John Andrews & The Yawns // Interview
On May 14th, John Andrews will release his third record Cookbook out on the ever-dependable franchise for homespun psychedelia, Woodsist. Andrews’ latest shares the familiar Yawns name from his first two records, but adopts a more independent writing and recording operation to arrive at his charming piano-driven grassrootsy folk rock. With the arrival of the album’s third and final single “Try,” Andrews waxes about the development of the record, his recent touring experiences, Joni Mitchell, and life in Seacoast New England.
Cookbook is your third record with/as the Yawns. How has the identity of the Yawns changed over time and how has making records under the Yawns name shifted over the course of the discography?
I’m always going through different phases. One week I want to make a distorted, fuzzy rock and roll record, the next week I want to make a slow, jazzy piano based record. Everything just depends on what mood I’m in, what the weather is like, what instruments I have around.
Much of Cookbook was written and recorded almost four years ago. It’s kinda similar to what they say about light we see from stars. You’re just seeing it now but it’s actually showing who I was years ago. My next record will definitely be slightly different.
Before announcing Cookbook, you had been doing some extensive touring playing in Cut Worms, Hand Habits, and Woods. What did working alongside those artists teach you about writing and performing music?
I’m not the best at thinking of specifics, but yeah, whether it be how to play a certain chord, or a rare album I never knew of, or a burrito restaurant in San Francisco, I’m always learning so much from who I play music with. When I first started touring I was a naïve, somewhat sheltered 18 year old skater kid who went to shitty public school in New Jersey and I didn’t know what like, falafel was.
Coming of age while touring the world exposed me to so many things I would have never experienced otherwise and I’m so thankful to have gained knowledge that way. I’m still learning so much to this day. My friends have taught me more than any teacher did in school.
A long, solo tour across America is credited as inspiration for the new album. What were the most influential stops along the journey?
Yeah, that tour was special and very different than any other tour I had been on. My living situation had just fallen apart and I was mostly playing house shows. I was by myself. There were no early load in/sound checks, so I was able to really explore each town I was in. I made a list of places I wanted to go to. I visited Henry Darger’s grave in Illinois. Went to Howard Finster’s Paradise gardens. Went to the abandoned Canned Heat mansion in Topanga. Spent some time in Arches National park & The Grand Canyon. Visited Blind Willie McTell’s grave. Hit up a bunch of skateparks, also. Saw Little Wings play in Colorado and shared a bunk bed with Kyle haha! Found some random ass spots too like, “bedrock city,” a run down Flintstones themed campground in Arizona, and this place “Tinkertown” in New Mexico, which was a museum of this guy Ross Ward’s miniatures & dioramas of the Old West. It was a road trip where I wanted to visit all these places that were inspirational to me. I left little tokens of gratitude at each spot. Just some weird personal witchcraft. A miniature toy angel playing a harp on Henry Darger’s grave. Left a flower on Blind Willie McTell’s. I shot a lot of film on that trip.
The whole time I was sleeping in my van, off the side of the road or in random parking lots on Route 66. I have so many funny stories from that tour of crazy situations I got in, and random people I met. Like these super sketchy identical twins in their 50s that I met in the desert who just got out of prison and wanted to hitch a ride with me. I was not about to pick them up but I just sat at a table with them at a gas station and talked for 30 minutes. They told me some crazy shit. Honestly the whole tour resulted in so many crazy stories, too many to really get into during an interview.
"New California Blue," the first single from the new record, is an ode of gratitude to Joni Mitchell. What parts of Joni Mitchell's legacy and artwork is most inspiring and influential to you?
I somehow just missed the boat on Joni in my early 20s when I was really getting into a lot of 60s and psychedelic folk. I fell in love with her music when I was 26. Blue was my introduction. My friend Lukas played a cassette of it in his station wagon when we were driving through a snow storm. It was the perfect way to first hear it. I eventually bought her other LPs and would start almost every morning listening to her while making coffee and getting the wood stove burning. I had just gone through some crazy relationship stuff, so much of her lyrics were relatable. The lyrics on Blue are incredible. I wish I could write like that. They’re oddly specific yet vague enough to relate to at the same time. Also, anyone who paints their own album artwork, I have the utmost respect for.
Where did you record Cookbook? What was that process like?
Cookbook was recorded all over the place. I started recording in 2017 right when my last record, Bad Posture, came out. At that point the whole Yawns band was still living in the old Critchett Farmhouse on Mt. Misery. After the band broke up and we moved out, I went on that solo tour where I wrote a few songs on the road and figured out the vibe I wanted to go for. After that tour, I moved in with my mom for a little bit in NJ. I recorded a few songs at mom’s house. Then basically Cut Worms and Hand Habits took over my life for a while. I eventually moved back to New Hampshire and needed a place to record so I called my friend Ty. He had a deal with our old landlord at the farmhouse, and was able to keep his D.I.Y. studio in the barn across the street. I finished making the record there, in my old home, where I started it years earlier. It was super weird. I also recorded a few tracks in my current apartment in Dover, NH.
So yeah, the record took me about 4 years to complete. Not because I was working on it the whole time but because I was busy with other aspects of my life. I probably recorded enough material to make 2-3 albums. These are just the songs that I felt worked well together, although now I wish I could make a few changes. I’m never satisfied.
You're currently based in New Hampshire. What are your favorite parts about the region and how does living there affect your artwork?
I moved here originally to get away from everything. I lived all these different lives in NJ/PA/MA and kinda wanted to start with a blank slate somewhere new. When I first moved here, I was living in the middle of the woods and it was really inspiring. We had all these hiking trails in our backyard and a little brook running right behind the house. The house was gigantic, really old, and had a lot of really crazy history. I lived with a bunch of musicians. It was the perfect place to spend my mid 20s and the perfect place to record an album. There was a lot of freedom living there.
Now I live in a really tiny duplex in Dover, NH. No longer in the middle of the woods. I had to find ways to adapt to making music/art in a much smaller environment. I can’t really play music as loud as I want anymore because I have upstairs neighbors. Kinda have to keep it quiet, mostly acoustic. Just been working on little 4-track demos. I’m not really part of a music scene here. I’m not really part of any scene here, ha. I’ve been pretty productive with my animations here though. I feel like if there were too many distractions in my town, I’d get less work done.
The bars here aren’t really my vibe so I tend to keep to myself, go on hikes, hang with my girlfriend and just stay at home working on art.
"Try" is the third single shared from the new record. What's the story behind this song and what does it mean to you?
“Try” is a song I wrote in my head while driving through Massachusetts back in 2017. I took an audio memo of it and then started recording it at my mom’s house in NJ after I got home from that solo tour. It’s just a song about trying your best to be there for your friends. However, sometimes you can only be there for your friends so much, until it starts to effect your own mental health.
Purchase John Andrews & The Yawns’ new album Cookbook out 5/14 via Woodsist.