Been using Pandora for the first time in quite a while. Plugged Yarn into the playlist. Noticed that there is no artist blurb for them which could help people who are might get a song randomly. Anyone know how to remedy that?
They get their blurbs from the All Music Guide. I searched there on Yarn and there's a form to update/add info. I'm on it. Not sure when it'll show up. Tried to get Yarns Press Kit from their site but the link is dead. Grabbing the bio from their Facebook site.
Seth (the writer) was there on Saturday and had a copy he was showing the band. Nice article. He says he'd love to do a follow-up review but it's up to the editors whether he gets space or not.
Published: 9:39 AM, 02/24/2011 Last updated: 9:40 AM, 02/24/2011
by Ashley Wilson
mtfrontdesk@mountaintimes.com
From its invention, music has been used to tell stories. An interweaving of people, places, events and emotions, music is a representation of our lives. Acting much like yarn, music effectively brings together all of the fibers of our being into a continuous, cohesive unit.
Perhaps this is why Blake Christiana chose the one-syllable word for his band. Yarn, a five-piece group from Brooklyn, N.Y., has spent t-he past few years unfurling alt-country on pour houses and bar rooms across the East.
Formed in 2007, Yarn has already released three albums, attracting a considerable fan base. 2010’s “Come On In” has had the biggest pull so far. “Come On In” made it onto the year-end list for both the Americana Music Association and our area’s popular public radio station, WNCW-FM.
“Come On In” spins tales about the road, wrecked relationships and the uncertainty of life. Yarn isn’t one of those bands that records an album and hires a PR firm to do all the legwork for them. They are hard-working musicians and road warriors, playing several shows a week. Their dedication, along with allowing open taping and trading of their shows, has proven rewarding. While the lifestyle is exciting for the most part, it can also be straining, a feeling that Christiana attests to on songs like “Alone on the Weekend” and “These Bars Don’t Look Too Friendly.”
Yarn plays a style more closely related to the South than New York City. A mostly acoustic sound with appearances from the dobro, mandolin, fiddle, pedal steel and harmonica, Yarn is laid-back and folksy. They are a rather unique act to their native area, but Yarn is never in denial of their home.
Even though “the neighbors don’t know my name and the forecast calls for rain,” Christiana still yearns after his Brooklyn flat in “Time Burns On.” In a clear homage to Yarn’s address, “New York City Found” is about feeling lost in the city, even when it’s so familiar.
Yarn has been rightfully compared to North Carolina native, now New York City transplant, Ryan Adams and his former band, Whiskeytown. Like Adams, Yarn plays an alternative country style bred from Gram Parsons and his contemporaries. Blake Christiana’s voice and delivery also bears resemblance to Adams’. Thankfully, Yarn is not as emotionally wrought and neurotic as Ryan Adams. Not to discredit Adams’ talent, but Yarn is a little more composed and probably less likely to fall off the deep end.
An element of Yarn that is not to be overlooked are the exceptional vocal harmonies between Christiana and Trevor MacArthur. MacArthur’s unique voice, evocative of Del McCoury’s high lonesomeness, complements Christiana’s in an ease that can only be reached through several years of performing together. The two have known each other for over half of their lives.
“Come On In” also features many hooks that its listeners will have running through their heads long after the music stops. “Schenectady,” about Christiana’s hometown, is sure to elicit whole-hearted sing-alongs when the band visits. “Yodelay” is just as fun to sing as it is to say, and “I Wanted to Get High” could be theme song for Narcotics Anonymous.
Being a musician requires a certain type of personality, one that can withstand the hardships of the business and extended periods of time away from home. Yarn passes the test and, admittedly, they do find the life hard. Instead of writing an album full of depressing songs about it though, on “Come On In,” they spin the situation to their advantage. Any darkness they may experience is turned into a song that ropes in its listener, either through its catchiness or melody.
Expect Yarn to keep rolling with continued momentum, with a new album anticipated in 2011. Yarn is online at YarnMusic.net.
That was an excellent read. They hit the nail on the head. The only thing I would have added to the article was about how there lives are like seeing a completely different band then the one you hear on the studio albums.
"Yarn has been rightfully compared to North Carolina native, now New York City transplant, Ryan Adams and his former band, Whiskeytown. Like Adams, Yarn plays an alternative country style bred from Gram Parsons and his contemporaries. Blake Christiana’s voice and delivery also bears resemblance to Adams’. Thankfully, Yarn is not as emotionally wrought and neurotic as Ryan Adams. Not to discredit Adams’ talent, but Yarn is a little more composed and probably less likely to fall off the deep end."
Although I do agree that Whiskeytown is an accurate comparison if comparisons need to be made, Whiskeytown never had the musicianship of Yarn. Also, if the article was indeed written on 2/24, Adam's penchant for "falling off the deep end" has been absent for a few years now, imo, to the detriment of his music. His last three albums have been nearly dismal. He doesn't live in NYC anymore either.
.....and, Blake's a much better songwritewr than Gram Parsons.
That was a great read. The Homeless people line made me lol I have never saw a Homeless person at a show. Once I left the show it was another stor. lol Yarn's new album is going to be a huge success, and there going to make millions. I like that we the fans got a shoutout. Yarn fans rock.
Here are a couple of links worth checking out. The 1st link was a thread on a DMB message board about Yarn. I made a posted and then got chewed up. They don't like Yarn or people that come on there message board to post about other bands. If Yarn opened up for DMB they would destroy them. They would eat them and spit them out. The 2nd link is an interview with Blake.
That guy would not know good music if it bit him in the ass. If they did open for DMB I would not be shocked if heads turn and people start talking about Yarn.
"But Yarn seems different in that their approach translates as a great deal more pure; they are in many ways unsullied by the trappings of being capital-M musicians and, instead, do what musicians are supposed to do, which is — not to put too fine a point on it — to play music."
"None of the themes in Yarn’s songs are new or particularly surprising — loneliness, regret and longing seem to be favorites here — but they’re communicated with such clarity and atmosphere that it’s difficult to find yourself unaffected."
Dancing Bears and Yarn?! Okay, that explains their last show at the Crossroads when Blake put on a bear head from the guy in the bear suit that was dancing in the crowd... someone in the audience kept requesting that Blake play the song "Mileage" He had no clue what they were talking about. Weird at the time, but now I understand--she must have thought Yarn was this band... I have a picture of Blake with the bear head on, but can't figure out how to post it on here. (not that I tried too hard (oh, so computer savvy)) Awesome article from Colorado... thanks for posting it
OK, I guess maybe Yarn will have to accept no love in Wichita or at least from the 60 watt mega station, KMUW. BUT....turnabout is fair play, critics can be criticized, no ? below are some comments on "Rate my Professor" about Professor Jedd Beaudoin, professor at Wichita State and other places. stapling papers ? He kind of sounds like Bill Lumberg of Office Space....and below that is what I assume Professor Clampet wrote about himself on his radio station bio. Jedd should get out to a live Yarn show and write a proper review.
1/2/06Eng LitPoor Quality Easiness5 Helpfulness1 Clarity3 Rater Interest2 extremely anal, obsessed with how you staple your papers,Teacher doesn't appreciate student's time, starts class early & ends late, & doesn't return emails obsessed with attendance, find buddy in class in case you miss, he will NOT help you mundane, boring pretentious class and a Bigger waste of time, visit a coffee shop and save yourself $350
Report this rating 8/3/05Eng 102Poor Quality Easiness1 Helpfulness1 Clarity3 Rater Interest3 He is a VERY,VERY hard and mean teacher, started semester with 20 people ended the semester with 7 people, not a good sign. He didn't even read my paper once, but told me to redo it. Oh yea nobody passed the class but one chica. I recommend nobody to take his class, you'll be wasting your $ and time.
About KMUW: Staff Jedd Beaudoin - Strange Currency Host Jedd Beaudoin is an award-winning writer and broadcaster who has been with KMUW since 2007. He is the host and producer of Strange Currency, a two-hour music show, which airs Monday-Saturday from 8 to 10 p.m. He is also the producer of the bi-weekly trends commentary “Into It,” as well as “Musical Space” and he produces and writes KMUW’s bi-weekly theatre roundup “At Play.” He received his MFA in creative writing (fiction) from Wichita State University in 2001 (where he was a Creative Writing Fellow) and holds a B.A. in English (with an emphasis in writing) from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Beaudoin hosts Wichita Sessions on KPTS Channel 8. The show, which features local and regional music acts in performance, is now in its third season. Since 1999 he has worked as a freelance journalist. He served as music critic and editor for two Wichita alternative newspapers, F5 (2003-06) and Wichita City Paper (of which he was also managing editor, 2006-07). He currently contributes music, film, and book reviews to PopMatters.com, where he also pens (alternating with two other writers) commentary on country music for the site’s “Kickin’ Up Dust” column.
I took that review with a grain of salt. I bet that guy listens to over produced processed cheese. Maybe if Yarn could not play an instrument or used autotune he would like them.