Stephen McKay Yerkey (born December 15, 1950) is a singer-songwriter and performer of soulful Americana and rock currently living in northern California, playing solo and with his band, Two Car Funeral, around San Francisco and Sacramento; he developed a following while based in the Bay Area during the early part of his career.

Early life

Yerkey was born in

Welch, West Virginia Welch is a city located in McDowell County in the State of West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,590 at the 2020 census, however the 2021 census estimate put the population at 1,914, due to the McDowell Prison complex in the north ...

and grew up in, among other places,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, ...

, and

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. He began playing guitar at the age of 14, at which time he discovered

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, and started developing his own unique style.

Career

Yerkey was the frontman of the band Nonfiction, 1977-1987, and again during their reunion, 2016-2018. Nonfiction released one eponymous album on

Demon Records Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

. In 1990, he contributed the song "The Final Word" to ''Acoustic Music Project'', an AIDS benefit album on

Alias Records Alias Records is a small American indie-rock record label based in Lexington, Kentucky. Alias has released albums by American Music Club, Archers of Loaf, Yo La Tengo, The Magnolias, The Loud Family, Too Much Joy and Knapsack, among others. ...

. His solo debut album, ''Confidence, Man'', was released in 1995 on

Heyday Records Heyday Records is an independent record label founded in 1988 by Pat Thomas. ''Rolling Stone'' has called Heyday "one of the ten most adventurous small labels in the world." The label, later run by Ron Gompertz and Robert Rankin Walker, has rel ...

and was produced by, among others,

Pere Ubu Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their d ...

Eric Drew Feldman Eric Drew Feldman (born April 16, 1955) is an American musician. Feldman has worked with Captain Beefheart, Fear, Snakefinger, The Residents, Pere Ubu, Pixies, dEUS, Katell Keineg, Frank Black, The Polyphonic Spree, Tripping Daisy, Reid Paley ...

. Yerkey's recording of the Ted Hawkins song "Stay Close to Me" from ''Confidence, Man'' was featured in the soundtrack of the 1997 movie "Lewis & Clark & George." His next album, ''Up From Mo's'', was independently released in 2003. His most recent album, ''Metaneonatureboy'' was released in 2006 on

Echo Records The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI. In 2005, The Echo Label recorded a ...

and, like ''Confidence Man'', was produced by Eric Drew Feldman. ''Metaneonatureboy'' included the song "Translated from Love", which

Kelly Willis Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...

later covered on her album of the same name. In 2016, with Yerkey again at the helm, Nonfiction reunited for a single performance at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco.

Reception

''Confidence, Man'' has been described as "...a lost classic waiting to be rediscovered by fans of Richard Buckner and

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

." Other critics have praised the album's tracks "Cocksucking Blonde" and "Maker's Mark," and have written that its music depicts the gritty aspect of life in San Francisco. Yerkey has also been called the "

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

of country." A review in the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' described his music as "barroom laments, howled prayers and fiery indictments that burned with the intensity of a real person with real soul." ''Up From Mo's'' is described on at least one website as "Solo voice, acoustic guitar and harmonica, fusing country, jazz, folk and blues, rich storytelling and the eccentric West-Virginia-born baritone singing tales of railroad workers, robber barons, short pants, love, despair, Algiers and lighthouse keeping."

Discography

Solo

*''Confidence Man'' (Heyday, 1994) *''Up From Mo's'' (Self-released, 2003) *''Metaneonatureboy'' (Echo, 2006)

With Nonfiction

*''Nonfiction'' (Demon, 1986)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yerkey, Stephen Echo Records artists American alternative country singers American country singer-songwriters Singers from San Francisco Songwriters from San Francisco Living people American alternative country musicians American baritones 1950 births Singer-songwriters from California Country musicians from California American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from West Virginia