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The WigWamBAmCaptain America: Ya Ya Boom (formerly the Ya Ya Boom project) too works in territory much-overlooked these days, namely smart challenging work that puts aside empty flash for well-played musicality. Jazz underpinnings with a funky Voidoids bassline and soaring vocals accentuated by sweet guitar jangle. Like U7D, the Ya Ya's don't need to batter their audience with obvious and overplayed convention. Layers of different styles meld into a thoughtful whole. Visually the band sported artfully scorched and burnt clothes as if the phone rang in the middle of doing the ironing. Let's hear it for intelligence and originality in music, which judging from which shows sell out in town, is in woeful short supply.
The WigWamBAmYA YA BOOM: Isn't Pretty
[self-release CD, 2008] www.yayaboom.com
Formerly the Ya-Ya Boom Project this outfit has come miles in the last couple of years. To be honest, they never grabbed me before but seeing them a few nights ago (review next issue) I was astounded with the transformation. While the stylistic base is much the same --funk timing, persistent beats, vocals like Kate Smith loosened up after a tall scotch--it's a lesson in just how a unique structure can be built with the same materials, the difference between a master builder/architect and some home improvement guy. Their sound is built on a rock-solid rhythm section with layers of jazzy inflection underpinned by jangly guitar that makes me think of punk before it was mistakenly defined as a stupid and narrow genre with a limited approach. No musical comparison here but think of the time when Pere Ubu and Talking Heads were considered part of the punk wave, an alternative to overproduction, blow-dryers and useless metallic riffs. Fine musicians all (big voiced Marisa, choppy riffed Carlos and the flying sticks of Jarvis) but special mention is to made of bassgrrl Monica, who I hear is classically trained. I'd like to see what she'd do with a grand piano on a number or two.
Monica said the exchange of melody from one band member to another is the key to the band's musical flow. "I wouldn't put it in a category, but I would definitely think that each member has a different type of influence that they spend a lot of time with," Monica said. Along with the sisters are drummer Ryan Jarvis and guitarist Carlos Garcia. Monica said each band member is involved in the writing process. "The band goes how it is going to go, and whoever is in the band is going to have a huge say in how the band is going to be," she said.
Albuquerque Journal"Our core idea since the band started? It's always worked in a way that's collaborative, so not one person writes a song," Monica Demarco said. "We all write together, so as members have changed, the sound has changed." The new sound shows on the record, which has a classic, or garage, rock feel to many of the songs, but with a layered, music-theory edge that shows the band members are serious students of sound. But with that new sound comes a new name. The band is simply Ya Ya Boom now, without the project. "We've changed so much, it was time to adopt a new name," Demarco said. "You can tell where a band is coming from by the music," she said. "You can hear it in us. It's rock, but it sounds like the desert."
Isn't Pretty - Reviewed by Rhian Hibner at The Daily Lobo
Isn't Pretty
3.5/5
Available May 3
Despite the sheer size of Albuquerque's burgeoning music scene, there really aren't all that many bands with actual potential. It's nice to get to hear a local band that doesn't fall into the also-ran category. The Ya Ya Boom Project has put out a clean sounding album. This one might elevate them into the category of bands that have escaped the confines of Albuquerque and garnered some national fame. The first and sixth track particularly stand out on this album. The sixth track has a sound vocally reminiscent of both the Cranberries and No Doubt, though the overall sound of the song compares most favorably with mid-'90s Red Hot Chili Peppers. What is going to make this band famous is the unique sound qualities it brings to the table. The guitar work is by far the most fully realized of all the components of the band, though the vocals are by no means immature. It's clear that while Marissa Demarco is pretty good, she has yet to reach the absolute peak of her ability. When she does, people will buy this album on iTunes and at Borders - not CD Baby.Live Review from Captain
America in local zine Wig Wam Bam
"Finally the Ya Ya Boom Project
ended the night (and my paltry year of shows). Firecracker indie rock
with occasional two-tone beats & funk and/or jazz timing. Vocals
belted out like Kate Smith with a tall scotch in her hand. Slaphappy
bass and rumbling drums. It had the feel of a mambo-themed cocktail
party out of control. In the best way possible."
Preview from the Santa Barbara Independent
"The Albuquerque pop-rock quintet
The Ya Ya Boom Project has grown popular in its hometown through their
blend of accessible pop and heavy-hitting punk"
Review from the San Diego CityBeat
"In
a parallel universe, Grand Ole Party moved to New Mexico, added a fourth
member, recorded an album in somebody’s basement and called themselves
Ya Ya Boom."
Press on Pink Insides
By Jim Phillips, 6-16-06 if newwest.net
The Ya Ya Boom Project are a tough
thing to pin down. They don’t lend themselves to the definitions so
easily assigned to most bands. I personally like to think of them as
a party-funk band with a world beat flavor and just a hint of Bourbon
Street naughtiness tossed in for good measure. And I’m usually pretty
accurate about these things.
By Simon McCormack of the Weekly Alibi [August 4, 2005]
Ya Ya Boom Project Pink Insides (Punkin Head Records)
Consider putting on Ya Ya Boom Project's
Pink Insides before beginning any number of grueling tasks. Whether
it's competing in a triathlon or pulling mysterious chunks of hair from
your shower drain, Pink Insides will give you the burst of energy you
need to complete your endeavor in no time. The record gets most of its
mileage from Marisa Demarco's vibrato-heavy vocals that are two parts
Gwen Stefani and one part Agent M from Tsunami Bomb. At its core, Pink
Insides is a clunker-free album of immediately gratifying and resourceful
pop music.
From a longer article in the Daily Lobo about women in rock
Women are rocking the city.
The Ya Ya Boom Project!, Hit by a Bus, Broken Djembe and Hollis Wake, all bands featuring female members, played at the Outpost on July 9.
Despite the fact that rock is considered a testosterone-driven music scene, women are becoming more common, said Monica Demarco, bass player for The Ya Ya Boom Project!
"Female musicians don't have to be a groupie or roadie," she said.
Robert "Danger" Reagan, drummer for the band, said it's great rocking with women.
"I don't look at them as chicks," he said. "I look at them as rock stars."
The band just released a CD, "Pink
Insides."
Press on What Grenade?!?
A review by Kyndra Roth,
someone we swear we are not related to and don't know, on cdbaby.com.
What Grenade?! rocks my world!
Five stars
What Grenade?! keeps you guessing and dying to know what will happen next. The Ya-Ya Boom Project! is full of creative ideas, funky grooves and lots of energy.