Stephen Yerkey
| Stephen Yerkey | |
|---|---|
Yerkey in 2016
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| Background information | |
| Born |
December 15, 1950 West Virginia, U.S. |
| Origin | San Francisco, CA, U.S. |
| Genres | Alternative country |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Website | stephenyerkey |
Stephen Yerkey (born December 15, 1950) is an alternative country singer-songwriter currently living and performing in Sacramento, California and surrounding area; he developed a following while based in San Francisco during the early part of his career.
Yerkey was born in Welch, West Virginia and grew up in, among other places, St. Louis, Missouri, Covington, Kentucky, and Detroit, Michigan. He began playing guitar at the age of 14, at which time he discovered Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, and started developing his own unique style.
Yerkey was the frontman of the band Nonfiction, 1977-1987, which released one eponymous album on Demon Records. In 1990, he contributed the song "The Final Word" to Acoustic Music Project, an AIDS benefit album on Alias Records. His solo debut album, Confidence, Man, was released in 1995 on Heyday Records and was produced by, among others, Pere Ubu's Eric Drew Feldman. Yerkey's recording of the Ted Hawkins song "Stay Close to Me" from Confidence, Man was featured in the soundtrack of the 1997 movie "Lewis & Clark & George." His next album, Up From Mo's, was independently released in 2002. His most recent album, Metaneonatureboy was released in 2006 on Echo Records and, like Confidence Man, was produced by Eric Drew Feldman.Metaneonatureboy included the song "Translated from Love", which Kelly Willis later covered on her album of the same name. In 2016, with Yerkey again at the helm, Nonfiction reunited for a single performance at The Hotel Utah in San Francisco.
Confidence, Man has been described as "...a lost classic waiting to be rediscovered by fans of Richard Buckner and Townes Van Zandt." Other critics have praised the album's tracks "Cocksucking Blonde" and "Maker's Mark," and have written that its music depicts the gritty aspect of life in San Francisco. Yerkey has also been called the "Elvis Costello of country." A review in the San Francisco Chronicle described his music as "barroom laments, howled prayers and fiery indictments that burned with the intensity of a real person with real soul."
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Wikipedia