Star of the Beach — Miami Dan and The Hayes Street Band
Miami Dan Yoe is a quiet man, unassuming… His lyrics are grounded in memories from the passage of time. This four part thread introduces us to a relative unknown music maker who managed to bring some pretty cool cats into the studio to produce a strong musical statement.
Q: This is your second album…How is this album different from your first CD?
Miami Dan: The first album was essentially an experiment for me. I had previously only been in a recording studio a couple of times – strictly as an observer. The guys who initially began the first album – A Time in The Spotlight – with me dropped out early on in the project, and I was forced into writing some new material and finishing the project as best I could. It turned into a three-year long process covering many sessions. I thought it was an okay effort for what it was, but I also felt like I had learned a great deal about the recording process from working with Paul Hornsby, and also thought I had improved as a songwriter from the experience, so I was anxious to do another album.
I think the songwriting on the second album – Star of The Beach – is considerably stronger than it was on the first one, and I was very fortunate to be able to have several gifted and well-known guest musicians lend their talents to the project. My drummer, Billy Rivers, was a huge help to me in producing Star of The Beach. Our goal was to make it a step forward from the first one and I think we accomplished that. I’m also very proud of the packaging on the second album.
Q: What inspires you to write?
MD: Just having an interesting idea for a song is what usually gets me inspired to write - and the ideas tend to come at the oddest and most unlikely times. When an idea strikes me I have to immediately record it or I'll never think of it again. For example, one of the songs on the new album is a duet titled “Time to Move On." I woke up about 4 a.m. at my mom's house with that song in my head. I got up and recorded a very sleepy vocal of the first verse on my cellphone, and went back to sleep. The next day I listened back to what I had recorded and wrote lyrics for two more verses. The entire process might have taken 30 minutes. For me the lyrics seldom come that easy and I'll usually have to revisit a song several times over a period of days or weeks before finishing it, but on occasion it happens much faster.
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