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Michael Yonkers (born 1947) is an American rock musician from
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. His work has been praised for its groundbreaking and highly experimental nature; Cole Alexander of psychedelic-rock band
Black Lips Black Lips is an American garage rock band from Atlanta, Georgia formed in 1999. History The band formed in Dunwoody, Georgia after guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley left the Renegades, and guitarist Ben Eberbaugh left the Rer ...
said that Yonkers “kind of invented noise and drone guitar techniques," stating further that "when you think of how
The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
,
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
and
The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...
were pushing feedback at the time, he was more extreme than all three combined in terms of what he was doing.” However, his work did not reach a wide audience until decades after he began recording, due in part to a debilitating spinal injury that kept him in constant, lifelong pain. His most well-known work is a psychedelic rock record from 1968 called ''Microminiature Love'', which was released on vinyl by De Stijl records in 2002, and later
Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...
, who released it on CD in July 2003. This led to re-releases of other early albums, including the psych-folk album ''Grimwood'', originally recorded in 1971 and reissued in 2007, as well as the early 1970s works ''Michael Lee Yonkers'' and ''Borders Of My Mind'', both reissued on Drag City in 2014. Yonkers' most recent work includes three collaborations with Minneapolis indie-rock group
The Blind Shake The Blind Shake are an American punk rock band formed in Minneapolis by brothers Jim (vocals/guitar) and Mike Blaha (vocals/guitar), with Dave Roper on drums. They have released four albums and featured as a backing band for a number of artists, ...
, ''Carbohydrate Hydrocarbons'', ''Cold Town/Soft Zodiac'', and ''Period''.


Discography

* ''Michael Lee Yonkers'' (1972, reissued 2014) * ''Goodby Sunball'' (1974) * ''Borders of My Mind'' (1974, reissued 2014) * ''Microminiature Love'' (2002, Sub Pop) * ''It's Only the Yonkers'' (2005) * ''Grimwood'' (2007, De Stijl Records) * ''Carbohydrate Hydrocarbons'' (2008, Farmgirl) * ''Cold Town/Soft Zodiac'' (2009, Learning Curve) * ''Bleed Out'' (2009) * ''Lovely Gold'' (2010) * ''Period'' (2011)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yonkers, Michael 1947 births Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from Minnesota Drag City (record label) artists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians