By Leila Regan-Porter, Chris Blais
It's the time of year for holiday specials, and the local music scene is getting in the spirit too. That includes Atlanta's famous (infamous?) Yacht Rock, of the PleaseRock group. We chat to "Nick Nespajeen," the leader of the band (bottom center in the holiday-style pic above, holding a sea shell in the band's usual nautical style), AKA "The Dude from Yacht Rock" as he is also known.
How did the holiday special come
together?
I would say it's been more of a congealing process: girls love Yacht
Rock, guys love girls and pretend to love Yacht Rock, we started a band
celebrating the phenomenon and now we're the Greatest Yacht Rock Band in the
Universe. (See, it says so on our Infomercial.)
And
it follows that the Greatest Yacht Rock Band in the Universe would want to do
something special for the holiday season.
Just kidding – OF COURSE guys
love Yacht Rock.
What can fans expect from the
night?
house singing carols when all of the sudden he notices Clark W. Grizwold
stapling 40,000 Christmas lights to his roof. Naturally Michael calls up Kenny
Loggins on the spot and the three of them write the happiest holiday song ever.
It will be kinda like that.
We were inspired by the great Christmas
Specials of the '70s, especially the Star Wars Christmas
Special. We wanted to add elements of a variety show – singing, dancing,
acting, prancing, joking – to the usual Yacht Rock shenanigans. And we bought a
yachtload of Christmas lights last weekend for good measure.
Can you give any hints to any surprises that there
might be on the night?
some super-smooth guests joining us that night: Jeff Carlisi of .38 Special,
Peter Stroud of Sheryl Crow's band, and several members of Atlanta's own Yacht
Rock veterans Starbuck. Clay Cook of the Zac Brown Band may show up, but you
never can tell. Toes by ZBB definitely hits on some yachty themes.
But I can't tell you any of that – it would ruin the surprise. And at
the end of the night we're going to hold the most important mega-jam since
1985.
Since there are so
many rifts within the yacht rock world, would there be some reconciliations and
making-up for the Holiday season between Loggins & Messina, Steely Dan &
The Eagles and John Oates (with everyone he has caused tension
with)?
only come if gets over his beef with John Oates about whose facial hair has been
more influential in American society. John Oates' moustache is obviously more
important, and Santa may have to own up to that if he has the guts to show.
What do you think about Michael McDonald's recent
ventures into indie rock (with his Grisly Bear/Holy Ghost work)? Is there anyone
in the indie rock world you'd like to collaborate
with?
rock? Barf. Actually, some indie rock has commonalities with Yacht Rock:
complex chord changes, dense vocal harmonies, etc. Problem is, they usually go
and ruin a good song with thoughtful and interesting lyrics about something
other than trying to get laid. Everyone knows that's not smooth.
We're actually setting sail on the Rock Boat in
January with a bunch of indie artists. We would love to back any of them up, as
long as we don't actually have to learn their songs. They can sing
whatever crappy little song they wrote about girls with thick black glasses or
eastern philosophy or human rights or whatever and we'll play What a Fool
Believes in the background.
Have you ever
thought of getting together all the Yacht Rock heroes and doing a holiday song
for some charity along the lines of "Do they know it's
Christmas"?
No. But we are doing a food drive in conjunction with the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Bring two cans of food to
the Holiday Special and you can get a free Yachty Holiday Portrait! (Courtesy
Mixtape Atlanta)
What are some of your own favorite holiday songs?
the style of Little River Band's smooth classic Reminiscing. And we
incorporated the light rock shuffle of Toto's Rosanna into our version of
Christmas Vacation – the theme song from the Chevron Chas classic film
that turns 20 this year.
The record is available at all Yacht Rock
shows for only $2. Two words: stocking stuffer.
How do you like to celebrate the holidays? How are
you celebrating the holidays this
year?
We celebrate every day like it's a holiday. We live in a sphere of
ocean breeze… mostly sunny and 81 degrees with a 15% chance of showers.
Always. The only thing that changes is the level to which my pina colada glass
is filled.
What is the band working on for the new
year?
A collaboration with Michael McDonald. I'm dead serious. Or am I?
