YAMN ON!

Dec 31, 2010 by Anonymous

By the time this magazine is getting into your hands, the band Yamn will be kicking back after a successful Northwest tour that took them to five states for eight shows in their trusty old schoolbus Lady. Yet they won’t be sitting back for too long as New Years Eve will find Yamn lighting up Summit County for the fourth year in a row. The band, whose roots grew in Breckenridge, has booked, promoted and managed all aspects of their Dec 31 show at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge. It is quite an accomplishment that they are the New Year’s Eve headliners again, considering that only four short years ago they were scanning passes at the same Breckenridge Resort. It just goes to show that this band has legs.

Yamn consists of Brian Hamilton (guitar, vocals), Adam Ebensberger (drums, vocals), David Duart (bass, vocals) and Ryan Ebarb (keys, guitar, vocals). Each of them writes songs for Yamn and it is their diverse musical tastes that are evident with each new track you listen to. From a heavy guitar-driven progressive rock tune to a transient key jam followed by a song with heavy folk influence, Yamn will keep you guessing and keep you dancing.

One thing that sets Yamn apart from other bands right now is their live show. Don’t get me wrong, they are great on tape! But when you see them in person something else just clicks. It has a lot to do with their former Breckenridge Resort manager, Paul Whitehouse. Back when Yamn first moved from Texas to Breck in 2007 ‘Pauly’ handpicked these guys to be on his crew for the winter. Throughout the season as the snow fell, the Yamn guys were tightening their sound and Pauly was listening. After a four night concert run in Breckenridge Yamn had enough money to move out of the mountains and rent a house in Denver. It was soon after that Pauly followed.

One night after an inspiring concert at Red Rocks Pauly came back to the band with a proposition: He was going to do their light show. His familiarity with their music and a newfound passion has helped Pauly jump right from a rookie to a full-fledged lighting designer and essentially the fifth member of Yamn. His ability to change up the colors right when the band is switching the tempo keeps you locked into what is going to happen next on stage. And so this group has begun to make an impact in Colorado.

The band has garnered some impressive headlining gigs at the Fox Theater in Boulder, the Aggie in Ft. Collins and the Bluebird in Denver. Furthermore you only have to look at their Facebook page to see that the excitement is not contained to the Rocky Mountains. Each night after their Northwest string of shows people have been telling them how much they rocked their towns from Utah to Idaho, Oregon and Washington to Montana. Yamn is out there and a rock force to be reckoned with.

Since moving to Denver in 2008 Yamn has gained the respect of their peers and concert-goers alike (as evidenced by a Thursday night gig at Cervantes in November that drew over 1,000 people). “We are all building a new Colorado family in the music scene”, Ryan Ebarb strikingly said.

And one can’t help but tell by the circuit of great acts he is referring to like Elephant Revival, Frogs Gone Fishin’ and Oakhurst. Yamn is creating a new music family in Colorado; one that will be rocking these mountains for years to come. And the memories they are collecting range from Bonnie Paine and Bridget Law from Elephant Revivial joining them in Missoula, MT, for a rendition of “I Love Your Mother” to sharing the bill with Boulder’s Zobomaze or the frequent Fox St Allstars shows. When asked what music they are listening to now it is a who’s who in the Colorado music scene and it is great to hear about a band that really appreciates and supports the music of their peers.

If you can’t make it out to a Yamn live show anytime soon there is no need to worry! The guys had two 3-week sessions this summer at a cabin in remote New Mexico that produced plenty of new material that they are ready to lay down. Still undecided on whether to take a conventional approach to an album, the band is considering releasing one song at a time to their fans free of charge. They realize that everyone is going to eventually have it for free anyway, so why not put the music into the hands of the people and let them know what they are all about. It’s quite a brave and entrepreneurial move for a band to make. Yet very indicative of one that really has a grasp on how they want to fit into the music industry.

Yamn is a band that is not afraid to take control of their destiny.  In the past four years they have gone from scanning your ticket on Breckenridge Mountain to selling you a New Years Eve ticket to their show there. They have honed their musical chops, created a magical light show, gathered a multitude of fans across the state and they show no signs of stopping.

So from one school bus-based band of bandits to another…we are looking forward to seeing a lot more of you.  Yamn ON!