Hello everyone!!!
This is your friendly neighborhood Ramensaur and I’ve taken over EVBMusic…..FOREVER!!!!
Just kidding, I’m just writing a guest post for this month as Eric has been swamped with trying to graduate with his masters and work and everything that insanely smart kid is trying to do!
Regardless of all his genius, we were able to say YES to the YES Team! at their new album release party! Now if you’re a loyal follower of EVB Music and his blogging, you might remember the last time we mentioned The Yes Team, it was also for their album release party back in 2012 at The Ruby Room. Just as a quick recap, The Yes Team was one of the first local San Diego bands that Eric and I found in San Diego after we moved here! I remember it clearly, eating my chicken pesto flatbread at The Union Kitchen and Tap when I heard the sweet sweet sound of Kinnie’s powerful voice with professional egg shaking, and TJ and Jonathan’s amazing harmonies permeating through the air. Eric ran over to pay them $5 for their EP right then and signed up for their mailing list. We saw the event for their album release party at The Ruby Room, went and were blown away by their energy! Ever since, it’s been a fun ride following them and their shows around town!
In San Diego, there’s an excess of a genre of music that I like to call acoustic-chill. You know, the Jason Mraz style music. There are a lot of musicians who play this style of music really well especially around the San Diego area and it’s one of those genres that in my opinion, you can never get too much of. However, it’s really hard to stand out when there’s such a saturation of musicians that all play this kind of music in one area. However, The Yes Team is one that I truly think stands out against the rest. They are truly infused through and through with boundless, positive energy, and YES. They just have that something special about them that infects happiness to those all around them. It’s really difficult for me to put into words because once you see them live, you’ll know what special something I’m talking about. They truly encompass the quintessence of happiness, friendship, and San Diego.
We had so much fun at the last album release party at the Ruby Room that we were especially excited to see that they were having another album release party at 98 bottles this time. Even though their normal performances are amazing, they really bring their full energy and liveliness to their album release parties. It’s obvious that they are having the most fun ever at their parties! This was the first time that Eric and I had ever been to 98 bottles and it was a wonderful venue in Little Italy with a special backroom reserved completely for the album release party. Since we’ve been following their gigs around town, (and even saw them at a Guster concert at House of Blues!), Kinnie and TJ have started to recognize us! Must be Eric’s blonde hair haha. Anyway, Kinnie saw us and came running over all hugs and smiles and showed us to a prime table that she was reserving for us! Like I said, the Yes Team has a super power of being able to make folks feel extremely special! TJ stopped by and chatted with us and even took selfies with us! Even though Eric and I are basically just fans, it was pretty great to feel so special and hear them talk to us about their album. They made us feel like we’ve all been great friends for a long time! Then they put on one of the best shows I’ve seen them play!
TJ is our BFF!
The first time we saw them play, it was mostly back to back songs, with tons of dancing, a few things said here or there thanking their fans for their support. However, this time, we were pleasantly surprised to see how real and down to earth they were about everything. They spoke about the troubles and their darker times when they were touring around for the first time in their purple van that they drove across the country, and how they learned so much from that experience that it brought them to this point in their lives where they are truly enjoying what they’re doing and starting to experience successes! One of the more personal songs that stemmed from that was the especially powerful song that TJ wrote about Mother Ocean about his internal conflict about trying to make it as a musician and the sadness he felt from their initial tour across the country. Jonathan surprised me by being able to sing in almost any genre! He went from a country twang, to rockin’ out, to rapping between different songs! In fact, he seems to be quite the fun improvisor! He rapped a great song with Kinnie and TJ about their beautiful venue 98 bottles. Unfortunately, you’ll have to see if you can get them perform that for you again to hear the greatness of it because it’s not professionally recorded anywhere! Even Kinnie wrote a song that was especially cute about her growth through a breakup called “Little Sparrow.” You could really see her personal connection and growth through that song.
Eric had contributed to the CD album early on and we were extremely pleased to see that they had listed his name on the album as one of their Affirminators! *special fuzzy feelings*.
Eric is an Affirminator!
We listened to the new album all over again on the drive home even though we heard all of those songs in the party. Seriously, could not get enough! A few of our favorite songs are:
Sycamore Road
Dead, Dead Wrong
Little Sparrow
Mother Ocean
Too High (For Bein’ Low)
Goin’ Solar
Granted, I basically listed half of the songs on the album and really held back from writing all of the songs! This is just evidence of how great this album is!
Kinnie, TJ, and Jonathan autographed our copy of their new album!
As usual, The Yes Team did not disappoint and I highly encourage everyone to go out and support them, and at least take a listen to their new album or even their old stuff. If you’re feeling a little down and want a pick me up, The Yes Team will never fail you, even in their darker songs. They have lived through perseverance and experienced great joy and success without sacrificing their positive way of life and attitude no matter the obstacles. If you need a little reminder of that, their album will surely take you there. 🙂 Check out their website (and buy their album!!) here.
Ramensaur out.