Working-class rock—and that’s the bell the Yawpers ring again and again on American Man (Bloodshot)—has gone through a lot of permutations through the decades. This music is all over the map, stylistically; “Doing It Right” skews to amped-up speedway boogie, while the title cut and “Beale Street” bring more country trappings, though it’s a revved up country that would be totally alien to CMT. And there are left-field moments like “Kiss It” that go full-on dirty blooze hard rock. For all that variety, the music works well on its own merits. The Yawpers—singer/guitarist Nate Cook, guitarist Jesse Parmet and drummer Noah Shomberg—will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week.
Parmet: Looking around my apartment, it’s hard to remember how all these records got here. I’m not sure what compelled me to start collecting in the first place. I think it had something to do with my disappointment in digital technology, and the belief that analog was somehow superior. After all, my favorite records were recorded in the ‘60s and ‘70s. My parents had a couple hundred records from this era. However, like millions of others, they’d cast them aside in favor of CDs. Growing up, I never heard any of these old records played. It’s amazing how quickly the industry completely switched over to CD. Vinyl was not a part of the suburban landscape where I grew up. I was limited to chains like Virgin and Tower. My vinyl record-buying days didn’t start until I moved to Boston, where I found myself within walking distance of three different used record stores.
At first I think it was the physical aspect that attracted me to records: artwork, photographs and the written content that could fit in this 12” x 12” package. It demands your attention. As far as the audio quality, it definitely sounded different than CD. To my ears, it sounded better. I noticed an added richness and dynamic range. The main attraction, though, was getting to talk about music. The record-store owner is an invaluable resource for anyone who is a student of music.
Anyway, I soon bought a used ‘70s Panasonic record player on eBay. From here, I gradually started acquiring the classics: Beatles, Zeppelin, Stones, etc. Jazz, country and blues followed. Nowadays, it’s even more exciting because of all the new releases coming out on vinyl.
Video after the jump.
