Imagine a vast musical landscape that, upon entering, unfolds into the eye of an enchanted crystal ball. All concepts of space and time are shunned and life only exists in the moment. Follow the rabbit hole down a little further, and observe the keepers of this fabled rock and roll realm—The Yelling.
Powerful and primal, the 1970s sound-soaked foursome emit a spellbound vortex of piercing rhythms and serrated amp swells, panting and breathing beneath a tone-rich workshop of prowess and wizardry.
Seeing the raw and consuming energy of Los Angeles’ The Yelling descend upon a crowd is a primeval sonic experience—a hard rock precision that is both Sabbath dark and Zeppelin cool. Like a giant guardian of a cryptic lair, The Yelling are a colossal presence to be felt and an awesome sight to behold.
The Yelling’s ascent started in Illinois as singer/guitarist Nathaniel Cox and lead guitarist Robert Davis made the Cali trek west with a vision to create music. After writing a host of songs and touring with other bands, the pair was providently linked with South African born percussion juggernaut, Michael Judd. What started as playing more polished rock quickly moved towards evolution. Michael, eclectic with an accent and afro spiked hair enthused about the process.
“It was an organic journey—the music gradually started to get a little more raw, bluesy, and aggressive. The more we played our newer songs the less our old name seemed fitting. With the new batch of songs and the idea that we were this distinct and intense sounding rock band brought the name, The Yelling.”
Developing a musical presence was key in unifying the band, but the real dynamic that heightens The Yelling experience is the connectivity among members that is immediately sensed on speaker and onstage. The integration of allied spirit is present all over their self titled EP which was engineered by guitarist Robert Davis.
“We have played almost every single day of the week for the past year. You have to grow when that happens. Eating together, sleeping together, arguing—all of these things contributed to getting one step closer to success. You keep growing and learning how to orchestrate with each other and how to write better and better songs,” confides Robert.
The band’s EP which has tracks appearing on MTV’s Nitro Circus and the video game Grand Theft Auto IV’s expansion soundtrack. It’s a crisp, inspiring expression recorded on a rented Pro Tools rig in their tiny apartment.
“When we were recording we were living in a very small space, so we had to almost operate on top of each other—we were doing everything together,” Robert says.
“We were sleeping on bunk beds and Robert was on the couch underneath Nathan and we were tracking in these two tiny rooms. The drums were under my bed and the crazy Pro Tools set up we rented was under Nathan’s bed across from Robert’s couch. It was all geared towards recording with sleeping being secondary. I think it was a really good test for us to see if we could handle each other on the road, because that place was definitely like being in a tour van,” Michel confesses.
After completing the record and hauling it off to be mixed, the band added in bassist Chris McKee to fill out their live sound.
“Playing live is the most fun part. We love the energy. L.A. is tough and it’s very saturated with bands. A lot of people you are playing for are competition not comrades, but when you have those nights when you feel the energy come from the audience it’s unbelievable, that’s what definitely makes you want to keep doing it,” says Michael.
But it’s not all records and live shows. The boys profess ideas about creating a music scene where bands work together and labels help musicians build careers. Davis and Judd both talk of the “starving music industry” being outdated and not willing to takes risks on bands that exist outside the contemporary realm. Davis admits that the current music scene needs to be “infused with a revolution,” something that hasn’t happened since the early nineties.
“I would like to feel like I was part of something, like there were other bands that we were playing with that we were really supporting and that were really supporting us,” added Judd.
The radical voice in guiding The Yelling’s dream to fruition is helmed by the enigmatic and curly haired Nathaniel Cox. Acting as the leader in rallying the support of the masses with his potent command, Cox ignites the microphone with immersive lyrics and chiseled melodies.
“I just kind of subconsciously gather information from my surroundings, from the news, or from the environment whether I’m downtown or wherever. I paint pictures with my songs and sometimes try to project a story, putting myself in the shoes of someone else.”
With a full length record coming out in April and a tour brewing on the horizon, The Yelling have a bright future ahead.
“Overall, our vision is to make really great records that will stick around for awhile. Our immediate plan, however; is to get on a tour and play for as many people as we can,” concluded Nathaniel.
Powerful and primal, the 1970s sound-soaked foursome emit a spellbound vortex of piercing rhythms and serrated amp swells, panting and breathing beneath a tone-rich workshop of prowess and wizardry.
Seeing the raw and consuming energy of Los Angeles’ The Yelling descend upon a crowd is a primeval sonic experience—a hard rock precision that is both Sabbath dark and Zeppelin cool. Like a giant guardian of a cryptic lair, The Yelling are a colossal presence to be felt and an awesome sight to behold.
The Yelling’s ascent started in Illinois as singer/guitarist Nathaniel Cox and lead guitarist Robert Davis made the Cali trek west with a vision to create music. After writing a host of songs and touring with other bands, the pair was providently linked with South African born percussion juggernaut, Michael Judd. What started as playing more polished rock quickly moved towards evolution. Michael, eclectic with an accent and afro spiked hair enthused about the process.
“It was an organic journey—the music gradually started to get a little more raw, bluesy, and aggressive. The more we played our newer songs the less our old name seemed fitting. With the new batch of songs and the idea that we were this distinct and intense sounding rock band brought the name, The Yelling.”
Developing a musical presence was key in unifying the band, but the real dynamic that heightens The Yelling experience is the connectivity among members that is immediately sensed on speaker and onstage. The integration of allied spirit is present all over their self titled EP which was engineered by guitarist Robert Davis.
“We have played almost every single day of the week for the past year. You have to grow when that happens. Eating together, sleeping together, arguing—all of these things contributed to getting one step closer to success. You keep growing and learning how to orchestrate with each other and how to write better and better songs,” confides Robert.
The band’s EP which has tracks appearing on MTV’s Nitro Circus and the video game Grand Theft Auto IV’s expansion soundtrack. It’s a crisp, inspiring expression recorded on a rented Pro Tools rig in their tiny apartment.
“When we were recording we were living in a very small space, so we had to almost operate on top of each other—we were doing everything together,” Robert says.
“We were sleeping on bunk beds and Robert was on the couch underneath Nathan and we were tracking in these two tiny rooms. The drums were under my bed and the crazy Pro Tools set up we rented was under Nathan’s bed across from Robert’s couch. It was all geared towards recording with sleeping being secondary. I think it was a really good test for us to see if we could handle each other on the road, because that place was definitely like being in a tour van,” Michel confesses.
After completing the record and hauling it off to be mixed, the band added in bassist Chris McKee to fill out their live sound.
“Playing live is the most fun part. We love the energy. L.A. is tough and it’s very saturated with bands. A lot of people you are playing for are competition not comrades, but when you have those nights when you feel the energy come from the audience it’s unbelievable, that’s what definitely makes you want to keep doing it,” says Michael.
But it’s not all records and live shows. The boys profess ideas about creating a music scene where bands work together and labels help musicians build careers. Davis and Judd both talk of the “starving music industry” being outdated and not willing to takes risks on bands that exist outside the contemporary realm. Davis admits that the current music scene needs to be “infused with a revolution,” something that hasn’t happened since the early nineties.
“I would like to feel like I was part of something, like there were other bands that we were playing with that we were really supporting and that were really supporting us,” added Judd.
The radical voice in guiding The Yelling’s dream to fruition is helmed by the enigmatic and curly haired Nathaniel Cox. Acting as the leader in rallying the support of the masses with his potent command, Cox ignites the microphone with immersive lyrics and chiseled melodies.
“I just kind of subconsciously gather information from my surroundings, from the news, or from the environment whether I’m downtown or wherever. I paint pictures with my songs and sometimes try to project a story, putting myself in the shoes of someone else.”
With a full length record coming out in April and a tour brewing on the horizon, The Yelling have a bright future ahead.
“Overall, our vision is to make really great records that will stick around for awhile. Our immediate plan, however; is to get on a tour and play for as many people as we can,” concluded Nathaniel.
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