Any fan of the early ‘90s era sleaze rock will undoubtedly know the band Junkyard. With songs like “Blooze,” “Hollywood,” and “All the Time In The World”, Junkyard left a huge ass hickey on the neck of Rock N’ Roll. In an era when even more “street” looking bands like Guns N’ Roses were still looking pretty, Junkyard emerged looking like the guys that just changed the oil in your fucking car.
I fucking loved Junkyard (and still do.) Junkyard was a band with music and a look that I could connect with, being a dog ass ugly teenager in 1990. Seeing Junkyard on MTV made me know that you didn’t have to be pretty to kick ass. If anything, they made it seem that the uglier you were, the more ass you could probably kick. Junkyard made ugly cool. That being said, I only managed to pull off the ugly part. Cool, just totally skipped me.
Junkyard was not just a fan’s band, but also a band’s band. Skid Row, Guns N’ Roses, Dangerous Toys, and Seattle legends Mother Love Bone are just a few of the bands that could be seen rocking Junkyard shirts and, in some cases, sharing a stage/bus with them.
In 1990, I saw Junkyard and Dangerous Toys co-headline a show in Atlanta at the decrepit Roxy Theater. It is such a legendary show that more people claim to have been there than were actually there. I was there and I even had the Dangerous Toys and Junkyard shirts to prove it (which are long gone now.) That show was so legendary in Atlanta because at the time, this was a fucking bill to be reckoned with. You pretty much had two of the sleaziest bands of the era touring together and crushing everyone like beer cans. In my mind, this is one of the most unforgettable shows I’ve ever seen.
After a five-year run, Junkyard disbanded after being dropped by Geffen Records in 1992. Sometime around 2008, Junkyard would peek out from behind the curtains and drop a little nugget here and there in the form of the release of their 1987 demos that got them signed, and two new songs in 2015 called “Faded” and “The River.” In 2017, the band reunited with guitarist Tim Mosher, released the album High Water, and hit the road playing to sold-out venues all over the US. They were lean, mean, and uglier than ever, and I couldn’t get enough of the return of Junkyard. In 2019, Junkyard released their unreleased 1992 studio album Old Habits Die Hard. In 2021, they released two new songs, “Liver” and “Last of a Dying Breed.” That was the last I heard of them before learning about vocalist David Roach’s cancer diagnosis in 2025.
Roach had just married the love of his life, Jennifer Michaels, whom he credited for saving his life. Roach stated in an interview, “Jennifer was very nurturing, caring, and loving, which is exactly what I needed at the time. My life was a shambles. She picked me up out of the gutter.” In 2024, Jennifer Michaels encouraged Roach to get what he thought was a swollen lymph node checked out. Unfortunately, it turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma of the head, neck, and throat. In June of 2025, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to David’s lungs and liver. His wife quit her job to care for him full time until he passed away in his sleep, losing his battle with cancer.
On August 2, 2025, David’s Junkyard band mates released the following statement via their official social media platforms:
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of David Roach.
After a courageous battle with cancer, David passed away peacefully last night at home, in the loving arms of his wife.
He was a gifted artist, performer, songwriter, and singer—but above all, a devoted father, husband, and brother.
Our thoughts are with the entire Roach family and everyone who loved him.
—Junkyard
Dangerous Toys vocalist Jason McMaster posted a heartfelt tribute to David via his personal social media page:
Austin, 1981.High school. The cool punk dude in my art class. The coolest kid , noticed he got along with the needs, The jocks, the freaks, and the headbangers. My kinda friend.
I was 17, gotta job washing dishes at Another Raw Deal ( Z’Tejas Grill RIP) WEST 6TH ST.
Noticed the cool punk kid from art class is the line cook, one of his sisters, brother and mom, all worked the floor there. Coolest family ever. They did not mind much, me listening to Venom on my boom box wearing studded gauntlets while washing dishes.
1982, Cool kid signed my high school yearbook. It’ is the coolest, longest verbiage, most descriptive signature out of all the other inscription in said book. I can post a photo of it, maybe. Yes, I have the yearbook, yes,I showed up on picture day, but I dropped out of school.
1983, 85, 85….my metal band played with lotsa punk bands, cool kid was in a few of those punk bands. Crossover was new. My new cool kid friend from high school was thunderous on stage.Just kept staying cool, got cooler.
1988, my new band recorded a record in LA, ran into cool kid from high school more than a few times. We were coming up together, sorta.
Summer, 1989. Our releases came out the same week, and our world premiere videos debuted back to back on MTV. September that same year, we did a 5 week tour together from Texas to Florida and all the way back through the south to Tempe,AZ.
Grown men shed tears that night at tours end.
1990’s and alot of the 2000’s, saw cool kid kill it all over town, as well as globally. Shared stages many times. Admired him closely, and also from afar.
Around 2022, I saw cool kid out in the street in front my house. He had just moved into the house next door with his brother. He moved out a year later, met a girl and she saved his life.
And then, cancer came, and robbed her of him, but not before she could show the world how much the world loved him so very very much.
Small world. It moves too fast. Hug your family and friends today, please.
I miss you David.
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