I first met Yates Brown and Rima Ash through a Craigslist posting that read: “Bassist wtd.-Experimental, Post Rock, Dischord, Soundscapes, Jazz.”

When I first showed up at their practice space, I was (admittedly) intimidated by the virtuoso sound of guitar, violin, and drums produced from the aforementioned two and, as I’d later learn, their good friend Joe Barker. What’s more, I had no idea that they were both M.D.’s—I thought they were “just” an interesting couple that played various instruments and had an encyclopedic knowledge of bands, genres, and music in general. 

Fast forward a few months and we’d all formed a band, toured together, recorded some 8-track tape, and shared many PBRs. But that’s not what this story is about—it’s about Yates and his future project.

Weeks after we met, I learned that Yates was a psychiatrist with the city of San Francisco. He worked mostly with the city’s homeless population at an office in the Tenderloin district, which has long been notorious for rampant drug use and residents living below the poverty line. I remember—vividly—a two-day recording session we held at a Tenderloin clinic. We carried all our equipment over people passed out on the sidewalk, used syringes lining the pavement. I remember it so well because it wasn’t a usual experience for me. In contrast, Yates did this every day—on top of a bike commute that saw him traversing some of the city’s most dangerous streets.

Yates was a prolific songwriter. He often took on additional guitarist positions—notably with the pickPocket Ensemble, working closely with frontman and accordionist Rick Corrigan. The band’s traditional Eastern European folk style helped inspire Yates to write more hooks for his personal duo project, which he dubbed Doralice.

Yates’s Doralice compositions often feature international chord themes with funky time signatures. The duo recorded and released their eponymous debut called Doralice in 2014, with Rima on violin and toy piano and Yates on guitar and banjo. Touring came to a halt when the two became first-time parents shortly after the album’s release.

Yates and I have stayed in touch over the years, and he’s still writing as much as ever. Here’s an anecdote I love: in 2015, while in a recording session with Scott Evans—whose images are featured in this issue’s Antisleep article—Yates was warming up by playing Holy Wars...the Punishment is Due from Megadeth’s album Rust in Peace. The studio engineer was apparently floored and yelled something like “wooohh hey play that again!” Encouraged by the engineer’s reaction, the duo ended up spontaneously recording 5 tracks that ultimately became an EP titled Rusted Pieces: a Tribute to Megadeth. After a hasty release on Spotify, the EP went viral among dedicated metal fans, and Yates and Scott received equal parts praise and ire from especially devoted Megadeth fans.

Doralice has since released Doralice II in 2017 on vinyl, as well as an extended version on Spotify. Yates and Rima’s growing family has meant a slowdown in their concert and touring ability, but they’re both still prolific writers. The Tenderloin homeless psychiatric facility has also since moved to the Nob Hill area, but the constant Yates still works with them.

While catching up with Yates and Rima recently, I threw out the idea of a photoshoot—their new baby was napping, and we had a few spare moments. The couple agreed, and I received a private concert on the rough rooftop of their Victorian, the sun shining as the fog slowly creeped in from the Pacific.