Yacht Rock Dockumentary
2024 has been one for the ages with this band, Yachty by Nature! In fact, this week has been a banner one for the genre, for the band, and anyone paying attention to the world of music. Captain Carl scored a couple seats at the Grammy Museum last week for the private screening of HBO Max’s Dockumentary titled, “YACHT ROCK”. Importantly, this in-depth look at the world of 70’s and 80’s smoot
h music features Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, David Paich and Steve Porcaro of Toto and David Pack of Ambrosia. They were all in attendance at a small gathering last Thursday night for a viewing of the documentary. Consequently, just sitting a row in front of these guys was a completely “pinch me, am I dreaming” moment.
Upon joining the event in Los Angeles, I ran into several superfans of Yachty by Nature. It was immediately a great event. Early on, Christopher Cross and Michael McDonald are interviewed in front of the step & repeat banner. Symbolically, I ran into a real special fan, Ashley who had seen us play early on in Lake Arrowhead and Marina del Rey. Coincidentally, she works for HBO and the small worlds were colliding. Before you knew it, we were sitting just a row in front of the stars of the show: McDonald, Cross, Porcaro, Paich and Pack. The presentation was a hit and played well to the small crowd of mostly industry insiders. You will be entertained, informed, and moved by the doc and further appreciate the music we love to play!
Yacht Rock connections
Importantly, I was fortunate to chat with David Paich after the screening. I had an interesting conversation with him about one of my fave tunes: Georgy Porgy. Such a friendly guy, he quipped about the song being reminiscent of his “R&B days”.
Equally important, we got to interface with the creators of the Yachtski scale: JD, Steve and Dave. Always supportive of our band, we had a blast high fiving each other. This was an epic moment seeing the inventors of Yacht Rock finally get the accolades they deserve. A great side note, Hollywood Steve has been to several of our shows and always a first class thinker and deep in the yacht for sure. Incredible to see them all at the yacht rock dockumentary!
Additionally, JD Ryznar tweeted from our concert very positively about our setlist choices. At one point, JD says they are 7 for 7 on hitting the Yachtski Scale…”they deserve to play Brandy”! To our knowledge, JD has yet to endorse another yacht rock band! Go Yachty by Nature. It was super fun to take a picture with these guys and congratulate them on their part. I can’t remember if it was in the d
oc or just the Q & A session. Someone ventured that this may be the first genre that was named decades after the actual music movement had passed. Whichever, we are so damn thankful that they invented Yacht Rock and connected all these dots of our life’s favorite music feels!!!
The Doc of the Bay
Garret Price’s production of the Yacht Rock HBO dockumentary truly celebrates the quality of the music particularly. Interviews from Questlove, Kenny Loggins, and particularly the Yacht Rock creators themselves (JD Ryznar and Hollywood Steve Huey, et al) drive home the power and popularity of these jazzy/R&B session musician gems. Particularly, Donald Fagen was approached for comment and he comically enough tells the producers to “f*** off”. Moreover, he drives home the point that Yacht Rock is emo, or punk, or not just the lightweight or cheap term that Boz Scaggs and Kenny Loggins famously railed against. In fact, some of these brilliant artists early on, panned the term “yacht rock” as an insult. Paradoxically, the yacht rock HBO dockumentary comes around to commemorate the talent, vibe, verve, and general brilliance of the genre as far reaching and influential.
Questlove appreciates that Yacht Rock is “sit down dance music”. They also point out that Michael McDonald’s hit Keep Forgettin’ is sampled on Warren G’s Regulate. In fact, the genre’s hits from Steely Dan and Hall & Oates have been ripped to create hip hop hits. In addition, virtuoso bassist Thundercat, is continuously interviewed to underscore the influence and sway that yacht rock has on current audiences. Coincidentally, the multi-Grammy winning artist teams up with Kenny Loggins & Michael McDonald on Show You the Way in 2017. Specifically, the song showcases the timeless and buttery smooth vocals of both McDonald & Loggins. As you can see, the Yacht Rock Dockumentary goes deep on the music and shows the potency of such a legacy of work.
Pop Rocks
The first hand stories abound and the inside scoop is impressive. The initial resurgency of Yacht Rock is explored with the campy YouTube Yacht Rock series by JD and the boys. Loggins and Scaggs did not receive the comedic value in a good light. However, Michael McDonald seemed to “get it”. The references in pop culture abound. Jimmy Fallon brings Christopher Cross AND Ron Burgundy in. Family Guy routinely pokes fun at the McDonald vocals, etc. Even an LA cover band is featured prominently in this segment pointing at the “goofy” nature of yacht rock music. Kenny Loggins and Boz Scaggs don’t appreciate the moniker. They see Yacht Rock as being a dumb name and the butt of some joke instead of hardcore serious musicians creating masterpieces. Steve Lukather comments “where’s my f***ing yacht”!
And yet, with a thorough examination of how serious these musicians are, the doc ultimately “gets it”. The music is revered. The artists get their due. The progenitors of the genre are there and interviewe
d as Hollywood Steve and JD finally get acknowledged. Not only was the music serious and the work of the finest session musicians but the VIBE is celebrated.
The memories, outfits, haircuts and imagery of the good times exude from the music. By that measure, the vibe scores points here. In the end, the Yacht Rock dockumentary on HBO hails the best of the 70’s & 80’s music. The artists that worked so hard to craft these soft rock hits come back from very quiet 1990’s lives to tour again. Yacht Rock Bands like Yacht Rock Revue and Yachty by Nature and Mustache Harbor ignite the good times from yacht rock days gone by. New life pumping into the pop culture, music, concerts, and general awareness.
Yacht Rock Revue???
Producer Garret Price surely does the genre justice. However, it would have only been fitting to highlight the nations number one Yacht Rock band, Yacht Rock Revue out of Atlanta! How unfortunate they didn’t make mention of these YachtFathers. Yacht Rock Revue was the FIRST yacht rock tribute band out there originating in 2009 and was only slightly featured here. They were playing long before us West Coast Bands got hip to the genre: Mustache Harbor 2014, Yachty by Nature 2016, YC 2017. In addition, YRR went on to tour with Kenny Loggins and then Train and REO Speedwagon last year. Perhaps YRR were too high profile and polished of a band to include here? Inquiring minds would love to know.
Who knows, but the cover band featured prominently in the HBO yacht rock dockumentary came long after Yacht Rock Revue. Worse yet, using footage of a band from LA that uses backing tracks remains a weak choice. Toto and Steely Dan were session musician bands and would shudder at the use of karaoke tracks in their concerts! So it was unfortunate especially that Yachty by Nature didn’t get a nod here. Sorry guys! As beautifully as they celebrated the heart and soul of this music, it’s a shame that they overlooked other successful, productive, and passionate players of yacht rock today! In the end, our fans, the team at HBO, JD Ryznar and the boys, and the artists themselves received us so warmly at the screening. Even the Yacht Rock Dockumentary producer Garrett Price mentioned to me, “I’ve got to come check you guys out”.
Next up, check out our post about the NAMM show!
