INTERVIEW: Steve Yanek releases ‘September’

Coming out of South Central Pennsylvania, Steve Yanek is a talented singer-songwriter who’s been sharing his sonic vision since making his debut in 2005 with the album Across The Landscape. Returning in 2021 with a string of singles, he then released his aptly titled sophomore record Long Overdue in 2022 which received critical acclaim and topped the Americana & Country Roots Music Charts for two weeks in a row.

This year he’s shared several singles in the build up to his third full-length album, now bringing us his latest release with the new LP, September. Featuring 10 songs, the album provides a stunning run through of Steve Yanek’s charming sound of Americana and soft rock.

Opened by “Begin Again,” the album starts with a bright sound of harmonica leads over gentle drums, guitar and piano. Steve enters with smooth vocal leads carrying elegant melodies and motivational lyricism to craft a heartwarming and catchy Americana pop sound.

“I Could Use A Little Rain” spins a classic pop rock sound brimming with alluring vocal work and graceful guitar-led instrumentation, capped by a delicate guitar solo in its closing moments. “Summer Days” opens with warm piano chords over the soft plucks of bass guitar before the drum beat ushers in Steve’s graceful vocals, resulting in an irresistible downtempo jam that develops with subtle organ tones and intricate guitar licks.

Other highlights on the record include the lead single “Losing You,” with its superb Americana rock sound full of slick electric guitar flutters, laid back drums and sensational vocal work. The album closes with the title track “September,” starting with blissful acoustic guitar tones, joined by Steve’s moving vocal leads and soft drum flourishes, crafting a truly beautiful ballad style song a the album’s finale.

September delivers a reflection of life, love and resilience during the times of the pandemic filtered through the perspective of Steve Yanek. His musical influences, including Paul McCartney, Jackson Browne, Eagles, James Taylor, Neil Young and Dan Fogelberg, all shine through, especially Emitt Rhodes, to whom the album is dedicated.

Steve Yanek not only pens the lyrics but also plays all the instruments, sings all the vocals and takes on the roles of producer and mixer. This hands-on involvement ensures that every moment is perfectly crafted, resulting in an enjoyable and truly delightful listening experience throughout.

Hey Steve, how’s things?

Great! Hectic, but things are going really good.

What’s your earliest memory of making music?

Music was always a backdrop in my life

Which artists do you draw the most inspiration from today?

It’s a combination of older heroes who are still creating viable music like John Hiatt, Steve Earle, and David Crosby up until he died earlier this year. Younger artists like Brandi Carlisle, Jason Isbell, and Nathaniel Rateliff are really threading the needle right now. Just amazing albums!

How else do you find inspiration for your music?

Everyday life. Just living and observing the life around me.

What do you love about your local music scene?

It’s a unique one, to say the least. It’s kind of fragmented because it consists of three small cities (Harrisburg, Lancaster, and York) in central Pennsylvania, and each has its own smaller scenes, but there is an amazing amount of incredibly diverse talent, both past and present, that comes from this area. Del McCoury, Brett Michaels and the band “Live” would be among the more famous ones.

What would you say is the perfect setting for listeners to enjoy your sound?

Solo acoustic in a small listening room. I love rocking out in a bar with my band, but my songs are versatile and can translate in an acoustic setting just as easily.

How has your own style and sound evolved since you started out?

I started playing guitar and writing songs when I was thirteen and was heavily inspired by all the singer-songwriters from the 60s and 70s. Artists like James Taylor, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, collectively developed a style influenced by artists like Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, and Paul Simon. It’s a sound that I fell in love with, and I’ve stayed pretty to throughout the years, not unlike bluegrass artists who trace their DNA back to Bill Monroe, I guess all roads for me would lead back to Bob Dylan. I’m just trying to put my own spin on it!

How did you find yourself making your new album ‘September’?

This album happened very organically during the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Those circumstances led to writing and recording this cycle of very introspective and personal songs by myself. Over the years I’ve had several different versions of home studios starting with my Teac 4-track reel-to-reel and trusty Yamaha mixer back in the 70s in my parent’s basement to a continuous upgrade to pro gear over the past decade. And when the lockdown happened – I was ready for it!

What message did you want to get across with this release?

Love and gratitude. I’ve got a lot to be grateful for and I’m finally at a point in my life where I’ve made enough room to get back to my music and that has coincided with an extremely prolific period. I haven’t been this inspired since I was in my twenties!

What artist have you been listening to most recently?

Checking my most recent played artists on my phone reads like this:

Mustangs of the West

Jesper Lindell

Dylan LeBlanc

The Beatles

William Prince

The Rolling Stones

Pure Prairie League

Dan Fogelberg

What’s the main thing you want people to get out of listening to your music?

I hope they enjoy it! I’m not reinventing anything here but a lot of work goes into writing the types of songs that I write, so when I hear that something I do touches someone else that’s a cool reward!

What’s been your favourite live performance so far?

I recently got to open for Livingston Taylor and that was an incredible experience because I’ve been a fan of his almost as long as I’ve been playing guitar! That, and he was a super nice guy.

Who would be 3 artists to headline your dream festival? And where would it be?

Ha, interesting question! How about Paul McCartney, Neil Young and Brian Wilson at Red Rocks? That would be cool!

Do you have any advice for a new artist wanting to follow your footsteps?

Go find your tribe! Between the technology available and the internet all you really need is a laptop, a decent interface, cheap keyboard controller, and a good mic. Get really good with whatever you can afford, and practice, practice, practice! That and cancel your Spotify subscription and start using Qobuz! They pay ten times as much per stream! Tell all your friends to do the same! Streaming could be self-sustaining for a lot of young artists if we could actually get paid fairly for it and this platform is doing just that, so spread the word!

Finally, what do you have lined up for the rest of 2023?

I’ve started working on a new album this past month. It’s going to be a lot more of a rootsy-sounding album. My current favourite album has been Sea of Heartbreak by Mustangs of the West and it really resonated with all that country rock I grew up on. Bands like Poco and Pure Prairie League, so I’ve been writing a lot of stuff in that vein lately. I’m planning on cutting some tracks in Nashville if all goes as planned.

Listen to September below