Formed in 2015, YAM YAM established their roots after a group of seasoned Harrisburg, PA musicians joined forces in an effort to play 1970’s soul-inspired music with elements of funk, roots, and jazz heavily sprinkled into the mix. The five-piece band—consisting of keyboardist Mike Dempsey, bassist Xander Moppin, saxophonist Jason Mescia, guitarist Tom Fuller, and drummer Tyler Fuller—utilizes stripped-down instrumentation while capturing a high-energy, funky sound.
In November, the band released their debut, self-titled album, recorded by Logan Summey at Mechanicsburg, PA’s Rock Mill Studio. YAM YAM has seen a wave of recent success in the wake of the release, as the 12-track album rose to No. 17 on the Billboard Jazz Albums charts.
“Lawanda” is a fan-favorite track off of YAM YAM, which opens up with an infectious bass groove backed by an upbeat tambourine. The remaining three members of the band join in to round out their rhythm section as the quintet trickles into the song’s main theme. A heavy-hitting horn section adds some serious depth to “Lawanda”, as Tom Fuller circles his jazz master bandmates with an earworm of a rhythmic guitar riff. The funk-driven tune is capped off with the group’s silky-smooth collaborative vocal work, giving the listener no option but to clap their hands and bounce along to the groove.
Today, Live For Live Music is pleased to debut YAM YAM’s video for “Lawanda”, based on bassist Xander Moppin’s inspiration from the film Superbad. Moppin shared the video’s origins, explaining:
When we first sat down and wrote Lawanda, we had a good feeling about it, and we really wanted to shoot a music video for it, so when we were thinking of ideas, I remembered the Superbad intro and thought that a video inspired by that type of vibe would match really well with the song.
Guitarist Tom Fuller had some additional thoughts, explaining:
We sat down with [music video director] Josh [Nesmith of Nesmith Films] to go over the idea, and I said ‘let’s all just boogie in front of a green screen. And that’s really how we got the ball rolling. This style of music video really compliments the song, as well as portrays the personality of the band members well.
You can check out the Live For Live Music premiere of YAM YAM’s new video for “Lawanda” below:
YAM YAM – “Lawanda”
[Video: YAM YAM]
Fans can follow the band’s Facebook page to stay up to date with the band’s upcoming tour dates and new music. For more information, head to YAM YAM’s website here.
The post PREMIERE: YAM YAM Serves Up A Flavorful Helping Of Throwback Funk In New “Lawanda” Video [Watch] appeared first on L4LM.
