photo: D. Anson Brody

Across many cultures, elephant symbolism focuses on wisdom, strength, stability, and good fortune with its image used to attract prosperity, protect the home and encourage patience.

The front cover of Yarn’s latest album, Saturday Night Sermon, features the silhouettes of four pachyderms. While the band’s founder, Blake Christiana is familiar with those meanings and would be quite pleased to find the quartet’s music reach a wider audience, like his songs, something deeper lies within their usage. For now, he’s focused on his career, songwriting and even his personal life reflecting the insight gained over 20 years since he formed the band in New York and its relation to an attitude centered on gratefulness.

As Christiana explains during our conversation, negativity exists within his world, but he pushes it away—out of necessity—by focusing on the positive.

The new album rests in that Americana landscape where trad country and alt country coexist (“Goodbye Cowgirl,” “Good Things”) with judicious additions of a gospel choir, horns and background singers (who give a Pink Floyd vibe on the title track). The combo of vocalists and a brass section along with keys gives “Brand New Light” a breezy, shake that thang Crescent City feel while “Please” revels in the ghosts of Muscle Shoals.

Bringing listeners the polar opposite of outlooks, “Let the Universe,” “Good Things,” “Good Day” and “Longshot” approach their subject matter with an easygoing, it’ll all work out, upbeat manner after Christiana warns us on “Saturday Night Sermon”: “We’ll touch on the good times, the laughter, the joy and the pain/It all often brings.” Later, “Where We Land” finds a union built on mutual bad luck, and “Might As Well Be King” fights to get out of life’s ditch and move on to a bright new day.   

Saturday Night Sermon follows the band’s 2024 release, Born Blessed Grateful & Alive. Christiana credits Yarn’s lineup—Robert Bonhomme (drums), Rick Bugel (bass) and Andy Thomas (lead guitar)—for the consistency and strong performances of the current material. “The band has officially found something really special over the past couple of years. It feels like we are finally the live band and album-producing band we always set out to be, and the message we are aiming to deliver has also found its foothold.”

We discuss Saturday Night Sermon, his life and work perspective. Meanwhile, the band just announced the lineup for its band’s sixth annual Yarnival Music & Alternative Arts Festival, which takes place Oct. 8-10 at Pop’s Farm in Axton, Virginia.

So, what is up with all this positivity?

I’m trying to change myself. I’ve spent so much time in the negative space, and the glass is half empty and the cynical mind, I can’t get rid of it. Obviously, it lives inside me. It’s just a natural way for me. It’s like, 10 years ago, all this division within the country and the world and it changed me for the better. I can’t. I just can’t judge anyone. I can’t hate anyone. And if I can change one person’s brain…My last song on this new record is just a simple thought can change everything.

Nobody takes the time to have that one little thought, like, “What am I doing? Why do I hate anyone? Why am I angry? Why am I letting these handful of people steal my joy and feeding the anger and feeding that energy in this world?” It’s why we’re here. It’s what got us to this point and it’s really sad. So, if I can’t be positive and try and make someone else think a little more positively then I gotta just put down the pen. As much as it’s therapy for me, I want it to be therapy for the listener, and I don’t want to steer them in the wrong direction.

So, I just feel a responsibility to spread that around instead of the negativity. That doesn’t mean I’m not gonna write a sad song, but I want to be the smallest difference if I can make it with a lyric or a song or album then I’ve won.

Was there a specific event or moment that caused you to develop that approach?

About 10 years ago, I remember my wife saying, “You’ve gotta be positive.” the whole manifest thing. And she’s like, “Write a song called “This is the Year.” Put that into the universe,” because it was all just negative. I wasn’t very grateful. Then, I would be onstage singing songs, even if it was for 20 people, and I’d think to myself, “Holy shit! How is this my life? How did I get here? What an amazing thing I get to do.” So, those little moments crept in more and more, and I stopped being ungrateful. Instead of “Only 20 people showed up tonight. I lost a thousand dollars.” It was, “Twenty people came out on Tuesday night and sang some of my songs back at me. How many people get to do that? What an amazing thing that is!”

I’m lucky. I can’t look at it any other way. If I did, I’d just be letting that energy that’s trying to keep us all down, steal our joy, and be a part of that problem. So, I gotta stay away from that. I could easily get lost right back in it.

We’ve had great shows down here [in Key West], almost capacity shows. Some were sold out, small venues, nothing crazy, but there’s always one gig where you’re like, “That sucked.” Everything’s relative. I get caught back into my negative frame of mind from time to time, but I just try really hard to just stay positive for my mental health, and, hopefully, the mental health of the people around me and the people listening, and maybe it’ll make a difference. Maybe. [Laughs.]

Without making this too much of a wellness interview, is there anything that you do other than remind yourself, “Hey, don’t be negative”? 

I definitely force that issue. When it comes to songwriting, early on the songs were pouring out of me. Where did they come from? How did they get to the page? I don’t even know, really. Some songs I can pinpoint that I purposefully wrote something but now I’m thinking way more about what I’m saying, how I’m saying it, what I’m trying to say, what I want people to think…And I want people to think whatever they want. Once the song is there, it’s theirs to do with it what they want. Believe whatever they want it to be about. That’s one of the great things about writing songs is you get into the listener’s head and they interpret it how they want to do it. So, my writing has made me more positive. It’s definitely my therapist. I don’t have a psychiatrist. Never have, but if I didn’t write music, I would probably need one. [Laughs.]

This way I get it out. The world gets to hear my inner thoughts and my struggles. We all share those things, no matter how rich or poor. Whatever we are, we share the human struggle, the human condition. We all need to feel like we’re not alone. So, hopefully, that’s another thing. It really is me telling myself constantly that I’m lucky,

As far as a positive theme, “Let the Universe,” “Might As Well Be King,” while “Good Things” and “Good Day” sound as much about putting that upbeat feeling out to the universe as it does bringing that inward towards yourself.

Absolutely. [Laughs.] Well, “Good Things” I wrote because I was like, “I just gotta write about good things.” I was probably in a horrible mood. Feel like a loser. Feel sorry for myself. That definitely gets me writing.

We can’t lose that as people. We’re just gonna have those days, right? We’re gonna have those feelings. Unfortunately, we do. “Good Things,” I sat down and I remember that I was like, “Good things. That’s what I’m going to write about. Good things,” It was in an angry manner. [Starts singing] “Good things/Not the same old sad and bad things.” It just flowed out super quick. It’s all about gratitude, and it’s all about perspective because that song just as easily could be called “Bad Things,” and that’s the same exact song, right? That was very purposeful.

“Good Day,” I was like, “I’m gonna write a song about a 24-hour period of partying and doing whatever I want and being free and being human and enjoying this body in the most hedonistic way possible.” And there’s nothing wrong with that! We need to do that!

That’s what we’re here for! Once this is over, I don’t think we have this body anymore. So, let’s use it. Get the most joy out of it as so we can. Obviously, it’s all balance. Party. Have fun. I’m having a good time. [Laughs.]

Keeping with that theme, even with a song like “Longshot,” about lost love or being rebuffed, it’s pretty much carefree rather than sad and heartbroken.

Yeah, it’s a little bit. The song’s disguised as a guy trying to chase a girl that he thinks is out of his league, and it is a super-simple song. But, behind all that, that’s kind of the metaphor for anything in life. Chasing your dreams. Anything you do that’s worth having is a longshot at first. Doing anything in this life is hard, especially doing anything of value that brings you joy, makes you feel like you were meant to or you thought you were going to feel when you were a kid. That’s a longshot. It’s hard.

So, that that’s where that song comes from. A guy posted a live version of that on YouTube a year ago, and the first comment is, “You need a songwriting partner. These lyrics suck.” Whatever. Some troll. I immediately had a whole paragraph I was about to type out. Then, I’m like, “What are you doing, Blake? Just give him a thumbs up and say, “’Thank you.’” [Laughs.] I swear that’s definitely the most commercial sounding song on the record.

Someone’s gonna hate it, but I’ll tell you what, if someone hates it at least 100 people like it. So, bring it on. Bring on the hate! [Laughs.]

“Good Things” also sounds radio friendly.

I think they’re pushing that on Americana radio. That’s got that classic country sound to it.

I was looking at “Brand New Light.” On the surface, it’s the swinging bachelor, bachelor for life kind of thing but, again, it’s done in such a carefree manner, like, “You know who I am. I know who I am. See yourself out the door before breakfast.”

Yeah, take it or leave it. I was writing that song while I was driving and my bass player was sleeping, I was listening to an Al Green interview, Terry Gross, Fresh Air.  He was talking about Jackie Wilson and his influences, and I got to thinking about Van Morrison and then and I got to think about my wife who used to say, “We ain’t here for a long time. We’re here for a good time.” One of those cliches, and that’s how it started. It was definitely Van Morrison-inspired. I sang it into the phone while my bass player was sleeping. That song was born on the road.

One of the songs that pushes against the theme of positivity, I think, is “Never Enough.”

Yes. That’s the struggle. That’s the struggle. Isn’t that the human condition? Everything is great for about three seconds and then you’re like, “Wait a minute. I need more. But this didn’t happen. But I wanted this.”

It’s frustrating to be human. I’m not sure everybody thinks that way, but I’m sure most people do. It’s really hard to kick that. That’s just me being frustrated with having more than I could have ever dreamed. I could definitely dream more, but more than I thought I was probably capable of achieving and not being satisfied. That pisses me off, which is why I try so hard to keep telling myself how lucky I am, how grateful I am because of that. It’s an unavoidable feeling for me just as it is with most everybody else in this world.

So, I had to get that on paper and get out my frustration. That’s a frustrating song. The arrangements kind of capture that feeling as well, with the heavy guitar. Andy [Thomas] crushed all the guitar on this record. Just lucky that he was a part of this one. His record came out, so I’m pulling for that.

Do you think that “Never Enough” is kind of necessary to offset things a little bit so that people aren’t like, “Okay, here comes another upbeat song.”

Of course. Definitely. It’s totally necessary. It’s necessary in every possible way. It’s just unfortunate (laughs) but it has to be necessary. You got to have a ying and yang.

The album cover has elephant silhouettes. That’s interesting to me because there’s a band out of Pittsburgh called Sun King Warriors that uses an elephant image on their albums and merch. What’s behind using them?

It looks really cool. They’re silhouettes. Elephants in all sorts of cultures have spiritual meanings. A lot of them, represent wisdom and intelligence. Elephants, they stay together their whole lives, loyalty, family, that kind of thing.

My wife has a recurring dream or did—I don’t think she’s had it lately—but she used to dream that she was down by this river and elephants were in the river. I was there and our kids were there, and we were all just hanging out in this incredibly safe beautiful place, utopia almost. She would tell me about this dream all the time and it made her feel good. In some ways, it was telling her, guiding us to do something. What? We don’t know. But, she’s very existential. I’m right there with her. So, she’s reading a lot, thinking a lot and diving into the idea of oneness, like, listen to the universe, let it take hold, to surrender a little bit.

It’s funny though because then, four months ago, we bought a house on a river. So, now, we’re living at the river. We just can’t find the elephants but we’re not gonna stop looking.

There’s a song on the record that directly references the elephants and the dream, and it’s the last song on the record (“A Welcome New Home”).

Like your last album, Born Blessed Grateful & Alive, you worked with Damian Calcagne at his Pinebox Studio. 

Damian is the easiest person to work with.  He believes in this music as much as I do. We couldn’t have had a better time.  

You mentioned the last time we spoke that you were already recording songs for the next record. How much of this album was done before the release of Born Blessed Grateful & Alive?

We recorded two tracks during the last record—“Good Day” and “Where We Land”—but we didn’t finish them until the more recent sessions.  The rest was written after “Born Blessed” was recorded. We’ve got a bunch of leftover tracks from both sessions too.  Not sure what we’re going to do with them yet.  

On the title track, the guitar playing at the end has Pink Floyd The Final Cut vibes while “Might As Well Be King” has a Dire Straits vibe, which brings me to your Dire Straits tribute, The diRE yaRN Tapes, a live recording from Rooster Walk 14 in 2024. How did that come about and how can people get a copy?

When I wrote “Might As Well Be King,” we were learning all that Dire Straits music, so I guess it crept into me.  When we learn these tribute sets every year it opens me up to writing songs differently than I would have before, and I love that.  

As for the music, you can stream it for free on our SoundCloud.

 The title track I wrote in the car while I was driving back to my hotel after a day in the studio.  I thought we needed a super short intro track, and I had already named the album.  I just wanted it to convey what kind of ride the listener was about to embark on in hopes that most folks will listen to the album as a whole. I’m aware that isn’t typically the case with most listeners but that’s always my goal.