Kalistani Major History

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Joanie Yeardly's Debut LP "The Stranger at the Door" drops Today
VDR to sponsor Republican tour with Singer Songwriter Donnie Jorgenson
Vrassa City, Vrassa
August 19, 4902


Yeardly, the premier singer in the emerging folk style of Alternative officially joins the Profession today

Whether she is singing some soft love song to her wife, or belting out some ghost story about the haunting spirits of those who are not shown hospitality, Joanie Yeardly's debut album "The Stranger at the Door" is the forerunner of a new movement in Alternative Rock which is slowly captivating Republican audiences who have been listening largely to Ska for the past six years. And it seems that the Republic is in a mood for a comedown, evidenced by the embrace that music fans have made to Yeardly's folkish rock.

As her new album drops today, this anthemic opus covers the ground between just a woman and her guitar, all the way to the barnburner final track which is also the title track and lead single of the Album. Yeardly's grungy gritty voice throughout bears a rustic twang that betrays her deep Vrassan roots, and the influences and song constructions borrow heavily from local folk music traditions which have held on in the mountains of south western Vrassa and Northern Neveras despite wave after wave of modern music which have swept the nation for more than a thousand years. "But yeah, we still rock your socks off too," said Yeardly of her record, "It's not all hippy dippy hillbilly bulls--t..." she says with a laugh.

"I think I kinda broke my voice while recording this record," said Yeardly. "We were on a real tight recording schedule and on day 3, we had done so many takes, and I had this kinda cold, you know? And as I was singing, I just felt this tickle in my throat and all of a sudden I fell into this coughing fit, and so we called it a day while the guys (Dave and Tom Eggleston, who form the core of Yeardly's supporting band) just recorded guitar tracks while I went home. And when I came back, my voice was all kinds of gritty, and gravelly and it breaks all the time when I sing, but then I also realize, I can really belt this stuff out now, and get up to a lot higher notes than I used to... It's wild. You can basically hear that break on most of the songs I do, and I thought it was gonna wreck the record, but the producer, Kalvin Gerardo, was like, 'Hell no, when that crack comes, that is what will give them goosebumps'."

Yeardly's voice certainly sounds much more grungy, more gravelly than it did on her EP, and Gerardo was not wrong, "Those spots where Yeardly's voice cracks while she is singing are the points where she is conveying the most emotion," said Music critic Val Johnson, "and she she is such a skilled singer that she just sings right over the crack and pushes through to this whole other level... It is electrifying."

The LP, which is a 14 track debut coming in at 54 minutes and 38 seconds, will be supported by a fall tour with Hutori-born Neveras guitar virtuoso Donnie Jorgenson, who will open for her. "I met this guy Donnie, when we were playing a bar in Vrassa City," recounted Yeardly, "and he's like 'You put on a good show, I'll give you my tape and if you ever get big, remember me.' So I listened to it, and I was like this guy is f--kin fantastic, and when we were doing the record, I was like 'Yo if we tour for this record, I am calling this guy up.' And I called him in July and we sat down and jammed together for like a week, and he was totally in." Jorgenson does a lot of really quiet music, in the similar folkish vein that Yeardly is currently hitting in, but his compositions are far more progressive in their construction, and reflect almost a different thought process with a similar aesthetic.

The tour will take the two singers across the Republic for 30 dates from September to late November in support of Yeardly's new LP. "The Label said we'd see how the shows do," said Yeardly. "I mean, when you're broke its kinda hard to set up your own stuff. Back in VC I could just call Bob the bar owner and be like 'You got any open spots this week?' and he was always like 'You're it honey,' and I'd have work. But there is nobody named Bob in a club in like f--kin, Yoshimi of some sh--. So you gotta let the Label do their thing, you know?"

"It kinda sucks struggling all the time, you know?" asked Yeardly rhetorically. "I mean, when you try to make a living at music, and nobody is even around to hear your songs... But I really look forward to getting out there and like seeing what the rest of the Republic looks like. And my wife Lara is coming with me, and we're finally gonna make one of her dreams come true too, and that is to go to Kaliburg, and see that city. We are gonna take a few days off around the Kaliburg shows and just travel around and see sh-- in Ananto. You know you've hit the big time when you play f--kin Kaliburg..."

The tour kicks off on August 31st in Vrassa, and will play across the Republic including Senvias and Eshar, as well as Springfield and Gendaris in Odufaray and Maridon and High Bong in September, then Sulari, Yoshimi and Lucid City in Suldanor and Kaliburg, for two nights, Luxon, Eveari and Dulnerstaad in November before swinging back into Vrassa to play Python, Addisjah, Port Swedes, Senvias again and finally two shows which are already sold out in Vrassa to close the tour. "We're gonna be working our A--es off!" said Yeardly. "But it's also gonna be a lot of fun, and the expense account is on VDR!"

Check out Yeardly's Lead Single from her LP, "The Stranger at the Door" and then go see her in concert when she comes to your city this fall!