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RTG CPR DLC RockerboyIndexv1.01

The Rockerboy Index is a comprehensive guide detailing every musical artist and band within the Cyberpunk lore up to 2045, emphasizing the significance of music in the Cyberpunk universe. It highlights various unique musical genres and provides insights into notable artists, their genres, and selected songs or albums. The document serves as a resource for players and gamemasters to enrich their Cyberpunk experience with music references.

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yamachanvt
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
89 views26 pages

RTG CPR DLC RockerboyIndexv1.01

The Rockerboy Index is a comprehensive guide detailing every musical artist and band within the Cyberpunk lore up to 2045, emphasizing the significance of music in the Cyberpunk universe. It highlights various unique musical genres and provides insights into notable artists, their genres, and selected songs or albums. The document serves as a resource for players and gamemasters to enrich their Cyberpunk experience with music references.

Uploaded by

yamachanvt
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

BY DOLAN PONDSMITH

Rockerboy Index
the music of cyberpunk
JUNE 2025 V1.01
Writing and Design by J Gray•Additional Material by James Hutt and Rob Barefoot
Special Thanks to Alex Sutton, Amelia Korzycka, Fernando Damas, James Portnow, Marcin Przybyłowicz,
Noura Ibrahim, P.T. Adamczyk, Patrick Mills, and the many creators who have rocked Cyberpunk over the years.
Art Direction by Winterjaye Kovach•Business Management by Lisa Pondsmith
Media and Press Management by Rob Barefoot•Layout by J Gray
Copyright © 2025 by R. Talsorian Games, Inc., Cyberpunk is a registered trademark of CD Projekt Red S.A. All rights reserved under the Universal Copyrights Convention.
All situations, governments, and people herein are fictional. Any similarities portrayed herein without satiric intent are strictly coincidental.

1
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Normally, we start our DLCs with a bit of clever fiction. The spreadsheet will not be denied. I have to fill in
This time, I’d like to invite you on a journey along the the holes or risk its wrath. So, I do.
path of history and into my sometimes chaotic thought
What began as a simple list transformed into
process.
a project: detail every musical artist and band in
Let’s start in 1988, when the first edition of Cyberpunk lore, up to the year 2045. Where musical
Cyberpunk, the roleplaying game of the Dark Future, acts were just a few words on a page, transform them
hits the shelves. Rule lovers immediately notice the fast into more complete characters. Flush them out so we
and furious Friday Night Firefight combat system, but know the genre, a tasty tidbit or three of lore, and at
lore lovers notice something else – the thematic core of least a song title or two.
Cyberpunk isn’t formed by the gun-wielding Solos,
Fill the spreadsheet with data. Then transform that
but by the guitar-thrashing Rockerboys. The focus of the
data into this month’s DLC to share that data with the
debut piece of Cyberpunk fiction, Never Fade Away, is
people. Music demands to be listened to, even if it is
musician Johnny Silverhand. Johnny’s attempted
just in our imaginations.
rescue of Alt Cunningham, using a concert as the
driving force, sets the tone for Cyberpunk from day The project makes the spreadsheet happy. I even
one and rever-berates through time to the real-world feed it new artists, earmarked for future projects, who
2020s, when words on paper became a playable hadn’t yet debuted in the lore. Yum!
sequence on screen in Cyberpunk 2077.
Finally, it lets me rest.
It doesn’t stop with Johnny, either. Of the six in-world
I don’t claim the information in this article is in
articles packaged in that original Cyberpunk box set,
any way complete. I probably missed a throw-
two are about gangs, one is about Trauma Team, and
away band name or two while digging through the
three focus on musical acts. Music has always been
older material, and we aren’t listing every album
the beating, bleeding heart of the game. Hell, it's in
and song ever released – just a sampling to help
the name, isn’t it?
establish a mood.
Cyberpunk
To give Players the ability to name the tune they’re
Fast forward to 2025. I’m working on our upcoming using as a ringtone and Gamemasters the chance to
sourcebook for Night City circa 2045 and think to describe what song from which artist is playing over
myself, “What bands are playing in the clubs? What the speakers in a bar. Think something is missing? Feel
music are people listening to on their Agents?” Thought free to imagine it to life yourself! There’s always room
firmly lodged in my brain, I start a new spreadsheet for a track or two of your own invention, even on a
(honestly, half my job is creating spreadsheets) and Samurai album.
grab my books. Soon, there’s a list of every musical
That’s the Cyberpunk way.
act we’ve mentioned in a Cyberpunk RED product.
Addendum: Special thanks to Dolan Pondsmith,
Only, I can’t stop there. The list is incomplete. The
who cleared her busy schedule to create the intro art
Time of the Red is only one part of the Cyberpunk
for this piece. If it looks familiar, that’s because it is an
timeline. The spreadsheet demands more.
update to the cover of Rockerboy, the 1989 supple-
I pull the rest of the books off the shelf. Rockerboy. ment for the original Cyberpunk.
Home of the Brave. Rough Guide to the UK.
Meet Jamie “Ice” Waxman, iconic punk rocker and
Every single book in the canon, really. I read. I highlight.
frontman for Blood and Ice, recreating his iconic mag-
I sticky tab. I make entries on my spreadsheet … and I
azine cover pose in 2045 to publicize the band’s new
realize how incomplete the lore can be. Sometimes, I
album. Thirty-two in-world years later, and he’s still
find plenty of data. Samurai. Destiny. Jack Entropy. The
shouting his lungs out on stage.
Digital Divas. Paragraphs of information to feed to the
spreadsheet. Other times, I find a one-off mention. No Stay Safe on The Street,
song titles, no genre type, no background details. Just J Gray
an artist or band name referenced in passing. Cyberpunk RED Line Manager

2
ROCKERBOY INDEX

U nique Musical Genres


u n i q u e m u s i c a l g e n r e s
Over the years, we’ve introduced a few genres unique
Albums:
• Running On Empty (2037) – Neon Nights,
Digital Demon Lover, Kissing Under the Red Sky,
to the world of Cyberpunk. Subvocalized Poetry
Chipwave: A nostalgic evolution of Technoise, using • Electric Touch (2038) – Nomad Fling, Echoes of
samples from early video games and electronica as Heartache, EMP to the Brain, Kaleidoscope Heart
a seed.
Chromatic Rock: A blend of the angry voice of punk,
Alienation Inc
the power of metal, and the electronic instrumenta- Genre: Grindtek
tion of post-disco pop, all with an overlay of both
grit and glam. A small-time band out of Berkeley, California. Never
hit the big time. Perhaps most famous because the
Corporate Pop: Music, of any style, overly designed, band’s drummer, Speedmetal Thrash, was kidnapped
synthesized, and extruded by corporate bean count- and had both hands crushed to powder by repeated
ers for the purpose of creating bland earworms with sledgehammer blows. Cybernetics allowed him to play
big sales numbers. again, but his beats were never the same.
Cybergrunge: A twist on the classic formula,
Singles:
cybergrunge adds a hint of technoise to the already
crunchy blend of punk and heavy metal. • 300bpm (2014)

Grindtek: A descendant of gothic, industrial, and Anger


angst styles, all bled together and spat out against
a wall of pain. Genre: Heavy Metal
Technoise: Music generated, at least partially, A band created by Paradize Incorporated to advertise
by computers using random generation engines instruments and musical accessories. After the ad cam-
powered by everything from DNA to music compi- paign ended, Anger tried to go it alone but fizzled out.
lations to fractal math.
Singles:

T he Musical Artists of Cyberpunk • Blazing Paradize (2013)


t h e a r t i s t s o f c y b e r p u n k
Artificial Kids
Access Denied Genre: Punk
Genre: Technoise A classic punk band out of Seattle, Washington. They
An instrumental one-hit wonder briefly popular in originally formed as a way of providing a therapeutic
European dance clubs. outlet for musicians suffering from cyberpsychosis.

Singles: Singles:
• Repression Compression Scheme (2019) • Hand of Fate (2013)
• Drug the Night Away (2019) • To the Fullest (2015)

Adam Dore (aka A’Dore) Avesta


Genre: Corporate Pop Genre: Corporate Pop
A rugged hearthrob pushed to the top of the charts by One in a long line of interchangeable pop princesses.
DMS in the 2030s. Officially, he died in a car accident Avesta’s contract saw her star in a hit teen-oriented
in 2039, but rumors persist that he took his own life. television series Rogue Chombatta, as well as pump
Father of indie Rockerboy Forty. out a number of covers and retreads.

3
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Singles: Blackadders
• Rogue Chombatta Theme (2020)
Genre: Chromatic Rock
Azakuchi Toranoga A small-time club band. Their bassist, Jenny Jett,
was better known as a Netrunner than she was as a
Genre: World Techno
Rockergirl.
Azakuchi Toranoga took the world by storm in 2020
Singles:
by breaking the J-pop mold and producing some of the
best guitar riffs recorded in decades. • Electroaxe Rampage (2021)
Albums: • Putting Up a Black Wall (2021)
• I Am Not a Samurai (2020) – Virago no Kamikaze,
Blackheart
321 Let’s Jam, Moon Panzer
Genre: Chromatic Rock
Bag of Broken Glass
A blink and you miss it band from Florida. They hit
Genre: Chromatic Rock the charts for a couple of weeks in 2013 and then
A one-hit wonder. The band literally flamed out when vanished.
their studio burned down with them in it. Arson was Singles:
suspected but never proven.
• Black Off (2013)
Singles:
• Hit Me With a Tire Iron Baby (2020)
Blood and Ice
Genre: Chromatic Punk
Beached Tarantula
Diverse Media Systems shut down the pirate radio
Genre: Experimental Rock/Punk Fusion station run by Jamie “Ice” Waxman’s father (along with
A superband formed from members of other bands, most of the poor choomba’s major organs), so it's no
including Hardy Satellite of Blood and Ice, Knifedge of wonder the punk rock icon jetisoned his old band when
Cutthroat, and T.C. McBride of Kilimanjaro. The group it went corporate and gathered a new, like-minded
only released a handful of singles, recorded during an crew of anti-establishment musicians: drummer Hardy
all-night jam session. Satellite, guitarist Kenya Msawi, and keyboardist Omo
Kenkyusha. Together, they formed Blood and Ice and
Singles:
set the standard for punk rock in the post-Collapse
• Chrome Nation (2021) world.
• I Will Follow (2021) Albums:
• Trauma Team High (2021) • Music Isn’t Money (2011) – Music Isn’t Money, No
Fear in Death, Wire Up My Soul
Bilox
• Damnation Day (2012) – Damnation Day, Cold
Genre: Chromatic Rock Snap, Hell’s Parade
A band more famous for how the members died than • No Way Back to Innocence (2014) – No Way
the music they created. An AV-7 transporting them Back to Innocence, Diverse Murder Systems,
from the airport to a concert crashed due to sabotage Summer of 2069
ordered by a rival to their music label.
• The Bastards Haven’t Killed Us (2045) –
Singles: Cybernetic Shout, New Generation of Violence,
• Monomolecular Twist (2009) Righteous Thoughts Wicked Deeds

4
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Bloom Boingers Singles:
• Chaostage (2018)
Genre: Folk Revival
A small-time band playing local gigs in Night City in • ostPUNK! (2019)
2020. The only notable member was the lead singer, • Plastic Grenade (2020)
Lola Granola.
• Scumfuck (2021)
Singles:
• Turn Back the Rock (2019) Brutus Backlash
Genre: Blues Rock
Breakfist
Originally a duo, later a trio, Brutus Backlash traded
Genre: Punk in their guitars for assault rifles in the early 2020s
Rising from the ashes of the 4th Corporate War, when they led a convoy of nomads in a raid on Upson
Breakfist exemplifies the punk bands of the 2040s with Downs, a Kentucky racetrack and resort.
one noticeable difference: every member stays dry. In Singles:
the words of bassist Ten Ton, “We can fucking smash
without being fucking smashed, choomba.” The band • Little Sister (2013)
owns, of all things, a punk juice bar in Night City called • Suffer Me (2015)
the XX.
Albums:
Busted Flush
• A n o t h e r S t i t c h (20 4 4) – Pa rox ys m a l , Genre: Chromatic Rock
Grindertooth, Another Stitch, Bitchin’ On Request, A once up-and-coming band in New York. When
DoubleCrossed, Dumpster Dining they refused to sign with DMS, the media company
put two members in the morgue and one member on
Bridget Bash life support. The guitarist, ZZ Destroyer, skipped town
Genre: Corporate Pop/Heavy Metal and later joined the Slaughtered Lambs in Night City.

Back in the day, Bridget was a standard Corporate Singles:


Pop diva better known for gossip about who she was • Broadway Blacklight (2017)
dating than her music. In 2032, cancer inspired her to
upgrade to an FBC. After, she reinvented herself as a
heavy metal icon.
Singles:
• Tomorrow is Yesterday (2012)
• Plug Into Me (2013)
• Still Awake Still Alive (2021)
• Ballad of Blood (2034)
• Grindhouse Sex (2042)

Brown Brown Fox


Genre: Punk
A German band recording out of Chemnitz. Said to
be a favorite of legendary Netrunner Rache Bartmoss.

5
ROCKERBOY INDEX

Cliff Richards Albums:


• Death of Yellowstone (2008) – Gang of Corps,
Genre: Corporate Pop
Murder for Money, Food Riot, Plate Full of Dust
The world record holder for the longest musical career,
Cliff Richards was ninety in 2020 and still going strong Crimson Steel
thanks to biosculpting and cybernetics.
Genre: Corporate Pop
Albums:
Originally Crimson Streets, the band was renamed
• I’ve Found Carrie (2020) – Hair Bubbles, Postcards when it signed with DMS. Lead singer Slick Saigon took
from a Combat Zone, Holiday Special, Honored over frontman duties when Jamie “Ice” Waxman quit
the band in disgust.
Clinically Sane
Albums:
Genre: Corporate Pop
• Digital Voice (2012) – Metal Twist, Smashed
A focus group-tested band. The music is hard but Siblings, Blue Shell, Secret Level
repetitive, and the lyrics hover along the edge without
conveying an actual message. Cutthroat
Singles: Genre: Experimental
• 1200 MegaHertz of Heaven (2020) An edgerunning crew pulling double duty as a band.
Cutthroat’s lead singer, Knifedge, was arrested in 2013
Colorama during an assault on a Mount Whitney government insti-
Genre: Salsa tution. A small commando force, believed to be fellow
bandmates and roadies, broke him out of jail. Press from
A salsa band operating out of Santo Domingo. The
the stunt pushed Cutthroat to the top of the charts.
group is made up of retired musicians and mostly plays
block parties and birthday celebrations. Albums:
Singles: • Slashing Steel (2013) – Kalakari, Ginsu Lover,
Rocked From Space, Sustain/Decay, Blocking the
• Abra la Puerta (2045)
Sun
Cosmic Thing Damned-Nation
Genre: New Wave Revival
Genre: Rap
A campy band with an aesthetic calling back to the
A West Coast rap artist signed by Net54. When asked
1950s and 1960s, Cosmic Thing encourages their fans
if he was selling out, he replied, “Hell, yes, I am! I’m sick
to dress up in their own style – the weirder the better.
of eating kibble.”
Albums:
Singles:
• Thrift-Store Chic (2043) – Late Night Lady, Solo
• Money is the Master (2020)
vs Solo, Swimming On Mars, Devolve Mistaken
Suckers, Crusing the Nomad Highway • Wiggle in My Bed (2020)

Cowboy Panzer Day-Glo Brainwaves


Genre: Chromatic Rock Genre: Chromatic Rock
A band with a political message about a return to A chromatic rock band famous for incorporating bodily
traditional values of democracy and justice. Cowboy function noises in their music. Their lyrics are said to
Panzer had a brief but shining career before it broke be incomprehensible unless the listener is as high as
up in 2010 to avoid charges of treason. a delta.

6
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Singles: Derelict Saints
• Eat My Wigwam (2013)
Genre: Indie Rock
• Plugged Into Freshpak (2014) Indie darlings Derelict Saints were poised on the edge
of stardom when their frontman, Malique “Last Call”
Dayz of Men Johnson's car was found wrapped around a telephone
Genre: Chromatic Rock pole in Night City. Rumor has it the NCPD was involved
with the “accident,” which explains why it remains a
Hard and underground, Dayz of Men gained a cult fol-
cold case to this day.
lowing thanks to their satirical lyrics and heavy rhythms.
Singles:
Albums:
• Echo Chamber (2012)
• Heavy Time (2020) – Speed Screama, We’re All
the Cute One, Twist and Pout • All In (2012)
• Cradle to the Grave (2012)
Deathwheez Dioxin
Genre: Punk Destiny
A high-energy punk band. Their concerts were Genre: Chromatic Rock
renowned for ending when the local cops or corporate Originally just another chromatic rock band, lead
security bashed their way inside to break up the party. singer Jessie Moore drew Destiny towards a more polit-
Singles: ical message after they toured with Cowboy Panzer.
Their third album, Cheyenne Mountain, was banned in
• Impaled on My Axe (2011)
several European countries.
• Analog Braindance (2012)
Albums:
Demeter • Walking the Skies (2008) – Five Months Gone,
High on an Aerodyne, My Net Lover
Genre: Folk Rock
• Dinner With Himmler (2009) – Mouth Sewn
A Rockergirl dedicated to preserving the natural beauty Shut, 82nd Airborne, AWOL Forever, American
of the Mississippi River. Also a member of the eco-pro- Stalag
test group, River Raiders. Depending on who you ask,
she was either an activist or a terrorist. • Cheyenne Mountain (2010) – Space Sapphire,
Lunar Madness, Palace of Glass, Mass Driven
Singles: Destruction
• Feathers Falling (2019)
• Empty Nation (2013) – Fifty Years: Song for
• Hitching On the River (2020) John, Borderline Poverty, 3K a Year, Drowning
in Kibble
DemonSeid
The Digital Divas
Genre: Death Metal
Genre: Bratpunk
An executive at DMS bribed copyright officials to lose
the paperwork filed by DemonSeid songwriter Lou This Night City band exploded in popularity after
Deveronica, allowing the company to take full owner- an arsonist took their song, Burn It Down, a little too
ship of the music. The bands never recovered. literally. Some say they have the potential to skyrocket
to the top of the charts, but not while their manager,
Singles: Sizzle Jams, holds on tight to their leash and prevents
• Drive Me Cyberpsycho (2009) them from running free.

7
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Albums: Dusty Fields
• Black Lace Nightmare (2044) – Burn it Down,
Genre: Protest Rock
Desperate for Work, Desperado on Arrival, Slam
Down the Floor Dusty Fields poured his heart into sorrowful protests
about the destruction of American farmland and the
DJ Nova vanishing middle class, but a lack of skill muddled his
message. He died in 2015 during a protest at one of
Genre: EDM Petrochem’s domed CHOOH2 farms.
A Night City DJ, playing a different club every night.
Albums:
He moonlights as an independent Media.
• Fight For Your Freedom (2013) – Amber Glory,
Singles: Death in the Dustbowl, Grandmother’s Farm, Tears
• King of Clubs (2044) of the Earth
• South Night City Unbound (2044) Eastern Wire
• Electroaxe Rampage – Remix (2045)
Genre: Electronic Indie Rock
DSE A small band out of California consisting of three
synthesizer artists and a Taiko drummer. Perfect travel
Genre: Chromatic Rock music.
An all-female chromatic rock band from the East
Singles:
Coast popular on the underground scene. DSE stood
for “Death, Sex, Eternity” but was also the chemical • 4 Gigs 1 Rocker (2013)
abbreviation for the hallucinogen commonly distributed
at the band’s shows. Lead singer Chloe Eden was well Elvis of the New Church
known for her self-destructive habits. Genre: Chromatic Rock
Albums: An Austrian band. A record label blackmailed lead
• Somebody Kill Me (2020) – Rainbow Party, singer Cecile Dorvack into an exclusive and exploit-
Synthcoke Showdown, Addicted to Chrome, ative ten-year contract before going defunct following
Biosculpt Blowout a tax scandal.
Singles:
• General Confusion (2010)

Emil “Death” Johnson


Genre: Heavy Metal
An intense musician who combined psychology with
powerful rhythms and misanthropic lyrics. He spent
most of his time in public complaining about what he
saw as the stupidity of his fans, and somehow, they
couldn’t get enough of it. His work remains popular with
nihilistic cults. Johnson’s work plays regularly on 96.1
Fever Dream, a Reckoner-owned station in Night City.
Albums:
• Dominion Over Destiny (2013) – Riot Rollout,
Autobahn Suicide, Maimed At My Concert, You
Suck and You Know It

8
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Euro K Albums:
• Stealing From the Mouse (2020) –Blood On Her
Genre: Corporate Pop
Tongue, Burn This Clown, Stealing From the Mouse
A gorgeous, cookie-cutter teen pop band. Their music
was popular in European clubs during the early 2020s. Forty
Singles: Genre: Indie Rock
• Go Down On Me (2020) An up-and-coming Rockerboy and the daughter of
2030’s heartthrob Adam Dore.
• Dance For Profit (2020)
Singles:
• Snips and Snails (2021)
• Famous for Famous (2043)
EZ-8 • Not for Nothing (2044)
Genre: Improvisational Technoise • When I Was (2045)
A popular DJ in Night City, no one has ever seen EZ-8’s
• Song for Others (2045)
face. Whispers suggest they are actually a drone con-
trolled by an artificial intelligence. Gender Division
Albums: Genre: Corporate Pop
• 6C 69 76 65 (2045) – A recording of a three- Gender Division never took itself seriously, a trait that
hour performance at Delirium. shows in its fun lyrics and danceable beats. Hard to
hate despite being corporate pop.
Face Boys
Singles:
Genre: Glam Jam
• If X, Then Y (2020)
A one-hit wonder. Do This Party Ya briefly shot up the
charts, then vanished completely. • Greater Than Z (2020)

Singles: Gewalt
• Do This Party Ya (2020) Genre: Speed Metal
Fingers and the Outlaws A German rock band famous for its over-the-top thrash-
ing. Their concerts often ended with more violence than
Genre: Experimental a riot after a European football match.
Perhaps the most famous band out of Canada during Singles:
the 2010s. Frontman Stephen “Fingers” Smythe spent
• Hölle (2019)
time as a corporate ninja before joining the Outlaws
after the previous lead singer, JG52, quit. • Ragnarok (2020)
Albums: Godhammer
• Live Link-Up (2013) – The Ballad of Nigel, So It
Genre: Chromatic Rock
Goes, Corporate Spies, Yukon Blood
A band more famous as a cautionary tale than for its
Flashpoint Caracas music. The contract Godhammer signed with its label
allowed other artists to perform covers of their music
Genre: Rap with no limitations. The label sat on the band’s debut
A rap group out of Venezuela. They toured with a album and allowed idol-singer Kittiyasu Rose to release
Blood Nation circus in the early 2020s. its best song instead.

9
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Singles: HardTech
• Murder Me Baby (2011)
Genre: Industrial Metal
Godziller IE! A band known for playing at blinding speeds to deliver
rough and jagged chords straight into the listener's
Genre: Techno
pelvis. If you play the band’s final single backwards,
A flash in the pan band from San Francisco, heavily you can hear the last words of lead singer Slade
inspired by Japanese pop culture. Its music has found McCallahan.
a second life among the G3 in Night City.
Singles:
Albums:
• Fuck Your Meat (2020)
• New Star Rising (2020) – MekkaFusion, Blazing
Sword, Surfing the Motion Wave, The Pain of • Beat the Metal (2020)
Secondary Canon
The Harrowers
Gold Genre: Gothpunk
Genre: Rap Rock The house band for the Sinful Adams, a goth poser
One of the first major pop media sensations in the gang operating out of Night City. They don’t take
2040s, Gold made it big on the Garden thanks to her themselves, or their ambitions, too seriously, resulting
strong sense of style in both fashion and music. She in a lovely mix of heavy beats, ethereal melodies, and
recently jumped from music to acting as the star of her quirky lyrics.
self-produced pop media show, Tom & Gold.
Albums:
Singles: • The Harrowers (2044) – Snap Snap, Skeleton’s
• Gold Plated Love (2043) Ball, Cybernetic Ghost (2045)
• Back to the Zone (2045) Headless
Grace Steel and the Distortions Genre: Industrial Thrash
Genre: Chromatic Blues/Raggamuffin Fusion A British band. Their debut hit hard, but critics debated
Grace Steel’s second group, after the rest of the Soul whether their style was a tribute to the industrial bands
Rebels died tragically in a fire. The Distortions play of the past or merely derivative of them.
regularly at The Forlorn Hope. Albums:
Albums: • Headless (2021) – Royal Death, Poisoned Blood,
• With Us In Spirit (2045) – The Long Walk Home, Should Have Told Her
Hope’s Calling!!!, Firebird
High Society Fashion Band
Grooved Pavement Genre: EDM
Genre: Corporate Pop A Japanese band specializing in club music. Vocals
A blink and you miss it band from Virginia. Their only by Yumiko Tanaka only appear in a few of the group’s
song of note is more famous for being the backdrop songs. The rest is instrumental work by Hanako
of a Militech recruitment commercial than for musical Sorayama and Tetsuo Yamaguchi.
quality.
Albums:
Singles: • Move Sound (2013) – Remember Our Love,
• If I Had an Uzi (2020) Panzerjock Boyfriend, Fairy Tale Princess

10
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Hikaru Flash Jack Maxxximum
Genre: Chromatic Rock Genre: Political Hip-Hop
An East Coast band most famous for producing back- An activist Rockerboy through and through, Jack was
ground music for video games. Lead singer Derek murdered by Biotechnica troops shortly after attending
McDonald was one of the first traditional musicians to a vigil honoring the 25th anniversary of the Amnesty
record a performance as a braindance. Incident.
Singles: Singles:
• Chip This Tune (2012) • You Don’t Own Henrietta (2021)
• Our Fingers Together (2013) • DNA Not Natural (2022)
IBDY • History of Truth (2021)

Genre: Hip-Hop/Indie Rock James “Rockerboy” Manson


A Neo-African musician with a decades-long career,
Genre: Rock
famous for switching between – and even blending –
indie stylings and Hip-Hop. A classic UK rocker, James “Rockerboy” Manson
railed loudly in song and in speech against the injus-
Singles:
tices of the British government and the increasing
• Here’s a Thought (2019) wealth disparity of the nation’s people. On August 3,
• Word is Now (2020) 1997, Manson was beaten to death by British cops
while on stage at a benefit concert. The resulting
• Crustpunk (2025) rioting saw over five hundred die. Manson’s death in
• Who’s Ready for Tomorrow (2032) what has come to be known as the Amnesty Incident
inspired the movement of music speaking to power
Internal Harmonix that carries his name.

Genre: Nonsynchro Digital Albums:


Was the mad genius behind Internal Harmonix a • Rockerboy Bloom (1993) – Crossing the Channel,
person or an AI? The constant, random noise sounds Union Hack, Grandfather’s Days
like chaos to most, but a few swear they can hear
• Bum’s Rush (1995) – Black Lung, Bleeding in
hidden messages in the beeps and bloops.
Trafalgar Square, Strangeways, Vendetta’s
Singles: Revenge
• Dial CBC, XYZ (2020)
Johnny Ridden
Jack “Entropy” Inkerman Genre: Chromatic Rock
Genre: Chromatic Rock A musician who never reached his full potential, pos-
The chart-topping bad boy of the American indepen- sibly because his label kept him addicted to a drug
dent music scene. If Johnny Silverhand and Jamie “Ice” tailored specifically to his DNA as a method of con-
Waxman were the chromatic music messiahs of the trolling him.
2010s, Jack Entropy was the 2020s second coming. Singles:
Albums: • Life is Overrated (2009)
• Loveless Eyes (2020) – Boring Through My Heart,
• Every Nerve on Fire (2009)
Blood Giants, Ashen Dreams, Loveless Eyes,
Sodium Hell • Begging for More (2010)

11
ROCKERBOY INDEX

Johnny Silverhand Jury Trial. The message didn’t go over well with the
authorities, forcing the band to flee the country to avoid
Genre: Chromatic Rock charges of treason.
The man, the myth, the legend! Beyond certain basic Over a decade later, while in Mexico City, Barry
facts, almost everything we think we know about and his bandmates learned about The Long Walk.
Johnny Silverhand is a mix of rumor, supposition, and Thousands of military personnel and contractors,
bar stories. Even his music is confusing, since Silverhand abandoned in Central and South America by the
had a habit of rerecording Samurai songs with different United States government after the Second Conflict,
lyrics and new arrangements. It isn’t uncommon for a were literally walking back home. Working together
fan or even an industry professional to think they’re lis- with reporter Bes Isis, Justifiable Homicide stole six
tening to something from Silverhand’s solo career when truckloads of food and supplies and went to meet the
they’re really hearing a Samurai track … or vice versa. procession. The experience inspired the band’s second
Albums: album.
• SINS of Your Brothers (2009) – Phantom Hand, Albums:
Never Faithful, Rancid Water, Old Gold, Kill • Jury Trial (1998) – By My Peers, Miranda’s Lament,
Steel Reasonable Doubt
• A Cool Metal Fire (2013) – Dancing With My
• The Long Walk (2012) – Feet Full of Blisters, Broken
Axe, Never Fade Away, (Out of) the City, Flashing
Promises, A Soldier’s Tears
Lights, Chippin’ In
• Return From Exile (2018) – Death Stage Nine, The Ks
Gaze into Galaxy, Mechanical Heart, Purple
Genre: Corporate Pop
Flame
A corp-assembled boy band gaining traction as it plays
• Clone Wars (2020) – Synergize, Return of the malls up and down the eastern seaboard of the United
Sparrow, Lambs Rise, Sun’s Shadow States. The members are Randi K, Babyface K, Noir
Singles: K, and Crazi K. There have been at least two Crazi Ks
so far. The first one overdosed on doctor-prescribed
• Black Dog (2045)
synthcoke.
Julio Villareal and Salsa Magica Singles:
Genre: Latin Dance • Choomsplosion (2045)
A mostly instrumental band (with occasional vocals by • Call Me K? (2045)
Maria Moralés) whose hurricane-force energy over-
came corporate attempts to sanitize it for the United Kerry Eurodyne
States audience, giving its music a lasting popularity in
Genre: Chromatic Rock
dance clubs across the world.
After the breakup of Samurai, Kerry Eurodyne pursued
Albums: a solo career, trying to balance the power of the
• El Tempesto Grande (2013) – El Tempesto Grande, message with the realities of the world. As he said in an
La Luna y La Playa, Street Glide interview once, “You can’t change hearts and minds if
your music – and you – are buried.” Eurodyne currently
Justifiable Homicide spends most of his time in the Philippines, where his
fortune significantly bolsters the local economy.
Genre: Chromatic Rock
Born early in the Rockerboy movement, Justifiable Albums:
Homicide, led by Barry Miyung, protested against • Modern Trenches (2010) – Time for Change,
martial law in the United States with their first album, Brotherhood, Input and Output, Foxhole Fever

12
ROCKERBOY INDEX
• Critical Mass (2013) – Holdin’ On, Made in Singles:
America, Left Standing, Plethora of Plagues • Shining Spark (2042)
• Facing the Nightmare (2021) – Derryland, Domino • High On Your Love (2043)
Destiny, False Terrorist, GlitterKids, Simulation of
Real • Chrome Heartbeat (2044)

• Second Conflict (2025) – Artificial Wonderland, Kirin


Bloodbathed Stars, Desperate Measures, Endless
Conflict, Fever Danger, No Apology, Nothing From Genre: Torch Songs
Above, Saints of Void, Warrior’s Prayer, Wounded A classic lounge singer with a large following in the
Machine Pacifica Confederation, Kirin’s tales of queer love,
• Rising Tides (2040) – Buyayang Buyayang, Dead lust, and loss resonate heavily with her mostly femme
Shoreline, Drowning Down, Chippin’ In, User audience.
Friendly Albums:

KIDROK • Sapphire Whispers (2044) – Sex With Your


Husband’s Wife, Daddy Don’t Approve, Just Really
Genre: Experimental Good Friends
The release of KIDROK’S Bleeding Soul, an eigh-
teen-minute long braindance “song,” shook the foun-
Kittiyasu Rose
dations of the music industry by placing consumers of Genre: Idol Singer
media into the mind of the performer for the first time.
A mid-level idol singer in Japan during the early 2010s.
The thirty-three second nightmare scene is especially
Her career lasted a few years before she faded into
intense.
obscurity. She is best known outside of Japan for
Singles: releasing a cover of a song stolen from chromatic rock
• KIDROK’S Bleeding Soul (2018) band, Godhammer.
Singles:
Kilimanjaro
• Murder Me Baby (2010)
Genre: Alternative Rock
Led by T.C. McBride, Kilimanjaro blended classic rock
with African and Latin influences to create a unique
sound still popular with Highriders to this day.
Albums:
• Not Third World (2012) – Mass Driver Blues,
Screw Your War, Midnight All Over, Queen
Hangbe

Kira <3
Genre: Idol Singer
Since her debut in 2042, Kira <3 has made history. Not
only is she the first FBC idol singer to reach number one
on the charts, but she was also the first idol since the
end of the 4th Corporate War to leave Asia and tour
across the Americas.

13
ROCKERBOY INDEX

Kruschev’s Ghost Lo END


Genre: Technoise Punk Genre: Rap
A punk band with an aggressive edge, harkening back Lo END’s career ended abruptly when an expose
to the 1980s heights of the genre. revealed the “hard core rapper” was lip syncing to
tracks stolen from a dead artist.
Singles:
• No Convenient Apocalypse (2018) Singles:
• Bitch is a ‘Borg (2020)
• Trapped and Raging (2019)

L azo, Sumi & Tenko The Long Riders


Genre: Protest Rock
Genre: Folk Electronica
Named after the legendary James Gang, The Long
A trio combining the best of modern electronica with
Riders toured the UK in the 2010s and 2020s and
the classic style of Japanese folk music. Their music is a
were famous for always staying two steps ahead of the
common background sound in anime from the 2020s.
police units and corporate ninjas sent to eliminate them.
Singles: Particularly secretive, the band spawned numerous
• Koto Circuit (2020) conspiracy theories during their time in the spotlight.
Some thought they weren’t a single group but a move-
• Mini-dokuritsukoku (2020) ment, with different lineups playing in each city. Others
• Heavy Light Music (2021) believed them to be a corporate front that embedded
subliminal messages in their music in order to pacify the
Lilayah rebellious masses. The Long Riders vanished in 2021,
so we may never know the truth.
Genre: Cybergrunge
Albums:
Born in Seattle, Lilayah carries on her home city’s
musical tradition inbetween running gigs with her • The Long Road Back (2020) – Bleeding Crown,
edgerunning crew, the Cyber6. She’s currently best Maid Marian’s Tears, Steal This Album
known for finding and releasing Johnny Silverhand’s
final single, Black Dog. Lost Boys
Singles: Genre: Chromatic Rock
• Crafting a War (2044) Riding the edge of a classic horror revival wave to the
top of the charts, Lost Boys made heavy use of early
• Hidden Reality Game (2045)
electronic instruments like the theremin in their music.
• Healing Waters (2045)
Singles:
Llamaboys • Back From Nowhere (2013)

Genre: Technoise • Bite Me Mommy (2013)


The originator of the technoise genre, their debut album • Coffin Nailed (2013)
utilized complex overlay software to mix 1960s surf
rock with Tibetan monk chanting, producing a coherent Love, Death, and Philosophy
and unique sound from two otherwise incompatible
Genre: Prog Rock
music styles.
A mid-90s band responsible for a short-term prog rock
Albums: revival in the United Kingdom. LDP’s 2020 compilation
• Overlay (2005) album is great to listen to while flashing out on Blue Glass.

14
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Albums: Singles:
• Liberty’s Flight (2020) • Handbanger Born (2020)

M.C. Squared The Men in Trenchcoats and Sunglasses


Genre: Corporate Pop Genre: Chromatic Rock
Despite a club DJ-style name, M.C. Squared was A Swedish band with a poor interpretation of
actually an alternative singer/songwriter specializing American-style chromatic rock. A pale imitation, with
in educational music. a limited understanding of both the group’s chosen
themes and the instruments they played.
Singles:
• Truncheon Translation (2020) Singles:
• Raging Inside the Machine (2019)
Master of Disaster
The Mighty Mighty Trio
Genre: Speed Metal
A gimmick band more famous for their nudist album Genre: Chromatic Ska Band
covers than their actual music. A small-time band making ends meet via edgerunning.
They recently caused a stir after appearing on stage at
Singles:
Short Circuit despite reportedly dying in an AV crash
• Hanging Out (2013) on Halloween.
Mastermind Singles:
• Right Dead, Choom (2045)
Genre: Chromatic Rock
While Mastermind’s music isn’t as well-known as that • Meddling Kids (2045)
of frontwoman Denny’s first group, Samurai, the band
had a string of hits in the mid-to-late 2010s.
Mike “Fury” Crosanti
Albums: Genre: Chromatic Rock
• Night City Hurricane (2014) – Managed Crosanti’s music career never took off, but he remained
Naturally, Down My Throat, Victims of Fame dedicated to the art for the rest of his life. His store, Fury
Sound Audio Electronics, was the place to buy the best
Maz Despair speakers in Night City circa 2020.

Genre: Technoise Singles:


Although better known as a political comedian, Maz • Fury Sound (2015)
Despair’s one foray into music – an overlay of spoken
word music over technoise – was well received. Mokkori Power
Albums: Genre: Experimental
• Not Ashamed (2019) – Lenny Was Right, Jennifer Mokkori Power remains one of the greatest mysteries
is Dead, Remembering Kate and the Senator of musical history. The group’s only released track, Let’s
Be Making Sex, appeared on every music player in
Meat Grinder the UK at exactly midnight on January 1, 2020. No
one actively downloaded it. No one claimed credit for
Genre: Corporate Pop uploading it. No one knew who made the music. The
The perfect example of what happens when you focus mystery of Mokkori Power remains a subject of specu-
test music to death. An “industrial grunge” band that’s lation, documentaries, and conspiracy theory Garden
all flash and no substance. Patches to this day.

15
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Singles: Albums:
• Let’s Be Making Sex (2020) • Dansk All Night (2037) – Bullet For My Last
Supper, Bury Me in Kibble, Eulogy in Scarlet,
Montana Blades I Hate Crowds They Make Me Worse, Kill Your
Local Representative, Mola Mola Chit Chat, Sex
Genre: Corporate Pop
Sex Sex Death, Stop Listening, Village Song,
A corporate pop star turned producer who parlayed Xander’s Lullaby
a talent for predicting musical trends into an insane
amount of money. Best known for buying his own Nightingale
private island and marrying at least thirty-two different
people there … at the same time. Genre: Jazz

Singles: There is some debate as to whether Nightingale is a


jazz violinist who moonlights as an edgerunner or an
• I’m Damn Near Perfect (2008)
edgerunner who moonlights as a jazz violinist. Either
• All the Worlds (2010) way, she is best known for her duet album with jazz
pianist Takako Aoyama: Wrongbow Hunter.
• You Get One Piece of Me (2011)
Albums:
• I Get All Of You (2011)
• Wrongbow Hunter (2044)
NetWerk
Nox
Genre: Technoise
Genre: Synth Pop
The German band responsible for pushing the tech-
noise genre into the mainstream by releasing a compi- Nox’s concerts have been described as subversive and
lation of artfully arranged data signals recorded from positive at the same time, a combination that keeps her
the Eurotheatre section of the Old Net, translated into growing fan base coming back for more. When she
sounds that the human ear could comprehend. isn’t on stage belting out her unique brand of “extra-
terrestrial synth pop,” she’s running gigs with Team
Singles: Monster, her edgerunning crew.
• EchoNet (2017) Albums:
• Radioactive Angels (2018) Neo Retro (2044) –Fire Hazard, New Perception, In
the Nimbus, Ripperdog, Trauma Kit For My Soul
The Night Children
Genre: Dark Chromatic Eurorock
Old School Aliens
A goth-inspired band that broke up almost as fast as Genre: Cybergrunge
they got famous. Its lead singer and guitarist, Rico “Rico A Seattle band, Old School Aliens alternates between
Rico” Robinson still plays the occasional club around playing tribute to the roots of their genre and pushing
Night City’s combat zones. it to the edge by incorporating strange new musical
styles into their work.
Albums:
• Mumble/Glitch (2041) – Spirit Scent, Hatching
Ghost, Auditory Hallucination, Out There, Numb
Tongue
• Whistle/Probe (2045) – Pod of Lies, Extrasolar,
2600 Hz, Sliphorn Scoops, 12 bpm

16
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Perilous Futur contract. The group’s debut album wasn’t released until
2044, when Ziggurat posted it on The Garden, minus
Genre: Electropunk/Technorap subliminal messages (or so Ziggurat claimed).
The perfect blend of German electropunk and modern (for
Albums:
the time) technorap. Perilous Futur’s instrumental themes
heavily inspired the youth of Europe to protest against • Project Babylon (2045) – Failsafe, Final Insurance,
a wave of fascist politicians standing for local election Temple of Greed, Hounded
across the continent..
Pipin’ Hot
Singles:
• Death AM Digital (2020) Genre: Country
A true son of Nashville who achieved crossover fame
• Dirty Roses (2020)
with a hit single. His ultimate fate is unknown, but some
Persecution Complex say he was killed by a mob of fans angry over the
release of a song with an upbeat theme.
Genre: Chromatic Rock
Singles:
Persecution Complex roared onto the scene in 2012
with droning wall-of-noise sound and heavier-than- • You Said You’d Never Leave (2013)
metal beats that sounded like, in the words of one critic, • Drunk With My Dog (2013)
“the worst day you can have in Night City.”
• Fired by Daddy Corp (2013)
Singles:
• Eternal Routine (2012) Platinum Wave
• Night in the Bardo (2012) Genre: Chromatic Rock/Workshack Blues
• Susurrus (2012) A Highrider band that mixed earthbound chromatic
rock with the unique, orbital sound of workshack blues.
Pervert Cupid They aren’t well-known on Earth but remain superstars
Genre: Chromatic Rock in space.
Three chords, blazing fast licks, and a dream. The band Singles:
made a big splash in 2012, then faded away after its • Breathe Vac (2019)
lead singer overdosed on Black Lace.
• Recycled and Raw (2020)
Singles:
• Mutant 97 (2012) • Anniversary of Freedom (2042)

• Covered in Spiders (2012) Protocon


• Ginger Love (2012) Genre: Electric Punk

Phat Phrenzy The latest in Night City punk, topping the charts and
getting rave reviews from none other than Bes Isis. The
Genre: Hip-Hop band consists of three members: lead singer Raegan
In the late 2010s, it seemed as though Phat Phrenzy “Pro” Halley, drummer Shannah “To” Doole, and gui-
was on the verge of becoming the next big thing in tarist Kinneth “Con” de Léon.
hip-hop … but then it was discovered the band was
Albums:
embedding subliminal messages into its tracks. Phat
Phrenzy’s intent was not to influence the public but • {1ne night 0nly} (2045) – Electric Nights, Forgive
to “convince” record executives to sign a favorable Me, Levelling the Rock, Netrunning Noise

17
ROCKERBOY INDEX

The Razor Squad Roxanne Nova


Genre: Chipwave Genre: Chromatic Rock
A small Night City group plugged into the emerging An Australian rockergirl beloved locally for her cynical
chipwave scene. Lead singer Capo splits her time lyrics and biting style.
between the band and her roller derby team.
Singles:
Singles:
• Is It Good Enough? (2020)
• Solar Babies (2045)
• The Thirteenth Step (2021)
Red Star Girls • Love on a Star Ladder (2021)
Genre: Corporate Pop • Fangs in My Sock Drawer (2022)
The biggest Neo-Soviet band to break out of the former
Eastern Bloc since the end of the 4th Corporate War. RPH Metalhead
Spooky Star, Snarky Star, Sassy Star, Sloppy Star, and
Soldier Star aren’t just corporate-manufactured pop Genre: Grindtek
stars; they’re ambassadors of an entire nation. A favorite of Solos in the 2020s, perhaps because the
Albums: band gave free concert admission to military veterans,
both national and corporate.
• Smash Our Wall (2043) – Vostok Lover, Crashing
Waters (Soviet is the Greatest), Big Red Love Singles:
• Three-to-One (2020)
Renee Reynard
• Adrenaline Overdrive (2022)
Genre: Eurorock
• Rhythm on Fire (2022)
French rockergirl turned American superstar, Renee
sang hard and lived hard, blowing out her vocal cords
Rubicones
at the height of her career. She wasn’t satisfied with
the chrome put in to replace the damaged organ, so Genre: Chromatic Rock
she retired and started spinning records (or the digital
equivalent) for a radio station in Night City. She was A Brooklyn-based duo, Jacob Barber and Marcus
on the air when the nuke hit. Horn spent their formative years scrambling to survive
in the aftermath of the 1993 dirty bomb attack on New
Albums: York City. Rumor has it that they knew Adam Smasher
• All Those Foxes (2015) – Red Balloon, Love in his early days, when he was still meat.
Beneath the Waves, Only a Dream, Question
Singles:
Mark
• Friday Night Firefight (2013)
Richard Playdomann
• Trauma (2015)
Genre: Corporate Pop
Listening to Playdomann’s solo music – mostly easy
Sable and the Babies
listening granny pop – it can be hard to believe he Genre: Eco-Protest Rock
was one of the most in-demand pianists across the rock
spectrum in the 2010s … but it’s true! Richard’s piano Led by singer and synth artist Sable, with Merv
work can be heard on albums from Blood and Ice, Honeywell on drums, Spike O’Rourke on horns and
Johnny Silverhand, and Destiny, among others. winds, and Toad Patterson on lead guitar. Sable and the
Babies staged protest shows across the world, encourag-
Albums: ing their fans to do “whatever it takes” to fight the powers
• I Play the Songs (2020) behind climate change and environmental destruction.

18
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Singles: Seppuku
• Suite for a Cloud Forest (2017)
Genre: Heavy Metal Technoise
• Burn the Bridges (2019) In 2020, Seppuku briefly rose to the top of the technoise
• Any Means (2021) charts with the release of Cold Cuts, using fractal mathe-
matics to develop the rhythm section of their music.
• Spike the Machine (2021)
Albums:
Sarah O’Conner • Cold Cuts (2020) – Mandelbrot Murder, Iterated
Genre: Corporate Pop Infusion, Julia’s Judgement, Strange Attractors,
Broccoli Butchers
The biggest corporate pop diva of the 2010s and
2020s. At the time, hardly a day went by without Shatteredfax
a headline about Sarah O’Conner. Every outlet on
the planet was analyzing her musical stylings, dating Genre: EDM
habits, fashion choices, and drug habits. Despite a In 2008, Shatteredfax released a track entitled Wong
documented death via spontaneous human combus- Moves, deliberately calling out DMS CEO Howard
tion in 2022, fans insist she’s still out there, hanging Wong for his unethical treatment of creators. In
with Elvis and Johnny. response, DMS bought out Shatteredfax’s contract then
Singles: refused to release any additional material.

• Loving at the Speed of Light (2013) Singles:

• Tribute to Tommy (2018) • Wong Moves (2008)

• Said You Were the One (2020) Short Circuit Filkrunners


Samurai Genre: Filk
A rotating group of netrunners and techs, led by Leslie
Genre: Chromatic Rock
Shark, who love singing tunes inspired by science
Samurai only released three original albums (and fiction, fantasy, and horror. The Filkrunners take the
three concert albums) before the big breakup, but as stage at Short Circuit on the second Friday of each
the origin point of Johnny Silverhand, Kerry Eurodyne, month.
Bes Isis, and Denny of Mastermind, the band’s impact
continues to resonate to this day. Singles:
• I Saw MAX-TAC Hunting S.A.N.T.A. Choom
Albums:
(2045)
• Blistering Love (2003) – Binocular Eyes, Blistering
Love, Cyber Sexcapades, Dissolute Game, Five • Ballad of a Space Marine (2045)
Rings, Hostility Brutality, No Man Anymore, Seven
Virtues, Titanium Skin, When Love Runs Low
• Chippin’ In (2005) – Braindead, Black and Blue
and Red, Chippin’ In, Cybercell, Drowning Call,
Hell’s Blades, The Hostess, Iron Pump, Metal Grave,
My Marionette, Too Much Too Little, War Crisis
• The Ballad of Buck Ravers (2007) – Archangel,
A Like Supreme, Dancing With My Axe, The
Ballad of Buck Ravers, Bleed the Beat, Never
Fade Away

19
ROCKERBOY INDEX

Silver Slash Sir Max


Genre: Chromatic Metal Genre: Punk
Though a one-hit wonder, many believe Silver Slash A Rockerboy who insists he is the rusted knight protect-
had a bigger impact on the world than even the likes ing the true legacy of punk, Sir Max is currently one of
of Johnny Silverhand and Rockerboy Manson. Silver the United Kingdom’s biggest musical exports.
Slash’s 2017 hit, Stand For Your World, inspired guard-
ian gangs to rise up and protect the streets across the Albums:
globe. Unfortunately, none of those gangs survived the • Nasty Little Secrets (2045) – Flood Zone Famine,
4th Corporate War. Long Pork Chop, ChainRipp Massacre, Blueglass
Haze
Singles:
• Stand For Your World (2017) Skinblossom
Sinners N’ Saints Genre: Post-Hardcore
A Netherlands-based band throwing off the shackles
Genre: Chromatic Rock
of the Ghost of Punk Past to find a new sound. At least,
Sinner's N’ Saints’ hit single, On the Edge of a Combat they were in 2020.
Zone, inspired a small gang in Night City. Both the
band and the gang died during an ortilary strike during Singles:
the 4th Corporate War. • Transcontinental Touch (2020)
Singles: • Roses of Blood (2020)
• On the Edge of a Combat Zone (2020)
Skyrider
• Analog Braindance (2021)
Genre: Corporate Pop
Sinningtheteks
Music with no personality, embodying the marriage
Genre: Grindtek of keyword-optimized lyrics and overly engineered
music.
The world’s first grindtek band, Sinningthetek’s first album
celebrated gang culture and served as ambassadors of Singles:
the Technohumanist movement (a belief similar to, but • Streets of Passion (2013)
not identical to Transhumanism). Later albums were less
openly violent, perhaps due to the band’s extensive time • Passion on the Street (2014)
spent in therapy. Their first album remains popular with
gangs like The Enhanced to this day. Slaughtered L ambs
Albums: Genre: R&B/Reggae Fusion
• Full Leather Jacket (2012) – Violent Hickey, The house band of The Forlorn Hope back in the
Metalgeared Up, Gunfire Birdsong, Blood On 2020s. Sundance (bassist), ZZ Destroyer (guitarist),
My Blade, Blade In My Blood, Future’s So Dark Banger (drummer), and Ras Angabo (keyboards). They
(I Need a Light) spent almost as much time working the bar as they did
• I AM THE MACHINE (2015) –The Future is Binary, working on the stage.
Toffler’s Third Wave, The Fugue, Reborn into Singles:
Nirvana
• Three Hour Tour (2019)
• Without Compromise (2020) – Neon Wonderland,
• Sir Lancelot (2019)
Ripperdoc’s Consent, Licking a Socket, Flying with
Microwaves • Never Rescued (2020)

20
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Society Stiletto Feels
Genre: Punk Rock Genre: Chromatic Rock
The first British band to tour the country as part of an The UK’s original chromatic rock band. They played
underground movement to resist the Martial Law Authority. right before James “Rockerboy” Manson at the
They continued to protest against authority after the MLA Amnesty Incident and barely got out alive. In the
fell, but mysteriously vanished in 2020 … only to reappear 2020s, they transitioned from being the voice of a
in Vancouver 2031, when they released Punk in Exile. musical generation to milking nostalgia with reunion
concerts and compilation albums.
Singles:
Albums:
• Queen Save the God (2015)
• Sex With My Ex (1995) – Choke Me, Shredded
• Coal Miners All (2015) Lingerie, Bed Bounce

• Punk in Exile (2031) • Sex With Your Ex (2020) – Choke Me, Shredded
Lingerie, Bed Bounce
Soul Rebels
Stormrider
Genre: Chromatic Metal
Genre: Cybergrunge
The regular house band of The Forlorn Hope in 2045,
Stormrider would have been successful if it had signed a
before it blew up. All but lead singer Grace Steel per-
record deal at any time other than during the Collapse of
ished in the fire.
the 1990s. The band’s lead singer, Suds Joliet, eventually
Singles: opened The Slammer, a bar in Night City named after
the band’s best performing song. Modern audiences are
• Back Street Brawling (2044)
rediscovering Stormrider’s music thanks to the efforts of
• Wednesday Night (2045) a small but persistent fanbase.
Singles:
Starthief and L ady Shine
• Raw and Angry (1996)
Genre: Chromatic Rock
• Living Brains (1997)
An up and coming chromatic rock duo from Salem.
They’re taking the East Coast of the United States by • Stuck in the Slammer (1997)
storm.
Stranger Inside of Me
Singles:
Genre: Chromatic Rock
• Steal This Planet (2045)
A protest band singing against the potential evils of
• Laser Sharp Chords (2045) corporate-driven biotechnology. During a 2017 tour,
all four members of the band were killed or maimed.
Starving Dogs The perpetrators were never brought to justice.

Genre: Acid Country Albums:

A small, underground band led by singer and gui- • Humanity (2016) – Bright White Smile, Every
tarist Perry Garcia. Starving Dogs played across the Fourth Child, Helix
American South in the 2020s
Slurm 39
Singles:
Genre: Eurorock
• Spiritual Advisor (2019)
One of the hardest-hitting bands to come out of
• Land of the Free? (2020) Germany in the 2020s. Every concert was a riot.

21
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Singles: Albums:
• Seine Gewalttätige Art (2020) • Talking Sticks (2020) – Chants for United, Song of
the Rambler, Manchester Canal
• Ostrock (2021)

Sweeney Toby the Hammer


Genre: Chromatic Country
Genre: Corporate Pop
A Russian cybermerc turned American rockerboy,
The most smooth-voiced, mellow rock artist ever to sign a
famous for blending chromatic rock and classic country.
record deal. Chances are, if you’ve watched a commercial
or two, you’ve heard his work playing in the background. Albums:
Ignore the rumors of cannibalism. He certainly did.
• My Dog is My Truck (2019) – Solo, Contract On
Singles: My Ex, Bottom of a Vodka Bottle
• Smiling Because You Are Here (2020)
Total Anarchy
• Greatest Hit (2021)
Genre: Chromatic Rock
• You’re Singing My Song (2022)
A chaotic rock band with a simple message in every
Takako Aoyama note of their music: random violence solves every
problem. Popular with the Steel Slaughter Slammers in
Genre: Jazz the 2020s and the Kill Krashers in 2045.
A jazz pianist of great renown and the owner of Night Albums:
City radio station 91.9 Royal Blue. She did a crossover
• Screw Everyone (2020) – Blood Stomp, Autopsied
album with jazz violinist Nightingale.
Alive, Molotov Sex Me, Killing Until We Krash
Albums:
• Dancing Up the Ivory Steps (2042) Uma Angell
• Royal Blue (2043) Genre: Corporate Pop

• Wrongbow Hunter (2044) The ultimate example of pre-4CW pop stardom. Uma’s
debut single rocketed to the top of the charts a week
Take Your Best Shot (TYBS) after it came out, and her first album was an instant
sell-out. As interest declined, rumors began circulating
Genre: Chromatic Idol that Uma was not human but a computer-generated
The perfect synthesis of J-pop idol group and American construct, and sales skyrocketed for a second time in
boy band, Take Your Best Shot tops the charts across response. Post-4CW, a small but dedicated legion of
the globe. The band’s fans are known as much for their fans, The Angellic Chorus, believe Uma is trapped in
toxic infighting as for their rabid devotion to members the Old Net and seek to free her.
Tyler, Yuuto, B3nny, and Shintaro. Albums:
Albums: • I Love You All (2019) – Tears of Joy, Flight to
• TYBS#1 (2024) – Put a Bullet Through My Heart, Heaven, Fire in My Soul, Save Me Please
Necked Down, Overpressure
Unreliable Narrators
Talking Sticks
Genre: Alternative
Genre: Corporate Pop The favorite rock group of nerds everywhere,
A band from Manchester. No one has ever been better Unreliable Narrators blends catchy licks with off-beat
at taking an old folk tune, stripping it of all meaning, lyrics and cleverly embedded pop culture references to
and transforming it into bland but dependable hits. create a listening treat for those of the geek persuasion.

22
ROCKERBOY INDEX
Albums: Albums:
• Infrared Eyes (2040) – Dancing in My Brain, • Sign of the Times (1999)
Sapphic Bullets, Plugged Into Nothing, Murk Man
• Revelation (1999)
Beyond, Giants of Rock and Rule
• Betrayed (2012)
URBIS
Wet Szn
Genre: EDM
The hottest name in EDM on the West Coast. URBIS’s Genre: Chipwave
sound dominates the dance floors in any club worth The biggest name in chipwave, this Toronto-based
going to, including their own, Smash/Cut. band recently embedded with a Folk Nation clan and
embarked on a sixty-four-city tour across the Americas.
Singles:
• Smash/Cut/Survive. (2043) Albums:
• Magic Number 64 (2043) – Drive, The Plot, Acid
• Party Cannon (2045)
Bitch, Jump Man Jump
Vengeance Word
Wirebrain
Genre: Chromatic Rock
Genre: Technoise
Vengeance Word made no secret of their hatred for
A member of the Church of Elvis, Wirebrain was
the Megacorps in the 2020s. Their concerts, played in
murdered by his fellow parishioners after committing
combat zones around the world, almost always coin-
sacrilege by sampling classic songs by the King and
cided with “terrorist” attacks on properties owned by
inserting them into new, electronic music.
International Electric Corp, Arasaka, and Network 54.
Rumors abound that lead singer Rory Murchison and his Singles:
twin sister Lea used the war as cover for an all-out assault • Homicidal and Getting Worse (2020)
on IEC and were responsible for the assassination of CEO
Erich Kessler, the brain death of his son Peter, and the • Hail to My King (2021)
destruction of the megacorp’s headquarters in Berlin. No
one has heard from the Murchison twins or the band since. WobbleHead
Albums: Genre: Chipwave
• Last Concert (2022) – You Killed Our Father, A chipwave artist out of Korea, famous for modifying
Prepare to Die, Death of Good Things, Corporate old gaming consoles into musical instruments.
Slaves, Blood in Your Blender Singles:
Watchmen • TV Game (2044)

Genre: Christian Rock XerzeX


A militant Catholic rock band protesting against the Genre: Rap
United States government. All six members of the band
spent nearly two decades in Federal prison after being A veteran of the Central American Conflicts and the
convicted on sixty-two charges ranging from treason Second Corporate War, XerzeX was the first Rockerboy
to terrorism to possession with intent to distribute. Upon from the MetaKey to hit it big.
release, the band put out a new album protesting the Singles:
neo-Catholic reforms of the 2010s. The band was
• Chillin’ on the Key (2015)
assassinated six months later by a Swiss Solo rumored
to be in the employ of the Vatican. • Heave Ho (2017)

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ROCKERBOY INDEX

W hat’s Playing When Your Crew Enters a Bar/Club?


w h a t s p l a y i n g w h e n y o u r c r e w e n t e r s a b a r c l u b
▶ The Afterlife ▶ Club Atlantis
The premiere edgerunner bar in Night City. Owned by A glamorous, multi-level club with a flashy, avant-
the legendary Solo, Rogue. garde, and disorienting style.

2d6 What’s Playing 2d6 What’s Playing

2 To The Fullest by Artificial Kids 2 EMP to the Brain by Adam Dore


3 Cybernetic Shout by Blood and Ice 3 Cruising the Nomad Highway by Cosmic Thing
4 Suffer Me by Brutus Backlash 4 Burn It Down by the Digital Divas
5 Ginsu Lover by Cutthroat 5 DJ Nova (live)
6 Slam Down the Floor by The Digital Divas 6 Gold (live)
7 Never Fade Away by Johnny Silverhand 7 High On Your Love by Kira <3
8 Down My Throat by Mastermind 8 Electric Nights by Protocon
9 Only a Dream by Renee Reynard 9 Big Red Love by Red Star Girls
10 The Thirteenth Step by Roxanne Nova 10 Steal This Planet by Starthief and Lady Shine
11 Friday Night Firefight by the Rubicones 11 Party Cannon by URBIS
12 Contract On My Ex by Toby the Hammer 12 Wet Szn (live)

▶ Bella Mia ▶ Delirium


A club where the affluent and most fashionable resi- A gothpunk virtuality club. Patrons wear virtuality head-
dents of Night City go to be seen. sets to change the decor to an overlay of their choosing.

2d6 What’s Playing 2d6 What’s Playing

2 Drug the Night Away by Access Denied 2 I Will Follow by Beached Tarantula
3 Neon Nights by Adam Dore 3 New Generation of Violence by Blood and Ice
4 Plug Into Me by Bridget Bash 4 Rainbow Party by DSE
5 Digital Divas (live) 5 EZ-8 (live)
6 Do This Party Ya by Face Boys 6 Skeleton’s Ball by The Harrowers
7 Gold (live) 7 Hidden Reality Game by Lilayah
8 Sodium Hell by Jack “Entropy” Inkerman 8 Bite Me Mommy by Lost Boys
9 Buyayang Buyayang by Kerry Eurodyne 9 Stop Listening by The Night Children
10 Protocon (live) 10 Nightingale (live)
11 Overpressure by Take Your Best Shot 11 Nox (live)
12 Smash/Cut/Survive by URBIS 12 Anniversary of Freedom by Platinum Wave

24
ROCKERBOY INDEX

▶ The Forlorn Hope ▶ Short Circuit


A venerable edgerunner bar and Night City institution. Night City’s premiere Tech and Netrunner bar. Owned
Roughly half the music played is live. and operated by Brain and his husband 3-Piece.

2d6 What’s Playing 2d6 What’s Playing

2 Broadway Blacklight by Busted Flush 2 Swimming On Mars by Cosmic Thing


3 82nd Airborne by Destiny 3 Plugged Into Freshpack by Day-Glo Brainwaves
4 Grace Steel and the Distortions (live) 4 Chip This Tune by Hikaru Flash
5 Grace Steel and the Distortions (live) 5 Shining Spark by Kira <3
6 Grace Steel and the Distortions (live) 6 Heavy Light Music by Lazo, Sumi & Tenko
7 Word is Now by IBDY 7 Let’s Be Making Sex by Mokkori Power
8 Black Lung by James “Rockerboy” Manson 8 Pod of Lies by Old School Aliens
9 Feet Full of Blisters by Justifiable Homicide 9 Solar Babies by The Razor Squad
10 Trauma Kit For My Soul by Nox 10 Short Circuit Filkrunners (live)
11 Wednesday Night by Soul Rebels 11 Save Me Please by Uma Angell
12 Three Hour Tour by the Slaughtered Lambs 12 Murk Man Beyond by Unreliable Narrators

▶ MetalStorm ▶ The Slammer


A seemingly indestructible bar located under the Home of the Arena, a no-holds-barred combat ring
Pacifica Bridge. Popular with FBCs. gangers can step into to settle their disputes without murder.

2d6 What’s Playing 2d6 What’s Playing

2 Bridgit Bash (live) 2 Murder for Money by Cowboy Panzer


3 Scumfuck by Brown Brown Fox 3 Drowning in Kibble by Destiny
4 Impaled on My Axe by Deathweez Dioxin 4 DJ Nova (live)
5 Hölle by Gewalt 5 No Convenient Apocalypse by Kruschev’s Ghost
6 Fuck Your Meat by HardTech 6 Adrenaline Overdrize by RPH Metalhead
7 Chrome Heartbeat by Kira <3 7 ChainRipp Massacre by Sir Max
8 EchoNet by NetWek 8 Stuck in the Slammer by Stormrider
9 Death AM Digital by Perilous Futur 9 Seine Gewalttätige Art by Slurm 39
10 Toffler’s Third Wave by Sinningtheteks 10 Blood Stomp by Total Anarchy
11 Molotov Sex Me by Total Anarchy 11 Acid Bitch by Wet Szn
12 Blood In Your Blender by Vengeance Word 12 Heave Ho by XerzeX

25
ROCKERBOY INDEX
▶ Smash/Cut ▶ Xanadu
An EDM club where the chromed up go to dance, do A roller derby rink and disco tech. Home of the Muses,
drugs, and have anonymous sex. Owned by URBIS. a Greek mythology/disco fusion themed gang.

2d6 What’s Playing 2d6 What’s Playing

2 DJ Nova (live) 2 Kissing Under the Red Sky by Adam Dore


3 4 Gigs 1 Rocker by Eastern Wire 3 321 Let’s Jam by Azukachi Toranoga
4 MekkaFusion by Godziller IE! 4 Abra la Puerta by Colorama
5 Panzerjock Boyfriend by High Society Fashion Band 5 Desperate for Work by The Digital Divas
6 Street Glide by Julio Villareal and Salsa Magica 6 EZ-8 (live)
7 Wong Moves by Shatteredfax 7 So It Goes by Fingers and the Outlaws
8 URBIS (live) 8 Famous for Famous by Forty
9 Party Cannon by URBIS 9 Grace Steel and the Distortions (live)
10 Smash/Cut/Survive by URBIS 10 Choomsplosion by The Ks
11 Homicidal and Getting Worse by Wirebrain 11 Fire Hazard by Nox
12 TV Games by Wobblehead 12 Laser Sharp Chords by Starthief and Lady Shine

▶ Totentanz ▶ The XX
A chrome metal club and home base for Maelstrom. A dive punk bar. Breakfist, the band that ons the joint,
Possibly radioactive depending on how the wind blows. serves juice instead of booze.

2d6 What’s Playing 2d6 What’s Playing

2 Analog Braindance by Deathwheez Dioxin 2 Breakfist (live)


3 Drive Me Cyberpsycho by DemonSeid 3 Grindertooth by Breakfist
4 Riot Rollout by Emil “Death” Johnson 4 Dumpster Dining by Breakfist
5 Ragnarok by Gewalt 5 Plastic Grenade by Brown Brown Fox
6 Murder Me Baby by Kittiyasu Rose 6 Protocon (live)
7 Hanging Out by Master of Disaster 7 Iterated Infusion by Seppuku
8 Metalgeared Up by Sinningtheteks 8 Stand For Your World by Silver Slash
9 Ostrock by Slurm 39 9 Blueglass Haze by Sir Max
10 Roses of Blood by Skinblossom 10 Punk in Exile by Society
11 Smash/Cut/Survive by URBIS 11 Raw and Angry by Stormrider
12 Hail to My King by Wirebrain 12 Death of Good Things by Vengeance Word

Art and Photography By


Alan Okamoto, Chris Hockabout, Christopher Remmers, Colin Fisk, Doug Shuler, Elena Lorenzo, Hector Gomez, Helio
Frazo, J Gray, Michelangelo, Neil Branquinho, and Sebastian Szmyd

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