Christmas Time in the Trailerpark
December 20, 2013 12:41 PM   Subscribe

Y'all, consisting of Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and James Dean Jay Byrd, first surfaced in New York city in 1992, touting themselves as the first openly gay country music act. That same year, they preformed Y'all's First Xmas Xtravagaza: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8.

Found at the very fabulous Y'all archive still lovingly maintained by Steven.
posted by 1f2frfbf (8 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
We loved Y'all. They used to come through our city quite a bit in the mid 90's. Great guys, fun act.
posted by SPUTNIK at 1:42 PM on December 20, 2013


Y'All is my favoritist favorite forever and always!!!!!!


Kill a tree, kill a tree for Jesus!
posted by vitabellosi at 1:59 PM on December 20, 2013


Also worth a listen: TV Goodbyes (another Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer band)

Everything That I Did Wrong
The Muscle And The Bone
The Hard Way
posted by aturoff at 2:38 PM on December 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


My favorite thing of theirs is close to the last they did as Y'all: "Hey, Y'all!", an album full of songs and jingles from a notional Hee-Haw-esque show. I love that album. It features my aunt Kristi Rose singing the theme song, and my uncle, Fats Kaplin, produced it and played accordion, dobro, fiddle, jaw harp, jug, lap steel guitar, mandolin, pedal steel, theremin, and ukulele on the album.

Hmm. It looks like I'm the only person who has ever reviewed it on Amazon, lo these many years later. I was 18 and a freshman in college then, and this is what I wrote:
"Way down in a town called Music City/ there's a couple of fellas who can sing real pretty/ and you can't miss 'em 'cause one of 'em wears a dress..." So begins one of my favorite albums. One part Minnie Pearl, two parts fabulous music, with a dash of harmonic bliss and a well-blended tablespoon of ingenuity, The "Hey Y'all!" Soundtrack manages to be hilarious, poignant, and just damn good music. The boys of Y'all, Jay Byrd and Steven, gain their country cred with their excellent cover of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line," but proceed to show the world their own creativity and hilarity with such tunes as "My Mama Likes the Feel of Cottage Cheese" and "I'm Calling Your Name." Like any good variety show, they cover all the bases: sad songs, happy songs, jokes, and everything else you could possibly want. So give it a try, visit that strange land of Y'all, and send me a postcard when you decide you never want to come home.
Even though I lost the physical CD years ago, I still know many of these songs by heart. Maybe it's time to get another copy...
posted by ocherdraco at 5:04 PM on December 20, 2013 [1 favorite]




Don't forget Peter Grudzien, White Trash Hillbilly Trick from 1974 and the eponymous album by Lavender Country circa 1973 as some early examples of overtly gay country music.
posted by jonp72 at 6:08 PM on December 21, 2013


I miss Y'all. I really do.

My mother likes the feel of cottage cheese...
posted by ErWenn at 8:21 PM on December 21, 2013


Me too.

I was in Ithaca? Syracuse? when, just before their show, one of their fans went into labor. She requested, and received, a sweet serenade to her belly before leaving for the hospital.

I'm going to post a link to this thread on Jay Byrd's facebook page.
posted by vitabellosi at 11:11 AM on December 23, 2013


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