Two members of Israeli band Yellow Dogs were killed in NYC this week when Ali Akbar Mahammadi Rafie is said to have shot three musicians and then himself in a rifle attack in the band’s Brooklyn home. It is reported that there was a dispute between band members which led to the slaying of Soroush Farazmand, his brother Arash and Ali Eskandarian ( not a Yellow Dogs member). Rafie is also said to have taken his own life at the scene of the incident.
Garage punks the Black Lips commented on the bizarre shooting today saying:
“We are very upset to hear that our friends in the the band Yellow Dogs were shot and killed in Brooklyn last night. We were first introduced to this band by the great film director Baham Ghobodi in his film ‘No one knows about Persian cats’ which showcased the alternative music scene in Tehran. When he heard that the band were in the States under refugee status we reached out to them to play a show with us at Webster hall, they did and they were great. They were also nice enough to play our SXSW showcase. This band risked there lives to escape Iran. They personally expressed to us how excited they were to be in the U.S where they could freely express them selves as artists. It is particularly sad that they were killed in America, a place where they were supposed to have a new beginning. Yellow Dogs were really cool guys and we are gonna miss them. RIP”