With a mixture of Hip-Hop beats, Reggae and Ska Grooves and a Rock soul, Rocky Leon shines like the sun from his home, California. A viral video that brought joy to hundreds of thousands of people paved the way from a life of street-performance, hitch-hiking and couch-surfing to playing shows for devoted fans all across Europe and Russia.
With his loop-station, guitar, voice, vocal beat-box and other instruments the One-Man-Band's positive energy soon has the crowd jumping up and down.
Music
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Well I been going over over 10 years never doing what I have to
I been getting on just fine
You got to do this you got to do that
I realized they were lying
I don’t gotta do anything I don’t gotta do
Anything I don’t wanna do
You gotta think about your future (No I don’t!)
Gotta make a proper plan (No I don’t!)
You gotta be a guitar teacher (No I don’t!)
Gotta be a grown ass man (Fuck that!)
I don’t gotta do anything I don’t gotta do
Anything I don’t wanna do
Gotta make a bunch of content (No I don’t!)
Gotta keep the fans engaged (No I don’t!) and you gotta play
Christmas songs during advent (No I don’t!)
And wear a nice outfit on stage (Fuck that!)
I don’t gotta do anything I don’t gotta do
…
Anything and neither do you
Humans are social creatures
And we wanna help others and be kind
So assuming you are not a psychopath,
Then whatever you wanna do is fine
You don’t gotta do anything you don’t gotta do
Anything you don’t wanna do
You don’t gotta do anything you don’t gotta do
Anything unless you're a woman
You gotta be a stay home mother (No I don’t!)
Dedicate your whole life (No I don’t!)
Gotta leave the career to the others (No I don’t!)
And be a submissive wife (Fuck that!)
You don’t gotta do anything you don’t gotta do
Anything you don’t wanna do
Hey kids! You gotta go to school on fridays (No I don’t!)
Gotta sit and wait your turn (No I don’t!)
Gotta let us build more highways (No I don’t!)
Gotta let the planet burn (Fuck that!)
Gotta give 100 percent (No I don’t!)
Got to be fiscally wise (No I don’t!)
Gotta raise corporate profits (No I don’t!)
Gotta let the oceans rise (Fuck that!)
We don’t gotta do anything we don’t gotta do
Anything we don’t wanna do
Rocky Leon throws down the ultimate anthem of defiance with his new single, "No, I Don't!" The ska-punk banger, is a high-energy celebration of saying "No!".
Think about your future! Make a plan! Grow up! Submit to societal norms! Be reasonable!
Rocky's response?
A resounding, "Fuck that!"
Whether it’s mundane chores or monumental decisions, "No, I Don't!" questions it all with a bla bla bla … I don’t gotta finish this release text. I don’t gotta do anything I don’t wanna do.
You can stream it or download it if you really want to. You do you!
Have you ever felt like shit?
Have you ever felt guilty for feeling like shit while others have it so much worse? Well you should, you ungrateful shit!
“I Feel Like Shit” is a fun, high-energy ska punk tragicomedy that Read more
Have you ever felt guilty for feeling like shit while others have it so much worse? Well you should, you ungrateful shit!
“I Feel Like Shit” is a fun, high-energy ska punk tragicomedy that Read more
Have you ever felt like shit?
Have you ever felt guilty for feeling like shit while others have it so much worse? Well you should, you ungrateful shit!
“I Feel Like Shit” is a fun, high-energy ska punk tragicomedy that tackles the absurdity of feeling miserable despite living a life of privilege. Rocky Leon speaks directly to a generation struggling with mental health while being told they “have it all” and delivers a brutally honest inner monologue that will make you wonder whether his big stupid smile was fake all along.
Have you ever felt guilty for feeling like shit while others have it so much worse? Well you should, you ungrateful shit!
“I Feel Like Shit” is a fun, high-energy ska punk tragicomedy that tackles the absurdity of feeling miserable despite living a life of privilege. Rocky Leon speaks directly to a generation struggling with mental health while being told they “have it all” and delivers a brutally honest inner monologue that will make you wonder whether his big stupid smile was fake all along.
I Feel Like Shit
I feel like shit but I really got no right
I am a straight, cis dude and I’m even fucking white
I hit the jackpot for everything in life
I should be praising the lord but I just wanna fucking die
I don’t gotta sit in an office all day long
I get paid just to sing my stupid songs
On paper there ain’t nothing wrong and I really don’t know why
I’m not praising the lord but I just wanna die
I got my health and I’m not in any pain
Don’t live in Palestine I don’t live in Ukraine
I got no reasonable reason to complain
I’m so ungrateful I must be fucking insane
Ya know sometimes life fucking sucks
But, when I manage to focus on the things that don’t suck
Then life doesn’t suck as much
I got no kids that could keep me up at night
I got no stress and I never gotta fight
I got teeth in my mouth that can bite
I should be praising the lord but I just wanna fucking die
I’m a straight white boy in a land that’s rich
And I’m crying like I’m a little bitch
And I got food and beer chilling in my fridge
Check that privilege
I got everything that everybody needs in life
And I don’t have a shitty boss or an upset wife
And I got so much fucking leisure time, everything is fine
When I see the world with gratitude
It changes my whole attitude
I become a happy dude and everything is sweet
I got a roof to protect me from the rain
Don’t gotta walk I can hop up on a train
They give me money for the music I been playin’
Why am I whining, I must really be insane
You know we’re always fucking wanting shit that we don’t have
But when we get it we still feel like shit if we don’t laugh
And I must remind myself I’m lucky I can take a bath
Cuz I know as long as I’m ungrateful life will be a drag
I got my health and I’m not in any pain
I got some wisdom I’d forgotten to regain
Just like a muscle is a thing you gotta train
Now I’m so grateful I’m repeating the refrain
I got a roof to protect me from the rain
Don’t gotta walk I can hop up on a train
they give me money for the music I been playin’
When I see the world with gratitude
It changes my whole attitude
My latitude and longitude align
And I’m too happy to complain
I wrote this song a few months ago. I was having a hard time because things that had been working really well up until then suddenly stopped working. Specifically the amount of money I was making when performing in the subway stations in Vienna dropped drastically. And the harder I tried, the worse it got. At some point I was feeling so bad that I allowed myself to follow my friend’s advice and read a self help book about the law of attraction.
I’ve always had a strong resistance to this kind of thing. For one, because i’ve often observed a lot of insincerity in people within the esoteric/spiritual community. I greatly value authenticity. And when I sense people are pretending like everything is love and light while just suppressing all the darkness it gives me the creeps. And another reason I’ve avoided self help kind of books is a certain degree of pride - I am ashamed to admit. 😆 Like I went my whole adult life just kind of going with the flow and being in the flow and succeeding without trying. And I guess I felt like reading a self help book without mean admitting to myself that I am no longer killing it without trying and I am therefore a complete failure or something. 😅
I probably didn’t think that thought out clearly like that but it’s kinda the vibe I think I felt at the time.
But after many weeks of going out busking and coming home day after day with less than half the money I had become accustomed to making I was getting more and more drained and mopey. And the longer that went on for, naturally, the worse it got. And once you start expecting things to be bad to spare yourself the disappointment, then it becomes almost guaranteed that they will in fact be bad.
A third reason why I avoided self help books like that is that I felt I had already internalized the principles of how to live a happy life many years ago. I had been the one who went around telling people the secret to happiness is focusing on the good things in your life, no matter how small they are. How embarrassing would it be to find I’m not able to practice what I’ve been preaching all these years…
But like I say in one of the lines in the song “Just like a muscle is a thing you gotta train”
At some point it got bad enough that I had to accept that continuing to actually feel like shit is worse than admitting that I feel like shit, so begrudgingly I read the damn book.
Essentially what it comes down to with the law of attraction is that if you are actively and consciously grateful for the good things in your life, that puts you in a better headspace. And when you’re in a better headspace people react more positively to you, your brain works better so you make more progress and if one is to believe the gurus, the whole universe aligns in your favor.
Essentially it is basic psychology. But the esoteric/spiritual people like to sell it as magic. For some people it’s helpful to see it that way, but for me it just makes me roll my eyes till they hurt. I find that over the top talk of magic and the universe and all that so annoying. But the most annoying thing about all that is that it fucking works. If you manage to overcome your resistance and suspend disbelief and just do the stupid gratitude exercises… they fucking work. Fucking hippies were right all along! nooooo 😆
Now a lot of ultraspiritual dumbfucks take this shit too far and start thinking that people who are in less fortunate and privileged positions only have themselves to blame for their misery ignoring the structural inequalities that keep some people poor and some people rich. That’s a forth reason why I have tended to avoid this type of material.
But if you have your basic needs met and are not, you know, clinically depressed, or being exterminated, or being prevented from being yourself by a conservative heteronormative patriarchal society … ramble ramble … if your basic needs are met, then … this spiritual nonsense actually fucking works. 😅🙈
But it is a process. It’s not like you push a button and suddenly you’re happy. If you’re feeling like shit you will still feel like shit for a bit, but also feel like an asshole for feeling like shit despite your privilege. But if you manage to stick with it… something something … i’m tired of writing. peace ✌️😅
Are you getting older? Have you ever gotten older? Will you ever get older? If so, then this song is for you!
Rocky Leon is back with a stupid new song about turning 40 called “Turning 40”. Rocky listened to too much 90s Read more
Rocky Leon is back with a stupid new song about turning 40 called “Turning 40”. Rocky listened to too much 90s Read more
Are you getting older? Have you ever gotten older? Will you ever get older? If so, then this song is for you!
Rocky Leon is back with a stupid new song about turning 40 called “Turning 40”. Rocky listened to too much 90s Ska Punk (like Reel Big Fish and Sublime), watched too much South Park and never grew out of it. What a child!
But after decades of sitting, whether on a couch or at a desk, there comes a time when getting off your butt and working out seems like, important or whatever, and this high energy sound track will give you just the motivation you need.
Did you also feel like 40 year olds were way more grown up when you were 20? What’s up with that?
“Turning 40” is the first single from the upcoming album “Little Troll”. Streamable at rockyleon.com and everywhere else where you stream music.
So get off your lazy ass, get some fresh air, do a pushup, hydrate and listen to the song, while you still have the physical and mental faculties to do it! Tick tock motherfucker!
Rocky Leon is back with a stupid new song about turning 40 called “Turning 40”. Rocky listened to too much 90s Ska Punk (like Reel Big Fish and Sublime), watched too much South Park and never grew out of it. What a child!
But after decades of sitting, whether on a couch or at a desk, there comes a time when getting off your butt and working out seems like, important or whatever, and this high energy sound track will give you just the motivation you need.
Did you also feel like 40 year olds were way more grown up when you were 20? What’s up with that?
“Turning 40” is the first single from the upcoming album “Little Troll”. Streamable at rockyleon.com and everywhere else where you stream music.
So get off your lazy ass, get some fresh air, do a pushup, hydrate and listen to the song, while you still have the physical and mental faculties to do it! Tick tock motherfucker!
In The Flow
Rocky Leon
Signed CD |
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Follow the Herd 3:560:00/3:56
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So Nice 2:580:00/2:58
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Get Out Of Bed 3:550:00/3:55
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See The Sky 4:350:00/4:35
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Nothing Left 3:460:00/3:46
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Let That Fire Burn 3:430:00/3:43
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We Are One 5:160:00/5:16
this EP is the first production that features another musician. my bro fabi who's joined me on several tours as my technical assistant, roadie and production manager is infact also a talented pianist who can also sing. we began playing and performing together in the fall of 2014. now we made an album together. weee! X)
on this album we cover a wide range of musical styles as always, but i also deal with a variety of different topics. from the challenge of getting out of bed in the morning to the manipulation of the news, societies obsession with status or the importance of listening to your own needs and standing up for yourself.
i spent the entire summer in the studio while everyone else was enjoying record breaking heat of close to 40ºC almost every day in vienna chillin by the danube river. now that i've finished the temperatures have plummeted to like 10º. god it was like 30º at night for 2 months … you can't imagine. in the middle of the city. i eventually bought an air conditioner for my room or i would have never been able to finish it.
ok rocky, now quit your whining! :D
September 4, 2015
Vocals, Guitar, Production, Recording, Mixing and 'Mastering' by Rocky Leon.
Keyboards, Backing Vocals and Production Consulting by Fabu.
Awesome! XD
Rocky Leon
Signed CD |
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Sara 2:270:00/2:27
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Awesome 3:050:00/3:05
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0:00/4:09
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Little Clown 3:470:00/3:47
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0:00/3:11
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See It All 2:410:00/2:41
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My Life Is Fun 3:220:00/3:22
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Change The Weather 3:360:00/3:36
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0:00/8:46
hey everybody,
i’m very pleased to announce the release of my new album entitled (for obvious reasons) Awesome! XD. it is a collection of the work i have done over the last year. in the past i have put a lot of time into producing a lot of music that i often ended up leaving unfinished. often i would put so much time into producing something that the final result was never good enough to justify all the work i’d put into it, so i’d just lose interest and move on. also, music doesn’t tend to get better when it’s overproduced.
i recognized that what makes a song great it the song it self. the idea. the soul. not the packaging. packaging in this case refers to the production. you can have a great song recorded with the simplest means available and it will touch more people then a song recorded by the best studio musicians with the best recording equipment and produced by the best producers that just doesn’t have the heart in it. also, putting a lot of energy into producing is a complete waste if the music is never released.
i decidid to give priority to the soul of the music. i created a workflow that allows me to produce the music extremely fast and learned to finish songs to a level i can live with instead of... more
released October 7, 2009
all songs were written, recorded and produced by rocky leon except the last stand by rocky leon and derek powell and change the weather, by rocky leon and josef hofer.
Bio
about me
hey!
my name is rocky. i was born in san francisco in 1985 to an austrian mother and a brazilian father. i spent my childhood moving back and forth between austria and california and ended up going to high school and college in austria.
music to me is about celebration. no moping! i enjoy music that expresses intense emotions, whether that be joy or rage. i wanna be moved. in general my music is there to remind me and the world that nothing is as big a deal as we make it seem. singing a happy little ditty about how much i hate everything is my way of not allowing myself to take myself all too seriously.
life is fascinating in all its highs and lows. everything strives towards balance. you can only experience as much joy as you can experience pain. if you’re suffering, consider yourself developing potential for future joy. if you’re happy, enjoy every moment as if it were your last. don’t get attached. everything is changing. always has been, always will.
shut up and dance!
ABOUT HAPPINESS
Over the course of the last few years I’ve made some interesting discoveries about life.
Essentially what it comes down to, is the importance of having faith; in believing that things will be good. The future is impossible to predict. There are simply too many factors converging, causing unpredictable outcomes. I don’t ‘know’ if it’ll all be good, but I know that when I feel good everything is easier, and if you ever observe a happy person and an unhappy person you will quickly notice that A more good things happen to the happy person and B that happy people will generally be happy independently of their circumstances, while unhappy people will always find something to complain about.
Everything I know about the world is determined by what I’ve experienced, how I have learned to perceive things and what things I perceive as a result. All the thoughts that I have are there because my brain is reorganizing its perceptions — or rather its interpretations of those perceptions — and drawing conclusions based on patterns that it has learned. My perception is very selective, my interpretations are entirely subjective, and when I remember things I only remember parts of what I interpreted. This means that the level of abstraction and distortion between what actually happens in the world and what I end up learning is so high, that I cannot simply trust my brain.
Language is a great example. I knew a couple that would constantly fight and make up. Almost every time the problem was misunderstanding and miscommunication. One person has learned to use words one way, but the other person has learned to understand words in a slightly different way. This is an unavoidable challenge in our complex world. The big problem is when people interpret something incorrectly and forget that they could easily be wrong because they’re unaware of some critical details. We cannot perceive everything that has brought about a situation. When we begin blindly trusting our interpretations of the world and reacting to them things get very difficult very fast.
When we interact with one another honesty is very important. But what I think is even more important is clarity. I can be as honest as I like, but what good is it if the person misunderstands what I’m saying? If I’ve made sure I know what I want to say, then I also want the other to know what it is I want to say. If I’m just thinking out loud, then I want to make sure the other person knows I’m not claiming to know. Reversely, when someone else says something I don’t like, I ask whether I understood them correctly and try to find out why they said it before I let it upset me.
I cannot simply trust my brain.
If I cannot trust my brain then I can chose to believe what makes sense to my brain, or not. If what makes sense to my brain is that bad things, which I cannot control will happen, it will make me unhappy. I just remind myself that I don’t have all the facts and go ahead and believe whatever makes me happy. There is no sense in worrying about anything. You simply do what you can. Of course this doesn’t mean you can be stupid, but if you know you can’t do anything then worrying will do nothing but drain you of the energy you need to do what you CAN do.
If you’d like to read the long version and my responses to emails people have sent me about all this, please go to http://www.rockyleon.com/how-to-be-happy.