The Yes Yes Yalls

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http://web.mac.com/chrenne/iWeb/Site/review..html - okayplayer

November Artist of the Month
The Yes Yes Yalls

DreamMakersMP3.com is excited to announce November's Featured Artist of the Month: The Yes Yes Yalls. Bringing a funky, melodic flavor of hip-hop to the scene, the band is composed of three twenty-something guys. Charles Flartey (vocals, lyrical missiles, melodies), Chris Renne (programming, guitars, bass), Ryan Gilligan (programming, guitars, keys).

The band first met when Chris was performing Damien Rice's Volcano at an open mic. As he sang, a guy from the audience jumped up and started singing harmony with him. It was Charles.

I couldn't let him do it by himself, Charles explains. You can't do that song without the harmony.

Chris was amazed by Charles' voice and grabbed his contact info right away. After that, Chris and Ryan, longtime friends, started producing tracks that needed vocals. They asked Charles to come in and do some freestyling at the end of one song, but Charles had ideas for the whole song. The guys let him run with it, and that's how their first single, Walkin' was born.

The Yes Yes Yalls have been building their music in stages like that ever since. Chris and Ryan will start programming a track, laying down beats and guitar riffs, then they hand it over to Charles who adds lyrics and melody.

The unique sound of The Yes Yes Yalls blends elements of hip-hop, indie-rock, funk and jazz. The songs are upbeat and catchy, the lyrics both memorable and insightful. Thick, addictive beats groove under the smooth raps and melodies soaring on top. The fresh ingredient is that Charles isnt singing cliches about diamond rings and designer duds, instead he's making intelligent observations about relevant life situations. Because for this band, relating to the public is just as important as making them dance.

The best compliment, is to have somebody relate directly to your music, says Chris.

Charles agrees. I've had a few people along the lines tell me that it was almost like I was in their head, like they could have written that, especially with more of the personal stuff I've done. They get that feeling that somebody else out there knows exactly what they're going through. And for somebody to tell me that I was that person to them, that's a really good feeling.

Charlie's insightful and entertaining analogies spill beyond his rhymes into his normal conversations. When asked about his approach to breaking into the music industry, he replies: The music industry and everybody who's in it is like this big house party. [The Yes Yes Yalls] are just going to wait til somebody goes out back to smoke a cigarette or a joint or something and when they open the door to go back inside we'll walk in right behind them and say hi to everybody like we know them. We'll be those guys that everybody assumes came with somebody they know, but they don't know who. We're just sort of there and we're going to drink as much beer as we can before they figure out were not supposed to be there, and then we'll leave. And if they never figure it out, we're staying til the keg is tapped.

And so far the party people are loving it.

I took our music to a party at Pittsburgh University, Ryan says. I started playing The Lovin' Tin and I saw at least ten couples start dancing who were just standing around looking bored beforehand. People have been very responsive. They're diggin' it.

People like to dance, Charlie agrees. You give the public something to dance to, and it doesn't really matter what the song is about as long as it's catchy and its got a nice melody.

But, one of the distinguishing factors of The Yes Yes Yalls is that it does matter what their songs are about.

I think what most people think of when they think of hip-hop is just the mindless indulgence, the loud bass and the beat you can dance to, says Chris, referencing the way hip-hop artists tend to limit themselves to a narrow selection of topics.

But according to Charles, The best hip hop is like the best of any type of music. Something that comes from a personal level. Somebody saying what they want to say, being themselves, not trying to cater to a certain audience. They're not trying to make money off it, they're not trying to get rich or die trying. Somebody with talent who just wants other people to enjoy their music. And that's not restricted to hip-hop, it's anything really. If it's good, it's good.

Some of the best music is when the artist wants the listener to have fun while they're listening to it, Chris continues. Like for instance, A Tribe Called Quest - the Low End Theory. Every time that album comes on, everybody around just smiles.

Having fun seems to be a priority to The Yes Yes Yalls. They arent fazed or enticed by the glittering bad-boy images of mainstream hip-hop. In fact, Charles thinks the current trend of writing song after song about money is getting stale. Even though people still buy the records by the millions.

Another analogy surfaces on Charles mind: I relate it to if I walk up to somebody and was like, Yo, check out this new necklace I got. Look at this watch, look at this new car I'm driving. And they just handed me money and I went and bought more stuff and I was like, Yo, look what I bought with the money you gave me, and they're like Yo that's awesome, here, buy some more! I dont get it.

Charles approach to songwriting counters the money mindset by keeping the lyrics refreshingly honest, clever and creative. These songs haven't been written twenty-five times already. And bringing these tunes to the people is top priority for the guys.

When asked whether they prefer the studio or the stage, Charles answers, I prefer playing live. It's the whole vibe of it. It's a lot more fun. Not that the recording aspect of it isn't fun, it's just to be able to see people's reaction to it while you're doing it, it puts it over the top really.

As Ryan says, I like being in the studio because thats where the stuff gets done, but then to share it with people you gotta play.

Chris agrees as well. I definitely prefer performing live, but you can't perform without doing your stuff in the studio first. It's kinda like get your work done and then go out and have fun.

The Yes Yes Yalls are optimistic about the future, keeping simple goals in mind. I want to be able to support a family doing this, Chris says. I don't want to have to go fix little girl's iPods anymore.

I don't want to be rich or anything, Charles says. I don't want to be famous. I'd just like to be able to make music for a living, not have to do anything else, like be at work in thirty-five minutes and go cook for drunk people. I don't want to have to cook for drunk people anymore. Thats my plan. - Origivation Magazine