Yvette Kay, originally from Berkeley, CA, fell in love with the guitar at age 10 and songwriting as a teenager. Much of the 70s were spent learning how to play songs by the Beatles and Neil Young, who she credits as her biggest influences. In 1977 when a couple of her high school friends returned from a trip to London as punk rock converts everything changed. Now, throwing classic rock aside,  Yvette wailed her punk rock ballads out on her 1969 Tele Thinline (which she still has) and penned such songs as "Just Another Punk Rocker Wailing At The Moon" and "Holocaust At Disco City". Gems never to see the light of day. 

Yvette wanted to be in a band and in 1980 she fulfilled her punk-rock dream by joining the San Francisco all-girl group, "Wilma" where she played electric guitar and sang mostly backup except for the self-penned college-radio hit "Life Without Adjectives" (http://soundcloud.com/yvettekay/life-without-adjectives. Wilma was a Bay Area favorite post-punk band and was signed to San Francisco Indy record label, Subterranean Records where they released a 45" single in 1981 and then posthumously a full-length album in 1985. Wilma never toured outside of the Bay Area, but their music is still played on College Radio stations across the country. 

All through the 80s Yvette continued to play in bands honing her singing, songwriting skills and electric guitar playing. Her musical style had become more sophisticated and daring. Now she was influenced by bands like The Pretenders, Simple Minds and Roxy Music. While in bands she played many gigs and opened for quite a few big name acts of the day. During these years she gained a lot of confidence performing as a front person.

In 1990 Yvette's songwriting again reaped the benefits of great mentoring by talented Bay Area producer Bill Cutler who she had worked with a few years earlier. They would spend hours picking through her material and re-working things to get a song just right: re-writing lyrics, vocal phrasing and changing song structures and parts. This effort had a big influence on Yvette's songwriting then and in the future. By now her songs were more in the folk-rock vein and In 1991 Yvette and Bill recorded a demo together in which he hired great session players and recording engineer Gary Mankin. Click here for the link to these songs: http://soundcloud.com/yvettekay/sets/1991-demo-san-francisco 

Beginning in 1992 Yvette, playing solo, strapped on the acoustic guitar and put her harmonica in a rack and played the coffee-house folk circuit for tips. She played with a confident and rhythmic flat picking style, uniquely her own, and her lyrics reflected her deeper and more spiritual side. Matured as a singer/songwriter, in 1995 Yvette recorded this group of songs for the self-released CD, "New Voice New Eyes". Click here for songs from "New Voice New Eyes": http://soundcloud.com/yvettekay/sets/1995-cd-release-new-voice-new-eyes

Eventually life and it's challenges screamed louder than playing music and Yvette decided to go to recording engineering school and get a "real" job. Eight years of working and other distractions passed by and unfortunately her songwriting was mostly left behind. Yvette recently called upon her songwriting muse again, but it's being stubborn. She was able to quickly get her voice and acoustic guitar playing chops back, but her muse is slowly returning, but has not "re-mused" completely to her satisfaction. For other fellow musicians, this detail should be taken as a cautionary note. Don't let your muse die or be taken for granted, it's not easy to bring back. Songwriting needs to be stroked in order to thrive. 

In the meantime, while stoking the fires of her muse, Yvette plays in two bands. In The Big Bossies, an acoustic trio, she plays and sings her own compositions accompanied by cello and accordion. These songs are in the process of being recorded in Yvette's home Pro Tools HD studio, Chez Baboo Productions and will eventually be added to soundcloud.com - stay tuned. 

Yvette also plays bass, which she took up over the last 8 years, in a rock cover tune band that rehearses just for the enjoyment of "rocking out with your cock out". The Belle Amiz play music by Neil Young, The Beatles, The Pretenders, The Kinks, Talking Heads, The Eagles, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt and others. This band has absolutely no intention of playing for anyone other than the neighbors who, luckily, never complain. 

------Thanks for your interest. Enjoy the music and please leave your comments, Yvette

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