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<\/p>\nYacht Rock Revue showcases a style of music of the past, one that has sometimes been looked down upon by self-styled captains of musical taste. But in a musical marketplace that\u2019s drowning in a sea of tribute bands, this group has done more than keep its metaphorical head above water. A popular sensation even in landlocked cities like Denver, the band clearly has the wind in its sails.<\/p>\n
Yacht rock didn\u2019t exist as a descriptive term when the style enjoyed its heyday. Tasked with identifying a single song that exemplifies the core character of yacht rock, many listeners would point to \u201cWhat a Fool Believes,\u201d the 1978 single by the Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers. Other yacht rock touchstones include the music of Christopher Cross, much of Fleetwood Mac\u2019s \u201870s output, the music of Toto, and Hall & Oates. Years after its peak, a 2005 online video series coined the term \u201cyacht rock\u201d to describe a kind of emotionally superficial, adult-oriented rock.<\/p>\n
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Nick Niespodziani takes a broader view. \u201cYacht rock is whatever we say it is,\u201d he asserts with a smile. \u201cIt\u2019s in our interest for the definition to be as all-encompassing as possible.\u201d Pressed on the subject, Niespodziani relents a bit. \u201cIf you want to be pedantic about it, it\u2019s soft rock music made between 1976 and 1984 by a certain group of session musicians in Southern California,\u201d he explains. \u201cIf it\u2019s 1977, and you\u2019re Ted Turner sailing on your yacht and about to win The America\u2019s Cup, what music do you want to listen to? To me, that\u2019s<\/i> what yacht rock is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Niespodziani is in a position to know. He\u2019s an expert on the subject, and the skipper of Yacht Rock Revue, a ten-member Atlanta-based ensemble dedicated to preserving and sharing the form. But he didn\u2019t start out as a yacht rocker.<\/p>\n
The juggernaut enterprise grew out of a planned one-off show. In 2007, Niespodziani\u2019s indie rock band landed a weekly gig in the basement of a bar in Atlanta\u2019s hip Virginia Highlands neighborhood. Each week, that band would embark upon a unique musical voyage; one week might be a performance of Pink Floyd\u2019s The Dark Side of the Moon<\/i>, accompanied by a wall-projection of The Wizard of Oz<\/i>. \u201cWe had all sorts of harebrained ideas,\u201d he says. One of those ideas was to present an evening of AM Gold music, pop singles that ruled the lo-fi airwaves on the AM dial in the early \u201870s. \u201cWe thought, \u2018Let\u2019s play all the one-hit wonders that annoy people,\u201d Niespodziani recalls with a smirk.<\/p>\n
But right before the show date, he and his band mates discovered J.D. Ryznar\u2019s Yacht Rock<\/i> video series. \u201cWe decided, \u2018We should call this \u201cyacht rock,\u201d\u2019\u201d Niespodziani recalls. \u201cAnd \u2013 out of no intention at all \u2013 it grew from there.\u201d That maiden voyage was a success, and Thursday nights at the 10 High Club became a popular port of call.<\/p>\n
It wouldn\u2019t always be smooth sailing. In 2007, Yacht Rock Revue was somewhat ahead of the curve; widespread renewed interest in yacht rock lay several years in the future. But the group paid its dues, and started booking bigger and better gigs. \u201cPeople were like, \u2018This music would be perfect for our wedding,\u2019 or \u2018It would be perfect for our corporate event,\u2019\u201d Niespodziani explains. By 2010 the group had secured an agent, and built on the momentum it had established.<\/p>\n
As Sirius XM launched a yacht rock station around 2012, understanding and appreciation for yacht rock spread across the land. But Niespodziani says that in the early years of Yacht Rock Revue, his band seemed virtually alone on the scene outside of Southern California. \u201cBut now,\u201d he says with pride, \u201cthere are probably a hundred yacht rock bands in America.\u201d Few, however, are as popular as his group.<\/p>\n
Niespodziani allows that HBO\u2019s 2024 series Music Box: Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary <\/i>helped raise the subgenre\u2019s profile even further. But he notes that his group already had a strong tailwind. \u201cWe had already done the tour with Kenny Loggins,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd we did a tour with Train and REO Speedwagon.\u201d<\/p>\n
The resurgence of yacht rock has shown that it\u2019s not just boomers who are on board with the style. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely that core segment of the audience, people who grew up with these songs, listening to them in the back of their mom\u2019s station wagon,\u201d Niespodziani says, noting that a decade ago, the group sometimes felt like it was \u201cplaying for grandmas.\u201d But he observes that in recent years, social media outlets like TikTok \u201chave given these old songs new life with a younger generation.\u201d And that change is reflected in the makeup of Yacht Rock Revue\u2019s audience.<\/p>\n
And that audience gets into the show. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of dancing,\u201d Niespodziani says. \u201cThe \u2018sidestep sway\u2019 is a dance that anybody can do; you don\u2019t need to be Prince or Michael Jackson to dance to these songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an inevitable tongue-in-cheek character to Yacht Rock Revue\u2019s performances, but Niespodziani emphasizes that he and his band mates take the music itself very seriously. \u201cWe\u2019re serious players, paying tribute to the songs,\u201d he says. \u201cBut we don\u2019t take ourselves<\/i> too seriously; that\u2019s the line in the sand that we walk.\u201d He asserts that his group is wholly unlike what people think of as cover bands. \u201cThe only way to really explain it,\u201d he says with a tip of his cap, \u201cis to come see us. They\u2019ll have a good time; I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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