Blake Christiana rocked out and played air guitar countless nights at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Christiana witnessed the sweet sounds of Neil Young, Phish, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Paul Simon, Doobie Brothers, Steve Miller Band and the Allman Brothers Band during his adolescent years.
“I wish I could remember them all but I can’t,” said Christiana of all the Saratoga shows. “It’s been years since I’ve been back.”
The Schenectady native dreams of a return trip to SPAC – a homecoming of sorts – with his band Yarn taking center stage. The New York City-based, country-bluegrass band has played over 700 shows since 2006.
“I had a friend who lived in Brooklyn and was willing to let me stay on his couch rent free,” said Christiana of his start in the music business, “and I went to work at Greene Street Studios as an assistant engineer in SOHO. It wasn’t long before I started playing out in the local clubs down in the village.”
The band’s current lineup consists of Christiana (vocals, guitar), Trevor MacArthur (Vocals, Guitar), Andrew Hendryx (mandolin, harmonica), Rod Hohl (electric guitar), Rick Bugel (bass) and Robert Bonhomme (drums).
The 35-year-old Christiana grew up listening to a wide range of music from the Grateful Dead to Willie Nelson.
“My father is a strummer and a singer,” he said when asked about his family’s musical background. “My sister played the piano pretty good, my grandfather was a drummer, and I believe my great grandmother played the mandolin. There were instruments all over my house growing up.”
In 2012, Yarn plans to tour the west coast and hopes to make its way overseas.
*Click here”:http://www.relix.com/video/live-at-relix/2011/12/23/yarn-annie to see a recent live performance from Relix.
Is there a story behind how the band got its name, and what’s the significance?
While trying to come up with a name, Andrew had a dream. He saw the name Yarn on a theater marquee. It just seemed like the perfect fit. I was writing a lot of very story based songs, “spinning yarns”, and at the time, we were playing out as a string band with no rhythm section. It seemed to work on many levels and I think it still does.
How would you describe your music for people who haven’t heard it?
It’s tough to describe because it bounces around all over the place. It’s country, it’s rock, it’s got a bit of bluegrass feel, and occasionally some gospel creeps in. We jam, but not endlessly, and you’ll never hear the same show twice.
How did you get into country/bluegrass music?
As a kid, my dad always had some classic country spinning, as well as Ricky Nelson and Elvis. When it comes to bluegrass, my first introduction was through the Grateful Dead, Old & In The Way and the Jerry Garcia/David Grisman acoustic album. That album got worn out in my cassette player.
There are five other guys in Yarn, how did all of you get intertwined?
New York City is an amazing place to find musicians. The best of the best are all just hanging around looking to play. I grew up with Trevor in Schenectady, NY and he was already playing with me in my other band at the time, Blake & The Family Dog.
I found Andrew through his girlfriend, who used to bartend at the Baggot Inn, a club in the village we would play at all the time. It wasn’t long before, he was sitting in jamming with Blake & The Family Dog, and I was sitting in with his band, The Andrew Hendryx Ensemble.
At that time we formed Yarn, it was just Trevor, Andrew, and I.
Soon after that, Andrew landed a residency with his band at Kenny’s Castaways on Bleeker Street, and that is where we picked up Ricky B, as well as Jay Frederick, our original drummer.
Not long after that, we were doing a residency at a club in Chelsea called Hill Country, and this killer guitar player I had met a few years before was running sound at the club. We would have him set the level and then get up and play guitar with us every night. pretty much from there on out, Rod Hohl, was in the band.
And about 2 years ago, we were in need of a new drummer, and at the same time, Rod’s buddy, Robert Bonhomme was moving back to the city from England, the timing couldn’t have been better and the drummer could not have been a better fit, on every possible level.
How do all six of you stay involved in the creative process of writing the songs?
It starts with me and a guitar, a melody, and some words. From here, if I like it enough it makes it to a sound check. Given our busy tour schedule, that’s pretty much the only place we get to rehearse. From sound check, it makes it to the stage, if we like enough that is. Everyone is involved with its direction at this point, and the song could potentially evolve indefinitely. There are songs that we have been playing for five years that are still giving birth to new parts and new ways of playing them. Everyone in the band is fully involved and a part of what shape the song will take – it is very much a band process.
Where do you guys see yourself in the jamband scene?
I love the jamband fan base. I would love for them to fully embrace us. I love the loyalty, I love the counter culture aspect of it. I think the term jamband has expanded a bit over the years, and we like to think we fit in there, at least a little bit.
Currently the band is playing small festivals and clubs, how’s the fan reaction been?
What’s great about the festivals, is that you are reaching a lot of unfamiliar people all at once, and the reaction has been amazing. A great example of a small festival embracing us, is The French Broad River Fest in Hot Springs, NC. We played there in the spring and the fall fest this year, and the crowd was incredible. Floydfest was another festival where the crowd just got it. As for the clubs, it’s a slower build, but so far so good, the love is growing.
How hard of a struggle has it been to build a following?
This is a hard business, being a musician on the road is just a struggle period Perseverance is the key. Some towns develop very quickly, others take more time than you think you can give them. Raleigh is an example of a town that caught on quick, Charlotte is an example of a town that took a while. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason as far as I can tell. Denver and Colorado Springs are two other towns that appear to be catching on quick, with other towns, like Philly and Albany, which we are still waiting to have pop.
Your shows are packed in Carolina, why do you believe there’s such a warm reception there?
Both Carolina and Virginia have been very good to us. It seems like we made friends quickly there. If I knew why or how it happened, I would make it happen everywhere. Does anyone know why this is? If so, please give us a call or send us an email.
Have you guys been able to make money solely on this venture? Or do you guys have other jobs?At the moment, half of us are just doing this. We make other sacrifices to make it possible. We are living day-to-day at this point. Luckily, it is getting better. Andrew and Rod pick up gigs in the city when we are home and Bobby manages a restaurant in the city when our tour schedule permits. We’ve been very lucky.
A friend of mine told me, you guys put up flyers looking for money to help front a new album. When do you hope to get back in the studio and record?
We actually just jumped on the Kickstarter bandwagon. The record is actually just about done being recording. The money being raised is for the release, mastering, manufacturing, publicist, radio promo, and new merchandise – all the good expensive stuff that goes along with making a record. We are actually printing this recording on Vinyl. We even wrote a song to help get people motivated to donate, and every donation gets rewarded with something.
Do you feel bigger festivals are in your future?
We are getting invited to more and more festivals, it has grown each year, and we believe it is going to continue to grow. Strawberry Music Festival in California just recently invited us to play next spring. Right now we are on the bill with Alison Krauss and Union Station and Trampled By Turtles. The list will continue to grow, but that is some pretty good company already.
I know one of your dreams is to play Austin City Limits, can you elaborate? And are their other venues on your wish list?
My dad always said, ‘make goals for yourself son.’ The PBS show, Austin City Limits is my current goal, I’ve been watching that show for years and love it. I feel like it is somewhat attainable at this point, I guess we shall see. Other venues on my wish list are SPAC, Red Rocks, Ryman Auditorium and the Beacon Theater.
