Yawn Mower – Get To The Boat
Yawn Mower is an Asbury-based, two-piece, drum-and-guitar outfit led by fuzz-drenched baritone guitar blaster Mike C. and boom boom bang pow arm tornado Biff S. As their bio states, “These Hawaiian shirt wearing goofballs began like so many others, in a basement making noise and eventually graduating to an honest to god practice space at the Hot Dog House. YACK MASER has been described as garage rock, surf rock, WTF rock, fuzz rock, punk rock, indie rock and most importantly, rock n’ roll. YOND MUTER will have you, your babes and your homies swaying to their headbanging good vibes as you simultaneously look at each other and exclaim a long-winded, ‘SAAAH, DUDES?’ How does YANG MAKER execute those high kicks with such heroics? How does YIPE MALAR twirl their drumsticks with such zing? Grab your sunglasses and come see for yourself cause YAWN MOWER is gonna make it rain, baby!”
Get To The Boat was recorded/mixed in Winter 2015/Spring 2016 with the infamous Paul Richie at Insidious Sound in Neptune, NJ. Get To The Boat was mastered by Pat Noon at Eight+Sixteen Studios down in Ocean County. As many of us know, Paul Ritchie has taken many up-and-coming bands under his wing and has guided them in the art of top-shelf production. Other groups produced by Ritchie include the wildly popular Battery Electric and Scott Liss.
Yawn Mower is a young band with a lot to say. Get To The Boat takes on many different styles and influences that Ritchie brings to the proverbial surface. Bear with me as I bring you through their brand new EP and leave you with some of my initial findings of the group and their music.
The disc kicks things off with a song called “Two Frequencies.” Yawn Mower wastes little time digging deep into their punk rock roots as they start their barrage of sound. Stringed brilliance is loaded with a grungy tone as drums accompany the ruckus and vocal barrage. A song made of dreams, “Two Frequencies” explores all the paces of that otherworldly dreamscape, and it does it well. I love the fuzz-dominated baritone work of Mike C as Biff S pounds the skins. Compositionally speaking, this duo has a great head for writing.
“Ride The Subway” is up next. Quirky and progressive, “Ride The Subway” leaves no stone unturned as it runs the gamut of punky, poppy rebellion. I love the verse, “Ear buds in, life tuned out. Spare change, please, sing songs mouth, mind the gap as you leap.” Off-the-cuff rock and roll, in-your-face altercations are the find of the day here.
“Convenience Store” takes the lead next. The fact that this is only a duo is amazing. They manage to flesh out their sound without adding too much instrumentation, and it works well. Vocals are cutting edge and viably commercial without sounding contrite, and the lyrics are outstanding. I especially love the last verse as they sing, “Late night in the city of ashes, seeing people I don’t want to know. Walking crooked and driving reckless, headed to the convenience store. Bought a sandwich and coconut water I need to walk helicopter Jones spinning ceilings above the mattress, drifting off to the danger zone.” Great tone and great writing style.
“The Teleprompt Rolls” is up next and takes this two-piece artistic unit to another place. Utilizing the limited instrumentation that they have, Yawn Mower is full of surprise and dynamic interaction. I love the lyric, “The teleprompter rolls, a steady stream of death. The people eat it up until there’s nothing left. The advertising pays, the truth is always swept. Comments are null and void, and they don’t know better, don’t know better, don’t know better than you.”
Mike and Biff tear through their compositional angst with the panache of anything Kurt Cobain and the boys could have ever done. I especially admire their rhythmic delivery and overall attitude for their craft.
The last song on the disc is called “Seltzer Burps.” This is a song that addresses the finer points of growing up. From spitball fights to raising hell in the back of the bus, “Seltzer Burps” turns over every so-called act of decency for the fact that your future is full of minimum wage. High tempo changes and sectional switches make this song one of the absolute best on the disc.
Yawn Mower has done well with Get To The Boat. Mixing punk influences with great compositional hooks and cutting lyrics, they show their worth of a Paul Ritchie at the helm. Grab this CD when you get a chance and listen to something that’s genuinely different from the norm. Yawn Mower will be playing throughout the summer so go check them out over at yawnmower.com.
Concert Lineup Announced For Levitt AMP Asbury Park Music Series – The First Free Music Series On The West Side Of Asbury In Over Four Decades
JUNE 16, 2016—The countdown to an unforgettable season of free concerts under the sun on the West Side of Asbury Park is underway! Today the Levitt AMP Asbury Park Music Series announced its impressive lineup of artists who will perform at the new Springwood Park each Monday at 6:00 p.m. from June 27 to August 29. So grab your family, friends, and neighbors and get ready to head on down to Asbury Park’s newest community treasure!
Sponsored in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a private family foundation that empowers communities to transform neglected public spaces into thriving destinations through the power of free, live music, the Levitt AMP Asbury Park Music Series will present 10 free, family-friendly concerts to the public this summer at Springwood Park, between Atkins and Union Avenues. The series will feature a diverse lineup of high caliber talent spanning genres like soul, doo-wop, funk and rock.
The Levitt AMP Asbury Park Music Series is supported by Interfaith Neighbors, working to meet basic needs, build community, and increase the self-sufficiency of residents of Monmouth County. The series is sponsored in part by the Asbury Park Press, and New Jersey Natural Gas.
Kicking off the series at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, June 27, is Gedeon Luke & The People. Hailing from the streets of Memphis, Gedeon Luke conquered childhood poverty by focusing on music, family and faith. Growing up, Luke was weaned on the gospel-infused sounds of Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield and Al Green, and deeply inspired by the rock ‘n’ roll passion of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Together with his nine-person band—The People—Luke brings immense energy and heart to every show, spreading a message of love, peace, and soul with the world.
The Full Schedule:
7/4/16 6:00 pm Wim-Bash (Members of Living Colour)
7/11/16 6:00 pm The Mayor’s Players (Kevin Sanders Band)
7/18/16 6:00 pm TBA
7/25/16 6:00 pm Quincy Mumford & The Reason Why
8/1/16 6:00 pm Dr. Cheeko & The Island Sound
8/8/16 6:00 pm MonteRosa Band
8/15/16 6:00 pm The F.L.O.W
8/22/16 6:00 pm Gary U.S. Bonds
8/29/16 6:00 pm Harlem Teens Choir
The public is invited to bring their own picnics, blankets and lawn chairs to the concerts, which will have an open patio and lawn setting. There will also be food available for purchase at the event via multiple food vendors. The Levitt AMP concert series is located at Springwood Park on Springwood Avenue between Atkins and Union Avenues, directly across from the Springwood Community Center (Kula Café). Admission is free.
Visit concerts.levittamp.org/asbury_park for a full schedule of concerts, directions and information on parking and wheelchair accessibility.
Last January, Asbury Park was named one of 15 small to mid-sized towns and cities across America to win a Levitt AMP Asbury Park Grant Award of $25K in matching funds to present a free concert series at Springwood Park in 2016. Asbury Park Music Foundation submitted the Levitt AMP proposal and is presenting the concert series. In an effort to inspire and engage communities across the country around the power of creative placemaking, the Levitt Foundation invited the public to choose the Top 25 Finalists through online voting. Learn more about the winners and the 150 free Levitt AMP concerts across America at concerts.levittamp.org.
