The Yayhoos
Originally uploaded by MrBadExample.
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel."
Hunter S. Thompson
It's mainly a coincidence that the Yayhoos were the first band I saw after two tough-to-take events--9/11 and my dad's death (technically, Tony Bennett and kd lang at Radio City Music Hall was the first show I went to after 9/11, but the Yayhoos at Brownies were second...so, play along). But I'm glad it worked out that way. Because there are few bands that make me feel as glad to be alive as the Yayhoos do.
The Yayhoos are Dan Baird (former lead singer of the Georgia Satellites, whom you probably know best for "Keep Your Hands to Yourself"), Eric "Roscoe" Ambel (current lead guitarist for Steve Earle), Terry Anderson (writer of a bunch of Satellites songs and current head of his own band, the Olympic Ass-Kicking Team), and Keith Christopher (former Satellite, former bassist for Shaver, current man about NYC, who once accidentally walked in on me taking a dump in the Mercury Lounge bathroom...big honor). They get together and record whenever schedules permit, and they played a Father's Day gig at Ambel's Lakeside Lounge after doing some work on their next CD.
A Yayhoos show never lets up, with everybody getting their moment in the spotlight, switching instruments and lead vocals along the way. And they're not doing it because they want a big record deal or to get their songs played on the radio (though they'd surely take it). They're doing it because it's fun, dammit, and rock and roll is supposed to be fun. And not some cool, calculated simulation of fun with matching t-shirts, but the real, honest-to-God, sweat-drenched, mile-wide smile kind of fun that makes little kids (and grown men) want to pick up a guitar and play.
Every now and then, people will tell you that rock is dead or, worse yet, that U2 is the last great rock-and-roll band. They're lying to you. Rock is still alive; it might be harder to find, but it's still there. And thank God it was alive on Father's Day at the Lakeside Lounge, because I needed it.
The show didn't really wipe away any pain, and I still woke up the next day missing my dad. But as I walked out of the Lakeside, there was a beautiful ringing in my ears. And if that ringing in your ears can make you forget about what ails you for just a little while, then rock and roll has done its job.
Thanks, guys.
LINKS:
http://www.bloodshotrecords.com/artists/theyayhoos/
http://www.terryandersonrocks.com
http://whassupta.blogspot.com
http://www.ericambel.com
http://www.bairddan.com
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