On Wednesday November 13, the roots/Americana outfit from New York City, Yarn, will roll though Ann Arbor’s famed listening room, The Ark.
The band – lead by singer/songwriter Blake Christiania – has been developing a following for nearly two decades. Through those decades, they’ve shared the stage with Dwight Yoakam, Marty Stuart and Alison Krauss.
The band’s name is no mere coincidence. Their records and their songs tell stories, born out of 10,000 hours honing their craft. The band cut their teeth over the course of two years, playing a weekly gig at Kenny’s Castaways in New York’s Greenwich Village. Essentially a public band practice, the residency allowed the band to try out new songs in front of a crowd almost weekly.
Blake Christinaia’s prolific songwriting didn’t stop after the residency. Eleven studio albums and a live record later, the band still finds a drive to put out new music and get out onto the road.
This time around, the band is supporting “Born Blessed, Grateful, & Alive,” a record that is essentially the sonic equivalent to your grandma’s Sunday pot roast. The Allman Brothers influenced opener, “Turn Off the News” is a song about the blissful ignorance that is granted to those of us that have the privilege of not being deeply impacted by genocides and racial tension.
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One of the highlights of the album, however, is the song “Play Freebird”. Now, even if you hate Lynyrd Skynyrd and all the backwoods politics that they came to stand for, you can’t deny the epicness of what’s easily their best song. At nearly 10 minutes, it’s a melt-your-face-off lesson in guitar shred and band chemistry. Simply put, it’s a classic in every sense of the word.
As the years waned on and Skynyrd failed to top the song, fans began shouting requests to the band to play the song at the concerts. Asking Skynyrd to play “Freebird” is like asking Kiss to play “Rock and Roll All Nite” or Metallica to play “Enter Sandman”. As if, somehow, the band had forgotten about the song that likely put asses in seats in the first place. Fret not. The band will play their biggest song.
You’ve probably heard a concert goer or two shout a request for “Freebird,” with drink in hand, once or twice in your day. Evidently, the Yarn singer/songwriter has heard it enough times to write a song about it, cleverly titled “Play Freebird.”
Well you asked if I could play Freebird
Like your daddy used to do
When the dishes were done
The family would sing in the living room
Singing ‘If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?’
And the answer sounds so easy,
I’d never leave.
It’s a clever spin on a song that’s about the wanderlust of a touring musician in the 70’s, when hedonism and excess permeated rock and roll, and it’s a testament to the craft that Christiania has honed over the years.
Ask him to play “Freebird” on November 13th. You just might be surprised.
