Hailing from Placerville, California, Ryder Thieves is a psychedelic dance rock band dedicated to the dual causes of both having and bringing a good time. Ryder Thieves is largely the brainchild of singer, songwriter and guitarist Robby Dean. Robby is accompanied by Pete Malinger on bass guitar, Alex Stevens on guitar, Eric Opdyke on drums, Adam Rice on keyboards and Jillian Secor on vocals.
In their earlier years, Ryder Thieves could generally only be found playing renegade parties, often deep in the forests of El Dorado County on makeshift stages and powered by generators. That upbringing left an indelible mark on their performance style which has retained a lot of the feral elements even as they’ve emerged from the wild into more conventional music venues and festivals.
In 2021, Ryder Thieves released their debut album, This is What We Do which included the songs such as The Rider Thief, title track This is What We Do and West Slope, the later of which being a reference to the region they call home: the Sierra Nevadas just west of Lake Tahoe.
The formal rulebook for Ryder Thieves is quite short, having just one rule: there are no rules. Informally (so as not to violate the formal rulebook), a second rule exists which establishes the expectation that every performance ought to be a party. This informal rule ties into their dedication to the causes of both having and bringing a good time, the belief being that a good time is contagious.
