Slain Iranian rockers from Yellow Dogs moved to US for musical freedom

Iranian musicians killed by gunman had gained political asylum in the US after appearing in a film about Tehran’s underground music scene.

Yellow Dogs band members in 2012, from left, Koroush "Koory" Mirzaei, Siavash Karampour, Arash Farazmand and Soroush Farazmand at The Gutter in the Brooklyn borough of New York. The Farazmand brothersShow more

NEW YORK // Iranian musicians Soroush and Arash Farazmand came to the United States to pursue their passion, playing music in an indie rock band called Yellow Dogs.

They died at the hands of another musician.

The brothers, aged 27 and 28, and a third man were killed in their Brooklyn apartment on Monday by a man who police say was upset over being kicked out of another Iranian band.

“They wanted to be known for their music,” said Yellow Dogs manager Ali Salehezadeh. “I guess now we have a gun story. ... It’s so sad.”

The Yellow Dogs came from Iran three years ago after appearing in a film about the underground music scene there. The brothers were a guitarist and a drummer who had just received political asylum. The bass player and singer were not home at the time of the shooting.

Police said Ali Akbar Mahammadi Rafie, 29, killed himself on the roof after struggling with a survivor of his former band, Free Keys.

Rafie, who used an assault rifle, “was upset that he wasn’t in the band anymore”, said New York police spokesman John McCarthy.

Also killed was Ali Eskandarian, a musician but not in the band. The wounded man is an artist.

The house in the industrial neighbourhood of East Williamsburg where the victims lived had been a hangout for artists. The musicians all knew one another, the manager said.

Rafie had not spoken to the victims in months because of a “very petty conflict”, Mr Salehezadeh said.

“We thought it was all behind us.”

Originally from Tehran, Yellow Dogs were the subject of a 2009 film, No One Knows About Persian Cats, which told the semi-fictional tale of a band that played illegal rock shows in Tehran. The film won a prize at the Cannes festival.

The band came to the United States to pursue the dream of playing openly, their manager said.

“You can’t be a rock star in Iran,” said Mr Salehezadeh. “It’s against cultural law. You can’t grow there as a band.”

Mr Salehezadeh said the victims’ relatives were stunned.

“People don’t own guns in Iran,” he said. “We don’t have this problem there. It doesn’t exist.”

* Associated Press