October 14th 1999 Local Exposure

Local Exposure
CD Reviews of Area Musicians

R. C. Yetter Cover R. C. Yetter and Riviera Paradise
Live at the Peppermint Lounge

by Jason Timoll

R.C. Yetter is a guitar player’s guitar player. A traditionalist, Yetter keeps the art and structure of blues guitar playing alive and screaming on his latest album, Live at the Peppermint Lounge. Yetters’ band, Riviera Paradise, was formed as a tributary flame-keeper for the celebration and remembrance of the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughn. When a man says he is going to play Stevie Ray Vaughn music, you can not help but be skeptical. In the minds of many, including several established blues artists, Vaughn had the most tasteful fingers ever to be heard touching the guitar. However, I must say that R.C. Yetter could not do this music more justice, lest the man himself come back from the grave.

On this record, Yetter and his band tackle far more than Stevie Ray material, going as far as to record two songs that they wrote themselves. Most of the songs on this 13-song record are true to the blues form. Unlike many blues purists who rely solely on their guitar, Yetter has got a voice that will draw almost as much as his burning guitar chops. On songs like number five, "Pearly," a Yetter original, the band pushes the envelope a bit by using a more swinging blues beat and really intricate guitar voicings. They go on to cover Hendrix’s "Red House," "Vodoo Chile," and "Third Stone From the Sun," as well as Dylan’s "All Along the Watchtower" and others including several Stevie Ray songs — of course.

I like to see bands who are going to rely on the music of others to define them to put their own spin on the music that they are covering. It seems as if the Riviera Paradise band does this by being honest to the spirit of a song but not being restricted by it’s original recording. In many cases like, "All Along the Watchtower," I recognized the song but had never heard it played that way before. There are moments when you know that Yetter’s goal is mostly to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughn. In those moments, however, the playing is so clean that I was simply impressed that he could pull it off. My guess is that R.C. Yetter would dispute that anyone, including himself, could sound like Stevie Ray Vaughn. I would also guess that the great legend might tip his trademark cowboy hat in approval and buy R.C. a drink.

For bookings contact 717-436-9401 or e-mail rcyetter@yahoo.com.

The Badlees
Up There, Down Here
Ark 21

by Jason Timoll

Once again, the Badlees throw a one-two punch by releasing their anxiously awaited album, Up There, Down Here. As their sophomore major label release, the album displays what only true maturity and hard work can produce, which is growth and expansiveness to an already proven formula for creating first-rate material. Up There, Down Here is, from top to bottom, a collection of well-crafted, strongly written songs. Because the Badlees had released several albums on their own before signing a deal with (formerly) A&M records, to re-release the unaltered River Songs debut album — which was recorded here in Harrisburg, with Bob Welsh at the Greenroom Studio — fans who have never heard this band before might never have given thought to the fact that there were years of craft-building behind these songs. It was, then, no surprise to me, to hear material on this album that was clearly at the next level.

In the first and fourth offerings, "Don’t Let Me Hide" and "Which One of You," in particular, the depth and versatility of their introspection is abundant. It is the ability to dig beyond the surface for lyric that suggests rather than states — that separates song-writers. Life is complicated, and to write about it takes the sensitivity and humility that this band has always had and continues to possess. On this record, the use of guitar is abundantly important in painting the texture and background for a story to be told. On track thirteen, "The Second Coming of Chris," the melody starts out with an almost cryptic tone that goes on to tell a tale of a man who seems to be struggling to find his identity. On this album, you find not only more instrument variation — like an occasional usage of horns — but a true exploration into the possibility of the chronology and dynamic of song.

I have never known any band whose life experience and sense of tangibility is more interconnected with their sense of identity and the words that define their music than the Badlees. Like one’s knowledge and education, that cannot be stripped away. That is why, having weathered the takeover-turbulence that the entire industry has experienced over the last year, this band is on the move once again.

Many bands and artists today are marketing concepts with scripted backgrounds, orchestrated dance moves, hairstyles, etc. And because they were created by the mind stormers for the cash-cow labels, their success, like their identity, is 100% dependent on the will of the label. If, however, you show up at the table with an established product that has become it’s own definitive sonic entity before you sign your name on the dotted line, the only thing they can take away is the contract — not the talent. The "sound" was never their brainchild to begin with. It was theirs to promote. Period.

I say this because of how disappointed I was that a band who had made it’s bed here, did not, in my opinion, get the support of the music lovers in this area when they were suffering what every single signed band in the modern world was suffering when BIG SODA started being the arbiters of successful music. After the Seagram’s merger, I sensed that too many of us enjoyed the dark speculations and whispers of doom that ensued as a result of the massive mergers that swallowed many of the mediums by which well-written music could be reliably delivered. Unfortunately, the release date of this album was delayed without the control of band or management for many months because of it.

Naturally ARK 21, the Badlees new internationally distributed label, had the good sense to realize that what you tap into with a band of guys who don’t mind tuning their own guitars is an inexhaustible resource of song-writing for the long haul. On stage with Tom Petty or Greg Allman or right here in Pennsylvania, you always get your money’s worth with men who hone their craft. The last song on the album is called "A Little Faith," a poetic conclusion to this long awaited answer to the success of River Songs. This band got signed to a label because of their songs. They got re-signed to a label because of their songs. This album is the ultimate testament to that truth, as the Badlees remain the class song writing and performing band to emerge from this area in as long as I’ve been here.