Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 13, 1990 TAG: 9007120069
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: SEAN KOTZ SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
No, just one of the New River Valley's hardest-working and most successful rock bands looking to make it big this fall with its first full-length CD.
As the unusual name might suggest, the Yams resist any kind of categorization. They play Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and Police tunes, but they love to slip in country, punk and originals.
Much of the Yams' success seems to come from a high-energy stage show that includes Silly-String, helium and, for the Hank Williams Jr. numbers, country hats.
Mike Kirby, lead guitarist and vocalist, has even been known to play a sausage biscuit on stage. He takes the plug from his guitar and hooks it into the biscuit, using special effects to "play" his food.
According to Kirby, who seems most comfortable with a guitar in his hands, the band was not aware how powerful its wild stage performances are until fans pointed in out.
"We never said, `Well, we need to do this, this and this.' We just went out . . . and had a damn good time," Kirby chuckled. "And since we're having fun, it's enjoyable to watch."
Gary Everett, who sings and plays keyboards, guitar, harmonica, sax, thinks the key to the Yams' success is simple: "We're just a fun party band."
With other Yams members - drummer George Penn; Chris Given, lead vocalist and sax player; and bassist-vocalist Joe Willson - Kirby and Everett have earned an admirable reputation.
As Willson says, "We're serious about music; we do some of the classic things we want to hear, but we also have a humorous side."
When the band recorded this month at The Flood Zone in Richmond, it tried to capture the same infectious mirth that emerges in the live shows.
"On the new CD," Kirby said, "one thing I'm bent on having is `ear cookies' . . . just fun little things. Headphone stuff."
Kirby, who writes most of the original material, says another thing they're trying to produce in the studio is "a huge palette of variety."
To get this variety, Kirby and the other Yams will work with Richmond engineer Bruce Olsen, who produced two Yams songs for last year's Life Fest project.
"He knows what buttons to twiddle and what sounds I want," Kirby said. "It'll still have that spontaneous effect."
But how do you get that spontaneous effect on a studio recording?
"There are some interesting parallels," Everett said. "Being in the studio, you still have the pressure to do it right even though everybody is going to listen to it later."
"Live, people are drinking usually so you can get by with a certain amount of looseness," added Willson. "But in the studio, you can also go over something if you mess it up and that kind of trades off some of the pressure."
But, as Everett notes, achieving the balance between a professional sound and an exciting, inspired recording lies on the band's shoulders.
"We have talked about going into the studio and not having everything down to a 64th note," he said, "but really having the spontaneity is up to us."
They also are confident that the CD will be a marketing success.
"At the very worst, if you don't sell one of them, besides having Christmas presents for your mom . . . when booking people want to talk to you, you look a little more serious when you have a CD," Willson said. It's due for Sept. 1 release.
by CNB