothic rock and dark 80s music, as well as by Reyes' life as gang member in the Sherman Grant Hill Park 27 gang, one of San Diego's oldest gangs, also known as Sherman 27. He was jumped into the gang as a teenager. Prayers' music, lyrics and image breaks down stereotypes within the Goth and Cholo subcultures.

Prior to forming Prayers, Reyes, who was born in Cotija, Michoacán and came to San Diego as a young child, had created two other bands, Baptism of Thieves and Vampire, and performed in a solo project, Nite Ritual. Reyes and Parley, a Tijuana native, began recording immediately upon meeting. In three days they had recorded Prayers' first CD, SD KILLWAVE which they released independently on first as a CD and download and then on vinyl.

Reyes conceived two videos, "From Dog to God" and "Ready to Bleed" for SD KILLWAVE. The first was shot by Charles Parker, while the second, a narrative, was filmed by Gavin Filipiak, who continues to work with the band.

Prayers' video "Dog