Yachtley Crew has excited plenty of fans with its brand of ’70s and ’80s cover songs, says drummer Rob Jones.
Performing as Sailor Hawkins — a nod to the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins — Jones said Yachtley Crew is just what music fans need.
“We have put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces — especially coming out of quarantine,” he said. “People are looking to have fun. The fact that we’ve been able to do this is an honor and a blessing.”
For those uninitiated, “Yacht Rock” encapsulates the revival of soft rock and Top 40 hits from the late ’70s to the early ’80s, inspiring fans to dress the part and sing along. Jones called Yachtley Crew’s set the “songbook of your life.” Fans can check it out when the band plays the Rialto Theatre on Friday, May 3, and the Marquee Theatre on Saturday, May 4..
“We’re not reinventing the wheel, by any means,” he said. “I remember what grade I was in when I heard these songs. I had the cassette tapes of these albums, and the ‘cassingles’ even before that.
“It was top 40 when I was a child. I have a child and she hears these songs on TikTok and social media, and says, ‘Have you heard this song?’ I say, ‘Yes, I play it.’”
The nautical-suited and captain’s-hat-clad Yachtley Crew (otherwise known as “The Titans Of Soft Rock”) is lead vocalist Phillip Daniel (Philly Ocean), drummer Rob Jones (Sailor Hawkins), bassist Chaz Ruiz (Baba Buoy), guitarist Thomas Gardner Jr. (Tommy Buoy), backing vocalist Curt Clendenin (Stoney Shores), saxophone/flutist Paul Pate (Pauly Shores) and keyboardist Matt Grossman (Matthew McDonald).
Yachtley Crew is “good clean, high-energy fun.” Jones described it as “nostalgia and production all rolled into one.” Concerts by the original artists weren’t high-energy, well-produced shows.
“Aside from the song being the most important thing, we bring a visual element to the show, too — the visual along with the audio. A lot of these bands used to play theaters and stuff like that.
“We’re definitely more of a concert-style show than just a listening crowd. People are not sitting in their seats when we perform. We’re also young, energetic guys. I’m 52, but when I play these songs, I feel 32. We don’t perform like a bunch of old men.” Jones said his drumming isn’t comparable to those in the original acts.
“For example, Jeff Porcaro (of Toto and Steely Dan) — the late, great, whom we lost a couple of decades ago — his drumming style isn’t even like mine,” Jones said.
“I’m a rock drummer. I had to rethink and relearn some of my skills in performing these songs. They are challenging. Most of the guys from Toto were all studio guys. A lot of the band played on ‘Thriller’ and Steely Dan records before Toto was even having success with the band.
“They were studio cats who were called by the likes of Quincy Jones to come in and record. Toto has more Grammys, collectively as musicians, than probably any artist.”
Yachtley Crew even released an EP “Seas the Day,” on Jimmy Buffett’s label, Mailboat Records.
“We were the last artist that he signed to his record label before his passing,” he said. “The record came out a couple months before he passed. Our management was saying they were trying to line up a few shows on his tour. Obviously, that didn’t work out.”
He said it was nice to have a record label that believed in Yachtley Crew. The six-song EP includes “Lido Shuffle,” “How Long,” “How Deep is Your Love,” “Steal Away” and “Ride Like the Wind,” and the original “Sex on the Beach.”
“Seas the Day” was produced and mixed by Grammy award-winning Chris Lord-Alge (Stevie Nicks, Steven Tyler, Keith Urban, Bruce Springsteen, Green Day). The video for “Sex on the Beach” was accompanied by a video with a guest appearance by the Access Hollywood & iHeart host, Mario Lopez. The video was directed by Myles Erfurth (Dead Sara, Ice Nine Kills, Twiztid).
Yachtley Crew is in the studio working on the follow-up to “Seas the Day.” The new record will include a “handful of songs that everybody’s heard from the ’70s and ’80s American songbook” and an original.
That song is “Pain of Losing You,” written for Yachtley Crew by Diane Warren.
“She’s one of the greatest songwriters in history—definitey in the top three,” he said. “That was another honor. You can’t believe it when you hear, ‘I have a song for you.’ We will be performing that song in Tucson and Tempe.”
The California-based band finds Arizona to be one of its biggest markets, next to San Diego.
“People just go bananas for the shows in Arizona and Southern California, LA, too,” he said. “It’s sort of surprising how Arizona really grasps what we’re doing. Arizona is deserty, not a nautical kind of vibe. People come dressed like us. Some have life preservers on. It’s really cool.”
Yachtley Crew w/Raynes
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday May 3
WHERE: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $32
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday, May 4
WHERE: Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Avenue, Tempe
COST: Tickets start at $41.95
INFO: yachtleycrew.com
