yayhoos first review

By Steve Terrell | The New Mexican
April 7, 2006
The Yayhoos are loud, irreverent, a little crazy, and a lot of fun. And in case anyone's forgotten, those qualities are the basic building blocks of rock 'n' roll. Their new album, Put the Hammer Down, is a boozy, sometimes bluesy, guitar-crazed testament to the gospel of good timing.

"Gettin' drunk, gettin' naked, gettin' laid,and gettin' out,"

is the refrain of one of the songs here. That pretty much sums up the spirit of Put the Hammer Down.

The band has an impressive résumé. It consists of singer Dan Baird (formerly of the Georgia Satellites); guitarist Eric "Roscoe" Ambel (who has played with Joan Jett, The Del-Lords, and for the past several years, Steve Earle); drummer Terry Anderson (The Olympic Ass Kickin' Team); and bassist Keith Christopher (another ex-Georgia Satellite, who's also played with Billy Joe Shaver, Paul Westerberg, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and others.)

As in their first effort, Fear Not the Obvious, The Yayhoos sing of a world where it's always Saturday night, the girls are all pretty, and the beer is cheap and plentiful. It starts off with "Where's Your Boyfriend At," a celebration of adulterous potential. I'm not sure why the instrumental bridge alludes to the "Batman" theme.

"Would It Kill You" has some fun with domestic discord. "Would it kill you to take that noose off my neck/Would it kill you to stop acting like a wreck?" There's even a song here ("Everything/Anything") that introduces the boys in the band: "My name is Roscoe, and I am the boss/Without me the Minnow would be lost ... My name is Dan, I talk loud and a lot/Without me this band wouldn't rock." This track would be the obvious choice for a theme if The Yayhoos got their own weekly sitcom.

While most of the songs are original, The Yayhoos do a couple of inspired covers -- The O'Jays' "Love Train," which features various Yayhoos trading vocals, and an especially exhilarating version of the B-52s' "Roam." You can order Hammer from www.yayhoos.com.



(PS--When I was explainin' the "Batman" part as we wuz cuttin' it I was refering to the bridge in Sam and Dave's "Wrap it up"..PSS- I still can't believe I saw Sam and Dave at The Bottom Line!!!! Unbelievable show!!)