I would LOVE to do a Yacht Rock-style band, but there is no interest in my area.
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Yacht Rock?! Who has experience.
- Thread starter Jimmy4string
- Start date
Yeah, no...THIS is THE quintessential yacht rock song.
Heck, Chris' whole career is yacht rock. He's the king of the genre. I'm surprised he hasn't come up in this thread until now.
I am relentless in keeping my Yacht rock playlist clean. I have theme parties and this was the best one!
The carpenters?! Oh no no!
Doobie's "What a fool believes" is the probably defining single for the genre IMO. Keyboards, breezy vocals and perfect harmonies. I even let some Joe Jackson in on the list with Steppin out. My fave is Ride Captain Ride for some reason. I am beginning to think this mountain may be too big to climb. Sure is nice to dream though. Going to try some vocals on some of the harder stuff and see where i stand.
The carpenters?! Oh no no!
Doobie's "What a fool believes" is the probably defining single for the genre IMO. Keyboards, breezy vocals and perfect harmonies. I even let some Joe Jackson in on the list with Steppin out. My fave is Ride Captain Ride for some reason. I am beginning to think this mountain may be too big to climb. Sure is nice to dream though. Going to try some vocals on some of the harder stuff and see where i stand.
I'd play in a Yacht band if we got to cook like these guys do:
Love yacht rock and yeah we have a couple singles in the catolog of our 80s rock covers project. Definitely wouldn't mind expanding a bit more into the genre... we definitely have the right folks.
In the one band I'm in that does some of this, our prototypical YR songs are things like Lowdown by Boz Scaggs, So Into You by Atlanta Rhythm Section, and a few others. We also do some stuff that's borderline because it's arranged and slow, like Rocket Man and some Pink Floyd, though I don't really consider that Yacht Rock.
My other band concentrates hard on the harmonies. We don't have a keyboard player but we do things from that same era, and we do duets like Where is the Love by Flack/Hathaway. There's actually quite a lot you can do without keys, but you have to have the strong harmonies to overcome that lack.
Soma FM has a great channel called Left Coast 70s that has turned me on to some lesser known gems of the genre.
Left Coast 70s from SomaFM
Left Coast 70s from SomaFM
So-called 'Yacht Rock' is like anything else, there's pretty good and not so hot. It does prompt my ancient self to remember days of yore when the only pitch correction was the tuning keys, and a grumpy band leader that would MAKE you get the harmony right, and a solid drummer that was his own click track. OMG, neanderthals !
But, like ragging on anybody's music, it's often short sighted.
Here is a sterling-plated example of YR at the height of its game, played endlessly on Classic Rock radio and internet channels:
I'd suggest any band that can play this exact chart perfectly live is rare. WTH, even harmony guitar parts. BTW, it needs to swing.
Not that one, Junior? OK, take a swing at this:
OK, cool. Now all me and the drummer have to do is get this Chuck Rainey/Bernard Purdie rhythm nailed. Whaddya mean y'all don't read charts ? You never heard of the Purdie Shuffle? This is going to be a long rehearsal . . .
I could go on, but why? Look and listen around, and from Punk to Polka, there's interesting, well-played HipHop and Hillbilly, and every other genre you can venture into. And I learn something from all of them, from Death Metal to Disco, you just got to learn to listen for the pearls, The Good Stuff, as it floats by . . . . while you're sitting on your yacht, which hopefully . . . . isn't on the rocks.
Being part of a successful, work-steady, local club cover band often involves sometime big parts of the set list of tunes that aren't really your cup of tea, but fill the dance floor as surely as a fire drill. I can buy all the new recordings of stuff I really dig with the paychecks though.
But, like ragging on anybody's music, it's often short sighted.
Here is a sterling-plated example of YR at the height of its game, played endlessly on Classic Rock radio and internet channels:
I'd suggest any band that can play this exact chart perfectly live is rare. WTH, even harmony guitar parts. BTW, it needs to swing.
Not that one, Junior? OK, take a swing at this:
OK, cool. Now all me and the drummer have to do is get this Chuck Rainey/Bernard Purdie rhythm nailed. Whaddya mean y'all don't read charts ? You never heard of the Purdie Shuffle? This is going to be a long rehearsal . . .
I could go on, but why? Look and listen around, and from Punk to Polka, there's interesting, well-played HipHop and Hillbilly, and every other genre you can venture into. And I learn something from all of them, from Death Metal to Disco, you just got to learn to listen for the pearls, The Good Stuff, as it floats by . . . . while you're sitting on your yacht, which hopefully . . . . isn't on the rocks.
Being part of a successful, work-steady, local club cover band often involves sometime big parts of the set list of tunes that aren't really your cup of tea, but fill the dance floor as surely as a fire drill. I can buy all the new recordings of stuff I really dig with the paychecks though.
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There are a few quite successful Yacht Rock bands in LA area, playing the same venues as my tribute bands frequent, as they are consistently good.
It would be a fun gig for me, I grew up on these staple "soft rock, adult contemporary" music, as heavier rock was frowned upon in my culture and amongst my friends.
It would be a fun gig for me, I grew up on these staple "soft rock, adult contemporary" music, as heavier rock was frowned upon in my culture and amongst my friends.
One of the bands I work with is a Yacht Rock band.
We play mainly private parties and occasional club gigs.
I had a great time learning and writing charts for approximately 60 songs from this great era.
We do have vocal harmonies and when the budget is there we bring on a second keyboard player.
Perfect gig for my passive J Bass and P Bass.
Crafty songwriting from this era..
We play mainly private parties and occasional club gigs.
I had a great time learning and writing charts for approximately 60 songs from this great era.
We do have vocal harmonies and when the budget is there we bring on a second keyboard player.
Perfect gig for my passive J Bass and P Bass.
Crafty songwriting from this era..
Even great pro players who played on the original recordings have Yacht rock bands, like drummer Tris Imboden's Yacht Stars. That music.was always made by some of the highest caliber players.
I’d add Ambrosia and Firefall to those groups listed.
No for me. As someone said make sure you can embrace it because it's gonna take a lot of work.
Lot's of rehearsal involved for limited gigs.
Lot's of rehearsal involved for limited gigs.
BTW -here was the YR theme party.
I was in the stipes with the arm
I was in the stipes with the arm
