{"id":4969,"date":"2010-10-06T00:00:52","date_gmt":"2010-10-06T04:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=4969"},"modified":"2010-12-01T10:57:33","modified_gmt":"2010-12-01T15:57:33","slug":"gonzos-gems-y-t-stops-by-rsr-to-do-a-little-summertime-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=4969","title":{"rendered":"Gonzo’s Gems: Y & T Stops By RSR to do a Little Summertime Girls"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales<\/strong><\/p>\n

There I am driving down the highway, doing 85 miles per hour in my Camaro and listening the Bay Area\u2019s top rock station, KRQR. When \u201cDon\u2019t Tell Me You Love Me\u201d by Night Ranger ended, the DJ came on announced that Dave Meniketti from Y&T had won a Bammie Award for \u201cBest Bay Area Guitarist\u201d. He talked about Y&T\u2019s recent album, \u201cBlack Tiger\u201d and then played a snippet of Dave humbly accepting the award. \u201cThis band seemed to be creating quite a buzz.\u201d, I thought. I made a mental note to check out the \u201cBlack Tiger\u201d album the next time I was in a record store.<\/p>\n

Y&T was formed in San Francisco in 1974 and was originally named \u201cYesterday & Today\u201d, after the title of a Beatles album. They eventually shortened their name to Y&T in 1981 with the release of their \u201cEarthshaker\u201d album on A&M Records. The band managed to build a very strong following in the San Francisco Bay Area, opening for big name acts passing through. They were able to shift effortlessly from playing power ballads to rough and ready rockers. Dave Meniketti\u2018s passionate vocals and impressive lead guitar work coupled with the band\u2019s tight, dead-on delivery created strong and melodic music.<\/p>\n

A week after hearing Dave Meniketti on the radio, I bought the \u201cBlack Tiger\u201d album. Once home, I slapped it on my turntable, put my headphones on, cranked it up and laid back to listen to album. I was impressed by Dave Meniketti\u2019s voice and lead guitar playing. He definitely knew his way around a fretboard and his guitar tone was astounding. \u201cDon\u2019t Wanna Lose\u201c was a catchy tune and both \u201cBarroom Boogie\u201d and \u201cMy Way Or The Highway\u201d had just the right amount of humor to make me chuckle out loud.<\/p>\n

Days later, I backtracked and purchased their 1st album, \u201cEarthshaker\u201d. I was very surprised by how raw and energetic the band sounded, much more so on this record than their follow up. All the cuts were good, but \u201cShake It Loose\u201d,
\n\u201cLet Me Go\u201c and \u201cRescue Me\u201d resonated strongly with me and became my favorites. \u201cEarthshaker\u201d went on to be a big success and the band found themselves on tour opening up for AC\/DC and Kiss.<\/p>\n

Seeing my interest in Y&T, my wife at the time decided to surprise with me tickets to a Y&T concert, but instead ended up buying tickets to a concert by another local Bay Area band named HYTS. The Y&T concert was sold out. She presented me with the tickets and explained her original intentions. I was caught totally by surprise! She couldn\u2019t stand my \u201ctype\u201d of music, it was just all screeching guitars to her. We attended the HYTS concert together. Y&T they were not\u2026 not even by a long shot. She got an \u201cA\u201d for effort, but an \u201cF\u201d for selection.<\/p>\n

1983 saw the release of the \u201cMean Streak\u201d album. \u201cDown And Dirty\u201d, \u201cMean Streak\u201d and \u201cBreaking Away\u201d rocked hard and upped the ante. Upon first listening to \u201cLonely Side Of Town\u201d, I fell in love with the song. It\u2019s a sad little ditty about an outcast, a loner and it\u2019s sung with lots of emotion from Dave. It quickly became my favorite Y&T song of all time. Sentimental Fool\u201d was another standout cut in the same vein.<\/p>\n

Next up, \u201cIn Rock We Trust\u201d, released in 1984, the entire album was strong and chock-full of great songs like I\u2018ll Keep On Believin\u2018 (Don\u2018t You Know)\u201d, \u201cDon\u2018t Stop Runnin\u2018\u201d and \u201cLipstick And Leather\u201d. Especially impressive was \u201cBreak Out Tonight\u201c with it\u2018s jazzy feel and the up-tempo rocker, \u201cShe\u2019s A Liar\u201c. 1984 also saw Y&T making a strong appearance at the 1984 Monsters Of Rock Festival alongside AC\/DC, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Accept and Motley Crue.<\/p>\n

Y&T took a bold step and mixed things up in 1985 with the release of \u201cDown For The Count\u201d. The album cover looked different than previous Y&T\u2019s album covers, the Y&T logo was different and the band added keyboards. They scored a big radio and MTV hit with \u201cSummertime Girls\u201c. It climbed to 55 on the Billboard charts and became their biggest charting hit.<\/p>\n

The next two releases brought new changes to the band. 1987\u2018s \u201cContagious\u201d, saw original drummer Leonard Haze out and new drummer Jimmy DeGrasso in. \u201cContagious\u201d was an average seller and contained the smoldering cut, \u201cTemptation\u201d. And 1990\u2019s \u201cTen\u201d had guitarist Joey Alves out and guitarist Stef Burns in. The CD had a bluesy feel to it, but still rocked hard, especially the cut, \u201cRed Hot & Ready\u201c.<\/p>\n

Y&T disbanded in 1991 after a farewell concert and live CD, \u201cYesterday & Today Live\u201d, but reformed and returned after four years with \u201cMusically Incorrect\u201d. Y&T fans welcomed their return and reveled in the new songs, especially \u201cCold Day In Hell\u201d, \u201cPretty Prison\u201d, \u201cDon\u2019t Know What To Do\u201c and \u201cNo Regrets\u201d. The follow up, \u201cEndangered Species\u201d, released in 1998, brought the same high level of song craft and musicianship as it\u2018s predecessor with, \u201cSumthin 4 Nuth\u2019n\u201d, \u201cGimme The Beat\u201d, \u201cRocco\u201d and \u201cI Wanna Cry\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnEarthed Vol. 1\u201d and \u201cUnEarthed Vol. 2\u201d, released in 2003 and 2004 respectively, showcased demos and unfinished songs newly completed and brought back to life. Though the CDs contain a good share of gems, they had and uneven feel to them. Still, true Y&T fans will find the CDs worth their weight in gold.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Since the band\u2019s inception, bassist Phil Kennemore\u2019s helped to pen great music with Dave Meniketti. They came very close to rock stardom many times, but bad timing and bad luck intervened and it eluded them. Still Y&T rocks on! Having recently released \u201cFacemelter\u201c, their first studio release in 13 years, they are proving once again that they are a truly hard rocking band that can deliver passionate tearjerkers and all-out rockers with style and ease. Every song on their new release is a gem, so pick up \u201cFacemelter\u201d\u2026 or any other Y&T release. Their music is straight from the heart. On With The Show!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(DVD) \u201cY&T Live One Hot Night\u201d
\n(CDs) \u201cEarthshaker\u201c and \u201cFacemelter\u201d
\n(Songs) Rescue Me, Let Me Go, Don\u2019t Wanna Lose, Barroom Boogie, Lonely Side Of Town, Sentimental Fool, Break Out Tonight, She\u2019s A Liar, Summertime Girls, Temptation, Red Hot & Ready, Cold Day In Hell, No Regrets, Sumthin 4 Nuth\u2019n, I Wanna Cry, Hot Shot, and<\/strong> One Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

[youtube v\/vhigmNrfEsU?fs]<\/p>\n

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To Send \u201cGonzo\u201d A Suggestion For An Article On Your Favorite Musician or Group<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertise Now On RSR<\/a><\/p>\n

Purchase Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sam \u201cGonzo\u201d Gonzales There I am driving down the highway, doing 85 miles per hour in my Camaro and listening the Bay Area\u2019s top rock station, KRQR. When \u201cDon\u2019t Tell Me You Love Me\u201d by Night Ranger ended, the DJ came on announced that Dave Meniketti from Y&T had won a Bammie Award for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1913,522,1911,1914,1912],"class_list":["post-4969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-gonzo","tag-music","tag-rock-band","tag-sam-gonzales","tag-y-t"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4969"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5803,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4969\/revisions\/5803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}