Artist Spotlight: Meet YACOVELLI
What was the initial spark or idea that led to the creation of "Red Eye?"
The song began with the chunky swagger of the guitar hook. The lyric “See this red eye?” was a sort of stream of consciousness improv that sounded like the strutty stanchion of David Johansen of The New York Dolls, the original punk rule-breakers of my home turf of NYC. (“Jet Boy” is one of my favorite songs.) It grew out of the gibberish lyric technique championed by the likes of Ryan Tedder.
Once YACOVELLI had that line and a cocky delivery in mind, it was easy to realize that the song was an anti-anthem for social media driven travel culture. The singer is bragging about living life at 40,000 feet, and anyone below needs to get lost! They are living this picture-perfect life where they are perpetually on holiday. “Everyone else can screw.” I mean, what is Rock & Roll if not irreverent and bold?
There’s an obvious Nirvana influence with crunchy stacks of Butch Vig type vocals and repetitive phrasings (“take off” / “get lost” / “get off”). And, of course, a motion to the guitar lines straight out of the playbook of Slash in his Velvet Revolver era. These were very conscious forces that amalgamated into “Red Eye.”
Can you talk about the recording and production process for this song?
The track was entirely written, performed and Produced by Alex Yacovelli, the band’s frontman, at his home studio in Hell’s Kitchen NYC— very much like Dave Grohl, Tom Scholz, Lenny Kravitz, or Wolfgang Van Halen. The only exception to that is the turbulently masterful guest guitar solo by friend Derrick Leach (Viv and the Revival).
A lot of “classic gear” emulations were used: Neve 1073 preamps (physical) and compressors (digital), dbx160 for snare, Orange metally-type amps for guitars, Sound City impulse response room verb (for that true Alternative tail), Manley Massive Passive EQ, Ampex tape emulation for saturation. Yacovelli also reviewed an old email he had written to Velvet Sound (Sydney) about the gear they used on the 2002 debut album of The Vines, Highly Evolved, his favorite album growing up.
The most important decision of the technical production was preserving the BITE of the guitars and making sure there were enough tactile differences between the left/right stereo takes to maintain that “real 90s feel” and drive the energy forwards to the climactic wrenching clash at the conclusion of the song.
How do you feel "Red Eye" represents your artistic identity?
YACOVELLI is tackling the largely undefined genre of Neo-Grunge. What does it mean? What makes it new? What makes it old? No one knows. “Red Eye” tries to bottle the lightning that made the poppy grunge of the 90s so catchy but also fuse in other Alternative, Punk and Classic Rock influences to try and find something new, and honest in a modern way.
If this song doesn’t quite hit the mark yet, don’t fret, there’s a whole string of YACOVELLI productions coming that live in this headspace of experimentation. If style is failing to emulate the perfection of your influences, then “Red Eye” is certainly a good jumping-off point.
Can you tell us more about you as a band?
YACOVELLI is currently fronted by Alex Yacovelli with a rotating rhythm section. That said, there are certainly familiar faces around at live shows. The band often performs as a power trio, but occasionally a second guitarist is added for that thick “wall of sound” so many bands want (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Green Day, to name a few). It’s been a bit tricky to nail down a regular lineup as various members have been appearing on television, doing Broadway readings and shows, going on tour, and living the New York musician grind in realtime.
What role do you feel emotions play in your music, and how do you channel them into your performances?
Pardon if this is heady… Emotions are everything. In Rock & Roll, the way you feel the music and bend the strings is what makes a song hit the listener not just in the eardrum, but in the heart. There’s a humanity and imperfection to the playing, verses more strict “less jazz” based musical forms. Yes, Rock is very loose, rhythmic jazz.
Channeling emotions organically involves a relaxation that is only acquired through years of practice being an Artist, truth in your songwriting, confidence, muscle memory and ultimately, complete abandonment of self on a LIVE stage with everyone else watching. You need to, as Marshall Mathers aptly said “lose yourself in the music.” When the music overtakes your ego, and adrenaline rushes in, and you put it all on the line, that’s musical nirvana.
Real songs result in real performances. It’s the Artists job to try and find what is real to them, so that they can write that in musical form, and share it with everyone else openly and unabashedly. Have we been reading too much Rick Rubin lately? I think not.
