I drove into the driveway at the end of
the
cul-de-sac. Christmas lights were still glowing on the evergreen bushes
around the stately house. The snow was wet as I made my way to the door
and pushed the little lit button. The doorbell chimed and I heard the
barking of a dog. The door opened to expose a grey haired women with a
waggy-tailed dog at her heels. "Hello, you must be Jim, never mind the
mess; the old man's in the basement", she informed.
I made my way down the stairs and
entered a somewhat
spacious room paneled with knotty white pine. There was a wet bar that
could accommodate eight, situated in the middle of the room; at the end
was a fireplace crackling, and the air was thick with cigarette smoke.
Near the fireplace was a desk covered
with computer
monitors where sat a bearded, impish looking Jeff Yost, wearing
headphones. The desk was surrounded by about six guitars, mostly
Fenders, and a couple keyboards: a Kurzweil K2000, and a Korg Triton,
and several microphones and stands. Jeff was oblivious to my entry. He
was smoking, and took occasional sips from what I later learned was
bourbon and coke. There was also a Bush beer within arms reach. He
jumped, as if startled, when he noticed me.
We sat and sipped bourbon before we
began the
interview and I found Jeff to be quite likable, open, serious, and in
charge of a wonderfully bizarre sense of humor.
Q. - Why "Never-Bean"?
A. - It's a name. You must name your
creations. Why
did I decide to call this project "Never-Bean?... I thought of many
possible titles, I've been thinking of titles for projects since
elementary school, "Never-Bean" just seemed right at this point in
time; for this project, for this man.
Q. - Why?
A. - I'm 53 years old. I haven't ever
had a 'hit'
record, which could be good. Some releases made a very small dent in a
very small area of all that is. I'm not a has-been, although some may
say that, and I am not a wanna-be, and that may be said as well. I just
view myself as a never-bean (bean: being a chap). I do
want to leave the playing field having left a positive mark. I think I
have a tad of talent in the composition area; and it would be nice to
be remembered for that tad. I'm not crazy about playing the 'gimme
fame' game; in fact, I have tried to avoid any fame trappings that have
occured in my past, and I have done it very well, I must add. Don't get
me wrong, I would love to have success, but success at what costs? I do enjoy being
a normal face in the crowd.
It's
always seemed that the music
industry eats it's young; and, contrary to popular beliefs, I was once
young. I haven't been eaten, at least by the music industry, but I
never signed those... papers, I don't favor the idea of being eaten up
by any power that is, and I never have. I'm older now, so I must say
that the music industry eats the gullible, despite any age.
Back to
your question of why
"Never-Bean"... I see it as my last shot at acceptance of what I do,
what I have done, all my life. I want to give it one last
go-a-round before I say "Uncle!, you beat me, you were right, I Am
Nothing"! BUT,
I don't
want to chew up a front page. I do
want to make a mark. I would love
the money, butI
would want to be able to turn it off at any given moment. Is that
allowed? NO, you can't put it back in the box. I will always be a
never-bean.
Q. - What are you going to record for
this project?
A. - I think I will record a variety of
sound waves,
adding certain vocal utterances, in the English language. Heck, maybe
I'll utter in Swahili.
Q. - Have you begun work on this project
yet?
A. - I have. I think you caught me
working when you came down, was I sweating? (sounding stand-offish)
Q. - Your defenses are showing. You
appear to not enjoy questions about your work.
A. - I'm really very sorry. I
don't mean to
be... defensive. Would you like another drink. We could turn
off
the tape recorder, and just shoot the shit.
Q. - I'll take the drink, but I am
curious why you are donating part of your sales to(Name of a charity)?
(Jeff
goes to the bar and mixes he and I a drink)
A. - Don't you think those landmines
should be eliminated? Would you want to step on one, or your kids?
Let's get them off the planet, and while we're at it, let's snuff all
the violent people... WAIT, that's violent. I'll recall that order... I
think (Name of a charity) is a good organization, that's all.
Q. - I Googled "Jeff Yost" up on the net
and found many pages, and several songs at several sites..
A. - Sorry.
Q. - No, they were interesting. How old
are they?
A. - Did they sound old? Well, they are
pretty old.
They won't be on the new album. They're just out there to show that I
really am a jerk, I don't know how to promote something new, without
using something old. Anything of mine you find on the net, at this
point, is rather old.
Q. - What is your goal for this album?
A. -
I really want to sell a million copies,
that's it, that's the goal. I get the rush from composing. I would like
to get the rush from successful sales. If I sell a million copies, and
that's my goal, there's a million bucks for (name of a charity), and a million bucks for (name of a charity); both worthwhile charities. I've
never been able to give any charity a million bucks, let alone what I
have left after expenses, to give my family... and I do owe them.
Q. - Why are you releasing it only as a
pre-sale item?
A. - I am a long way from being rich.
Maureen and I
are just scraping by... releasing this project as a pre-sales only is
the only way we could do it, without giving in to the major music
people. "Never-Bean" is, very much, a homemade item. It's very
personal... whatever it becomes... and I find myself making goals for a
year, then forgetting about it. And then there's the thing about people
accepting you after you've been accepted, if you follow me. I've been
amazed by things I've run across that I didn't know existed, hadn't
heard a thing about. That's a big rush for me; finding new, neat stuff.
Q. - Who will be working on the album
with you?
A. - You can ask me that one again in
October; I
should be done with the recording by then. I have some ideas, and I've
asked some friends if they would like to join in; time will tell.
We've talked about doing some live
shows, maybe with
some of the old 'Master Bates and the Beat Boys' material. We will see.
I would enjoy going into a proper
studio, having
other people doing the engineering and producing; that would take a
load off of my back. I could think as a musician and forget about the
mechanics of the process, but that's a lot more money, and I do have
the equipment here to do a right, proper job.
Q. - What equipment do you have?
A. - I use, in a Mac enviroment, Pro
Tools, Digital
Performer, Studio Vision Pro, and whatever else I've loaded in those
contraptions. I've just begun the recording process. I'll know more in
a week. As far as musicial equipment goes, I've got several Fender
guitars and basses, kurzweil and korg keys, percussion toys,
harmonicas, and vocal utterings.
This project means a great deal to me. I
want to,
and will do, better than I have done before.. I have enough new
material for about three or four albums, and I'm itching to record.
Actually, I have enough material for about nine albums, but I've been
editing... and writing more, as well.
Q. - Is there anything I can hear so far?
A. - No, but I'll be sure to get you a
copy of the August press release version.
