Youngblood

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Biography

Bobby Sisk - Lead Vocals
Jeff Diehl - Guitars & Vocals
Eric Saylors - Guitars & Vocals
Danny Williams - Keyboards & Vocals
Kyle Koker - Bass & Vocals
Kevin Kale - Drums

Youngblood was officially formed in December of 1989. Jeff Diehl and Danny Williams had played in their high school band "Departure" through their entire time in high school while Bobby Sisk sang and played guitar in rival bands through his high school years at the same school from 1981 through 1985.

 

After high school Jeff played in a national touring rock band named "Super Trooper" until 1986. After leaving the band, Jeff opened his recording studio, Diehl Productions in his home town of Carmel, Indiana in 1987.

 

Danny toured with international gospel singer Phil Driscoll and then later moved to Los Angeles, where he owned and operated the Tropicana Nightclub. After that, Danny worked with Dr. Jerry Bus and his Los Angeles Lakers in promotions. He wrote and performed many of their national jingle music cuts, as well as performed live at The Forum until returning to his hometown of Carmel, Indiana in 1988 to begin his recording studio career with Jeff at his studio.

 

Bobby joined various bands after high school but found his home with the band Wanted in 1988. After recording a five song demo at Jeff's studio, the band impressed Geffen Records so much they flew them all out to Los Angeles to showcase for Geffen and was offered a development deal on the spot. After member issues and directional conflicts the band broke up.

 

In 1989, Bobby went to Jeff's studio where the two of them wrote and played their first song together, "Don't Play With My Head". This song was written about a real experience that Bobby had the night before while spending an evening with a girl only to wake up with a gun to his head! The girl's boyfriend didn't like the fact that the girl had lied to Bobby and needless to say, Bobby gathered up his clothes and "got the Hell out of there"!

 

After the song was recorded, a copy was sent to a Sony/Epic Records management firm, and they loved the new track! They immediately drew up contracts for Bobby, Jeff and Danny to begin writing material for the first album's release. Bobby sang the lead vocals, Danny played piano, keys and vocals and Jeff played drums, bass, guitars and vocals. The guys worked six to seven days a week on their material for over nine months to create the first forty five tracks that Diehl Productions mixed and mastered. Management approved and accepted sixteen of the tracks to be released on the first CD with the others to be held back for future releases.

 

It was time to put the live band together. Jeff, Danny and Bobby searched the entire mid-west to find the best players with the best attitudes to form the live band. They found some of the best guys to fill these roles. First one to join was Eric Cruise, formally one of the guitar players from Bobby's previous band, Wanted. Eric was very talented and had the look and personality to match. He fit in great. Next to join was Kyle Koker. A tall good looking bass player with a large list of credits to his name for being just twenty four years old. Kyle was perfect for the band. Killer gear and dedicated. Finally, the new band needed a great drummer. They brought in many different drummers from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan but no one seemed to be able to cut it. The drums on the new material were intense and complicated and required a very special drummer to pull it off live. Finally, Bobby recommended a guy he had played with years earlier named Kevin Kale. Jeff and Danny were skeptical at this point, having been let down by so many. Bobby suggested that we go to Bloomington, Indiana to the famous Blue Bird to see Kevin play with his current band. They agreed and took a road trip to Indiana University to see this guy. Jeff remembers saying to Bobby and  Danny, "If this guy comes in and has a bunch of excuses, we should just bolt. Let's not waste our time with another mediocre drummer." The other two agreed. About that time, in walks Kevin Kale. He comes right up to the three of them and says, "What a horrible time to check me out! I've only played with these guys for a couple gigs and this will be the first night I'll actually play with a click track in my ear!" Jeff looked at Bobby and Danny and all of them started laughing! Kevin wasn't clued in to their personal joke yet they all went into the concert hall together to see Kevin play. After getting a drink at the bar Jeff, Danny and Bobby all sat in the very back of the room and got ready to hear this guy play. It wasn't :30 into their set, Jeff grabbed his drink and smokes and went right to the front to get an even better look at Kevin. Jeff recalls, "He was FU*^IN' KILLER!" Kevin was the best unsigned drummer Jeff had ever seen! Danny remembers going out to Jeff's Celica to play the new material for Kevin to see if he would be interested in becoming the new drummer. Kevin said, "Is that you guys?" Bobby answer, "Yes, of coarse." Kevin then said, "If you guys can play like this live, I will definitely join your band!!" It was set. The band was now complete and ready to rock!

 

After six months of intense rehearsals, the band was ready to play live, but they still did not have a band name. Youngblood had not been thought of yet. Some of the names that were considered were, "Val Hala" and "Troika". In fact, the bands first gig at the Rupp Arena in Louisville, KY was under the name, "Siskendiehl". It was a month later when the name "Youngblood" was decided on. Immediately posters, t-shirts and promo were covered in their new name and artwork. Professional photos were taken and the band now had their identity locked in.

 

Immediately, the band was on the radio. WTTS, WFBQ and WHJE were playing their music in full rotation. They played in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Canada and many more states and venues. They played in baseball stadiums, arenas, clubs, coliseums and even cool small clubs all over the Midwest for over two straight years while showcasing for Sony, A&M, Geffen and many others. It was at this point that Bobby was being courted by Broadway in New York City. He was asked to tryout for the Broadway show "Tommy" as the lead singer and Bobby accepted the challenge. The entire band understood that this was an great opportunity for Bobby. Jeff and Danny decided to continue recording new material, form a new band named "Brickyard" with all of the remaining Youngblood members and began touring.

 

The original forty five songs were copied to digital DAT masters and stored in a climate controlled studio for the next twenty years. It wasn't until Stephen Craig, the visionary mind of Eonian Records, contacted Jeff Diehl in 2006 that the masters had seen a tape deck in two decades. Jeff said, "I put the masters in and hit play. It blew me away! I hadn't heard the masters under studio conditions in years! I knew it was time to release the material we worked so hard on decades ago."

 

Today, Jeff and Danny are still working together in the recording studio with Kyle and Kevin. They have written material for over 250 radio stations in syndication, written songs for the White House, Los Angeles Lakers, Indianapolis Colts, International producer, Eddie Kramer (Hendrix, Zepplin, KISS, etc., etc.) as well as recorded records with Gene Simmons of KISS in their studios in Carmel, Indiana.

 

The guys are VERY happy that their material is finally going to be heard, after all this time! The release is titled, "No Retreat", which is perfect for these guys! Jeff and Danny have worked professionally for over three decades in the music business with their great friends from the band and are hopeful that listeners worldwide will enjoy their music as much as they have over the years.