The Music Book Interviews – Christa Says Yay!

The Music BookChrista Says Yay! is one of those bands that isn’t gigging every weekend or planing a spring tour down to Austin for SXSW. And I like them for that. They play music when they can, and they do it for the simple pleasure of it. The band is an extension of who they are, an extension of their musical selves, not the definition. But that doesn’t take anything away from the music.

They have their strength in a bluesy kind of rock that is perfectly suited to Christa Fischer’s soulful voice. “On Fire” is just about as good a blues song as there is, but that’s not all they are. “Put That Record On” is an almost punkish romp that expands beautifully in the chorus. It’s a song I would love to have heard at the Funhouse to see what kind of havoc it could have wreaked on the crowd. Then there’s the softer “Desire,” unassuming at first, sparse, but it builds, grows, sneaks under the skin. That’s what desire does. It’s a great tune for driving on the highway late at night with no cars ahead or behind as you think about wherever and whoever you just left. If I’d had it back when I was living on Camano Isoand, I would have listened to “Desire” every night as I drove home from work in Seattle. Indeed, I’m almost a little torn for not having included “Desire” on The Music Book CD.

But then, like I said, “On Fire” is just about as good a blues song as there is, and all I have to do is listen to it, and there are no doubts for its inclusion other than the thought that maybe I should have made a double CD. I suppose I could always do a Volume 2.

Enough of me going on about them though. Have a listen. In between all the talking we did, they played all three of those songs in the Critical Sun studio. Which one is your favorite?

davemusic

Dave O’Leary is a writer and musician living in Seattle. The Music Book, his second novel, was published by Booktrope in September 2014. In addition to writing for Northwest Music Scene, he has also had work published in The Monarch Review and on Slate.com. Visit his website at http://www.daveoleary.net. Photo by Stacy Albright, stacyalbrightimages.com.

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