Hot Buttered Rum is a band that has been playing the San Francisco Bay Area local scene for 20 years, an amazing local band , rich with a bunch of exceptionally talented musicians, wicked songs, and a strong stage presence. One hell of a great bluegrass roots band that ever came out of the San Francisco Bay Area. You must go see the band; you would not be bored or disappointed as their shows are full of great fun energy, and great music with lyrics that come from the heart. The band has an amazing vibe that will literally make you move your body even if you’re seated and put a smile on your face.
I found Hot Buttered Rum vocalist and banjo player Erik Yates online one night through my search for singer-songwriters for the Singacoustic show on 12/02/2022 at the Skyline Studios and I was intrigued by the number of instruments he plays as I found out that he played the Banjo, Guitar, Piano, and Dobro and that was enough instruments for me to find out who that man is and try to get him on the show. Oh, he also plays Flute and Saxophone.
My fingers ran across my laptop’s keyboard searching and learning about Erik Yates and the more I read about him, and the more songs I hear from him and his band, the more anxious I became and the need to find him was growing, and Google kept on providing me with websites, blogs, and reviews that added to my desire to connect with him and I finally did. I sent Erik an email and a couple of days later I received a reply saying he was interested and that he would like to have a chat about the show, and of course, I replied by saying to call me any time as I only have his email.
It was a great chat with Erik, we talked for a bit about the local Bay Area music scene, and the local venues as the San Francisco Bay Area lost a few good venues through the past few years. Erik gave me a fast review of HBR (Hot Buttered Rum) and asked about Singacoustic’s purpose and why I’m doing the show. I explained to Erik Yates that I built Hot Mittens Production as a company to produce a show that is meant to expose the local hidden talent around the country. Although Hot Buttered Rum is not a hidden jewel of a band, it is well known and they have a Wikipedia page (something most local singer-songwriters do not have), I was extremely happy to have the chance to talk with that amazing singer-songwriter and musician on the phone. Erik asked me who else is performing and I told him that I already have Emily Zisman and Tom Rhodes. At that moment, I believe it was the nail I hit to get him to agree to perform for Singacoustic, as he told me that he knew Tom well and that they collaborated before and I believe that is what was needed for him to agree. I got Erik Yates for Singacoustic and dang, it was an amazing show.
Once I get the artist’s confirmation of their performances, I send an email to all with a virtual meet and greet to thank them for their acceptance to be part of Singacoustic. I got a reply back from Emily Zisman saying hello to all and that she knows Erik Yates from a local Bay Area singer-songwriters network group followed by an email from Tom Rhodes saying hello and that he knows Erik as well, followed by another email from Tom Rhodes suggesting they all collaborate on a song that he wrote with Erik and the final result was an electrifying performance at the end of the show. Truly magical.
Erik and I have discussed the possibility of his band’s Bass player joining the show, and just two days before the show I received an email from Bryan Horne confirming his performance, I had to rush a contract for him to sign I finally got an email notification that his contract was signed electronically and just like that, Bryan joined the show with his 180 years old upright Bass.
Tom Rhodes started the show, followed by Emily Zisman, followed by Erik Yates for one solo song followed by two songs with Erik Yates and Bryan Horne and the show ended with all of them performing “Over The Finish Line”, a song with a great story written by Tom Rhodes.
Singacoustic Oakland was an amazing event. We had three phenomenal local singer-songwriters with their chilling performances and for that, I declare that life is good.
Thank you, Erik Yates, you are a rock star. Cheers!