Tag Archives: Rob Galloway

Help The Yalla Yalla’s release their second album, Diamond In Dirt!

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Want to turn $12.41* into something much, much better? For exactly that, you can help The Yalla Yallas finish production and release their second album Diamond In Dirt.


(*£8/$12.41 US/$12.70 CN, courtesy of your friendly blog currency converter!)

At that price, you’ll also in essence be pre-ordering a downloadable copy of the album when it’s ready. Add a few more dimes and you’ll be in line for a hard copy of the cd.

After hearing the demos when the album was first being written (a review of the demo tape from earlier this year can be found here), and now after listening to a reviewer’s copy of the album in it’s almost-finished state, I can assure you, you would much rather be listening to The Yalla Yallas than holding those twelve dollars and some change in your hands.

Through PledgeMusic, your contribution at any level (with many other perks to go along with your contribution, including an option for £20/$31.14 for your name in the cd credits) will help make this second album a reality. As of this writing, only 13 days are left to reach their goal so they can proceed with production.

As of this writing they are at 27%, so I implore you to one or more of the following to get to know The Yalla Yallas:

  • Give them a listen; you can stream music from their first album on the Yalla Yallas website
  • Head to their MySpace page for a listen to “Under Attack” which will be included on Diamond in Dirt
  • Watch the in studio clip of an acoustic version of “Death Shoes” (one of my favorite tracks) at the end of this post
  • Friend them on Facebook to keep up with the latest information
  • Check out the interview with Rob Galloway from this past February to learn more about them

As for the album itself, it’s been an amazing process to witness the writing, recording and evolution of the songs. A quick review will have me telling you that from demo to current state, the tracks from Diamond In Dirt are now fully caffeinated. The energy level has risen to Full Steam Ahead, and is punctuated by Rob Galloway’s wonderfully growling voice. The beauty of the songs lie in the fact that they can easily lend themselves to being played fully plugged in, on stage full guns, and yet I can also picture them stripped down, acoustic around a campfire. The bones of the songs are lovely indeed, but with tough skin around them. I’ve never been so closely involved as a witness in the composing and releasing of an album, so this has a special place in my heart, and I’m really hoping to see them make their goal. If you’re interested in helping out with a worthy creative project and have a few bucks to spare, please visit The Yalla Yallas’ Diamond In Dirt project profile on PledgeMusic, it will be most appreciated!

The Yalla Yallas will also be included within today’s Trash City Radio Show transmission, so if you can try to catch the show live, and if that’s not possible you can find it later on in the archives right here on the blog.

(Photos courtesy of Sara Brooks)

YALLA!!! Your help is needed in getting The Yalla Yalla’s second album completed!

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Via PLEDGEmusic (a site that utilizes a very savvy newfangled way of raising funds to produce an album whereby those that matter most (friends, family and fans) pool together to raise the money needed), a band I am very fond of, that would be The Yalla Yallas, are currently asking for our help getting their second full album, Diamond In Dirt, released.

If you dig back in time on the blog, you will find a post I did reviewing the very early demos of this album after an invitation from Rob to preview it, and it’s exciting to see it all coming together. I really look forward to the moment I open the cd package and pop it into the music player . . . I promise you it’s gonna be great.

And so, I will now urge you to check out the links below to get to know more about The Yalla Yallas, their sound, and what they stand for. And by all means, jump on board with me and others to help them raise their targeted financial goal!

Here’s a clip of two of my favorites that are slated to appear on the new album (from an in studio acoustic session):

A February 2010 interview with Rob Galloway from this blog is located via this link.

Band website on myspace: The Yalla Yallas

And finally, the campaign, and a message from Rob Galloway via PLEDGEmusic:

The Yalla Yallas are now on our 2nd album ‘Diamond In Dirt’ … This is the follow up to our first album ‘Act Of Defiance’ which sold quite well and it meant we could get to work on the 2nd … anyway recording and releasing it is costing a little bit more than we expected and we could do with a few quid upfront to get it out there to you … We are currently waiting to record backing vocals and to mix and master the album so it really is at its final stages now … We plan to release the album on CD and on iTunes hopefully we can get this out to you by Xmas time hopefully earlier. We have a variety of incentives for you to pledge for so please take a look and we hope to for fill all of the pledges by January 2011. If you have any further questions please email me at rob@theyallayallas.com … Thankyou in advance for your support … Rock n Roll!!!

P.S we are also hoping to raise some money for Strummerville … as they funded the majority of this record we want to give something back … http://www.strummeville.co.uk

For £8 you’ll receive the project download when the album is released. Other pledge levels are available including £12 for a signed cd, £20 for your name in the cd credits, all the way to £1,200 for Rob’s signed Telecaster. They’re just getting going and are at 15% of goal as of this writing. Check out their project page for more information and to make a pledge yourself! The Yalla Yallas Diamond in Dirt PLEDGEmusic project page.

“Stuck on the Other Side of the Ocean” Pt 3: The Yalla Yallas

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THE YALLA YALLAS | bio

Another band I’ve taken to cheering from a far is The Yalla Yallas from Leeds, England. Their first album, Act of Defiance, was released through Strummerville, and one I picked up late last year. It’s an incredibly powerful album, and one that I listen to quite a lot. I’ve been following them since, and even conducted an interview with lead singer/principle songwriter Rob Galloway that was posted a few months ago, which you can find here.

Since then, several exciting things have been happening with the band, and as recent as today a live EP called Barefoot in the Chapel was posted on their website as a free download, so be sure to check that out.

I was also recently offered the great privilege to preview the demo for their second album (thank you, Rob!), which is now in the works. My first reaction? I was I really excited to find that it is just as strong of an offering as their first album. I made a few notes while listening again today for this post, and jotted down words and phrases like powerful, heavy, rockabilly feel; “locomotive” guitar feel—a quality I love in songs, that sort of relentless strumming that gives that feel of a train engine tearing down the tracks (“Death Shoes”); harmonica, catchy riff, nice growly vocals, great harmonies; jangly guitared sea shanty—what does that mean? Yes, one song even made me think of an old drunken sea song but in a more punk-like form (“Under Attack”); and even “a touch of early Replacements, ‘Sorry Ma Forgot to Take Out the Trash-esque’ ” (and that is meant as a huge compliment). There are 10 songs in all, and they’ve all got punch, with several really grabbing hold of me fast. And the songs grow more and more intense as the album goes on. Great stuff. I am looking forward to hearing what eventually becomes the final version, and you can bet I’ll write more about it once it’s released. Until then, you can purchase their first album through itunes, or visit their website, and click on the “Music” link where you can listen to a stream of a few live shows, and also Act Of Defiance, a great way to preview the album, but if you like, please consider supporting their efforts and buy a copy!