Gallery • 37 Photos

Tyler Boyd

It was 7:40, April 4th, 2014. The show hasn’t started, venue wasn’t packed yet, and people just started to sit down and converse with others. The room was dark, the only source of lights were coming from the stage, orange tubed lighting strung across the walls. It didn’t occur to me until halfway through the gig of how different the vibe felt in the room with a line-up consisting only of indie/alternative acts. With the last story I covered, people were energetic, dancing and jumping, up and front of the stage. In this show, people were reserved; sitting at their tables, laughter here and there. Now I’m giving the benefit of the doubt that it was a Friday evening, people probably just came back from work and/or school, probably a long weekend, and this was a nice way to end this day and sit down, relax, and listen to music. At 8:07, Tyler Boyd opens the show with his solo acoustic act featuring acoustic, electric guitar and Ukelele, accompanied by his other band members from A Yawn Worth Yelling featuring, Brayden Deskins, Taylor Stover, Rob Canali harmonizing vocals with Tyler Boyd. Boyd’s music is very reminiscent of Toots Theilman’s Bluesette, whistling and guitar plays melodies in unison but also similar to Fleet Foxes with the vocal harmonization.

A great opening act by Boyd, really setting the mood to a mellow but warm feeling to the audience. Up next on the line up was Grey Fyr. After a 6 month hiatus, Grey Fyr returned and played their old songs. Regrouped only a week and half before the show, they had a solid set. Featuring Sharvil Gupta on rhythm guitar and vocals, Kern Luo on Lead Guitar, Aidan Hussein on bass and cowbell, Allie Proctor on keys and vocals, and Charles Drake on drums. All are current high school students from Archbishop Mitty High School, except for Charles Drake, who goes to Prospect. “This song was influenced after a Yawn Worth Yelling show,” says Gupta. Similar to AYWY, Allie Proctor harmonizes with her low range voice alongside with Gupta’s tenor voice, their unison lines are sung one octave apart, which was really interesting to hear. As of this show, they were just getting back to the motion of things. It has been half a year since they played a show together. They have already wrote new songs since their regrouping, and probably won’t play them until their next show. So keep an eye out for any upcoming shows.

After Grey Fyr was Dogcatcher. A local San Jose band featuring Andrew Heine on keys, guitar and vocals, Collin Hayes on guitar, Jared Milos on Bass and Ramon Esquivel on drums. They are a folk-soul-indie inspired band like no other. Heine was playing a vintage Rhodes Mark II, automatically giving a unique texture and sound to the music like no other San Jose band. Their music is very danceable, pop oriented, head bobbing, and groovy.

I asked Milos what influences his bass playing and he said “James Jamerson!” Dogcatcher really does a good job of capturing and combining the R&B and Soul feel with the grooving bass lines, solid drum and bass connection, which meshed with the alternative-rock tones of the guitar and vocals. Within their music you can also hear some reggae influencing the drums and bass. These guys have a taste for the old records combined with today’s music, and it was interesting to see a band do that. As of right now, they are working on album to be released soon. Final on the set was A Yawn Worth Yelling. On this night, they showed a sneak peek of their new music video they had made for their new song “Heart Struck.”  A projector was set up and people watched. After the showing, they quickly set up and went on with the show. Tyler Boyd was featured on guitar/vocals, Brayden Deskins on guitar/vocals, Johannes Heine on bass, Taylor Stover on drums, Rob Canali on percussion/vocals/guitar/tambourine man, and Ryan Powell on vocals/keys.

AYWY has gone on their first tour last month, heading up north of California into Oregon and Washington. Brayden Deskins recalled his experience of touring as”eating a lot of fast food and lots of driving.” He said that the scenery going up north was beautiful and they happened to play on the side of the street.  Homeless people came by, he said, and just hung out with the band. Next week, they’re going on another tour to the same places.

I consider A Yawn Worth Yelling as one of the few bands in San Jose who like to experiment with textures. Having 3 guitarists, 4 vocalists, a drummer, percussionist, keys, and bass gives them quite a bit to work with. The quintet varies their roles within each song. For one song, the Johannes Heine bass player might play a bell toy intro on keys, then Rob Canali will bring out his guitar and play on some tunes. Aside from instrumentation, they apply their instruments in different ways as well. With hymn-like vocalizing of four vocalists, Boyd’s banjo rolling on guitar, and the bass players attempt to produce feedback from the amp, they are not your typical indie band you just sit down and listen too. These guys are entertaining to watch live and get you moving. A unique group of young lads who have a lot energy for music.

By the end of the show, everyone was standing towards the stage and the venue had more people. The rock show was a big success. As an audience member accustomed to attending to punk, jazz, and experimental shows, watching this show definitely broadened my view on what is currently going on in the San Jose music scene.  I now have a better appreciation for indie/alternative music. It was a good show filled with great acts. I highly recommend anyone come by the Boutiki to watch and support the scene.

Bandcamp links and Facebook Pages:

Tyler Boyd – Facebook | Bandcamp

Grey Fyr – Facebook | Bandcamp

Dogcatcher – Facebook | Bandcamp

A Yawn Worth Yelling – Facebook | Bandcamp

Here are upcoming shows from the SLG Art Boutiki:

-Turn Me On Dead, Of Us Giants, Berelain, Zen Zenith – Friday, April 10 – 7:30

-Pat Hull, The Bitter Buffaloes, The Smoking Flowers, Cactus – Saturday, April 19 – 7:30

-Terrakraft in concert – An Evening of Saharan Dessert Blues (Limited Seating) – Sunday, April 27 – 7:00

-*A Yawn Worth Yelling, Gnarboots, Matthew Joseph Payne, Cartoon Violence (Star Wars themed show) – Saturday, May 3rd – 7:30

*Discounted ticket price if you dress in Star Wars costume!