So I’m involved with a few notable musical projects in Colorado right now, but my longtime friendship with former Ego vs. Id frontman Nate Cook makes my addition, on drums, to a new alt-country rock group The Yawpers especially exciting. To boot, after woodshedding the past few months at an underground bar called The Speakeasy, The Yawpers are about to have a more formal (yet raucous) Boulder debut on Saturday, July 16 at Shug’s Low Country Cuisine, which used to be the b.Side Lounge, and Trilogy before that.
The Yawpers (named after Walt Whitman’s promise to “sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world”) recall a grittier version of Wilco, with as much raw country sensibility as twisted indie imagination. Without seeing us live, the rollicking demo of “Heart On a String” on Facebook is the only taste the Yawpers can give you at the moment, but shades of the Yawpers’ down-home rock were previously heard on Nate’s (and guitarist/bassist Jesse Parmet’s) contributions to the now-defunct Ego vs. Id’s 2010 LP Taste, such as “Hey Sarah” and “National Disaster.”
Equally akin to Deer Tick, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and Elvis, the Yawpers’ fresh blend of alt-country rock ’n’ roll is definitely something you won’t hear elsewhere in Boulder, and hopefully we’ll infecting the rest of the nation soon. Anyway, hope to see you at the Shug’s gig if you’re around, and either way: Please “Like” us on the Yawpers’ Facebook page.
Adam Perry 