When veteran Boise rocker Scott Schmaljohn was considering what to call his burgeoning band’s name, he fancied the name PlayDead.

“I always thought it was kind of cool to play dead as a kid when you’re playing army,” Schmaljohn said. “It’s fun. It’s sort of the irony of playing dead, but it’s kind of fun. We didn’t want our name to represent anything. We just wanted to keep it neutral and fun.”

But based on their debut EP “10 Years of the Fall” and the way the rocking trio has breathed new life into a mix of guitar rock, Lazarus might have been a more suitable name.

Not that the name matters, based on the way PlayDead has found a fast following.

Schmaljohn and his motley three-piece crew—consisting of drummer Andy “Rabbit Foot” Viken and bass player J.C. Berrey—have injected a fresh take on guitar rock that’s resonated with rock fans in the Treasure Valley. Their quick success even made the organizers of Treefort take notice, earning the band an invite to the 2025 event.

Their energetic shows, filled with a wide variety of rock styles, have drawn enthusiastic fans of guitar rock in all its forms.

“We’re going back to my hard classic rock beginnings, and we’ve come full circle from punk rock to alternative rock to more classic hard rock,” said Schmaljohn, who cites Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin among his influences.

It’s easy to hear in Schmaljohn’s hard-driving guitar solos in “Last Chance” and the title track “10 Years of the Fall.” It’s also easy to catch the lingering echoes of the band’s Seattle grunge rock influence in the song “Believe.”

Schmaljohn migrated from Boise to Seattle in the late ‘80s before returning back to the Treasure Valley, settling down, and getting married. His touring there left an indelible mark on his music, which has complimented well with Berrey— who is a Seattle transplant.

And while Schmaljohn has been a part of several bands in both Seattle and Boise—Tree People, State of Confusion, and The Hand—he wasn’t sure when, if ever, he’d return to music after starting a family. But just like he has rekindled retro styles of guitar rock with PlayDead, it was his desire to play in a band again that spurred him to return to the stage and the studio.

“Rock is in my blood,” Schmaljohn said. “I kind of hung up the guitar and thought, ‘Well, now it’s time to raise kids and be a dad.’ But after my kids grew up and left the house, I started playing again and doing some bands here and there, just real casual stuff.”

That blossomed into something more, eventually leading Schmaljohn to form PlayDead with Viken.

“Now that my kids are all grown up, I have more free time and creative time—I’m able to focus on my music more,” Schmaljohn said.

Most surprising to Schmaljohn has been the way a vast demographic of fans have embraced PlayDead’s music.

“With my generation—an older generation—we didn’t like our parents’ music at all,” Schmaljohn said. “But it’s kind of cool to see the kids embrace rock and punk and alternative rock. Kids seem to be all over the map these days with their music because of how they get their music digitally. And it’s been fun to see my own kids support me and bring their friends to our concerts and really enjoy it.”

Check out PlayDead on your favorite streaming platform, including BandCamp, at: https://playdead4.bandcamp.com/album/10-years-of-the-fall)