Yardbirds to perform in Newton on Nov. 1
When Jim McCarty and a group of his friends decided to form a band in 1963, they wanted to bring together a number of different styles. Yes, they loved R&B and the blues, but that was only the start.
“We wanted to get away from the 12-bar blues format,” McCarty says. “We wanted to make it different. We wanted to inject a certain freedom, a certain jazziness.”
To signal that direction, the new band decided to take its name from the nickname of legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker: the Yardbirds.
More than 50 years later, McCarty is still leading a group of talented musicians that carry on the legacy of that band. The current line-up of the Yardbirds will play the Newton Theatre this Sunday, Nov. 1.
The newest member of the group is the Boston-based guitarist John Antonopoulos, who goes by the name of Johnny A. McCarty notes that Johnny A. – like a number of the other, younger members of the band - grew up as Yardbirds fans.
“That’s great for us,” McCarty says. “These guys have the energy that’s always been part of the Yardbirds.”
Johnny A. has particularly big shoes to fill. Though Anthony “Top” Topham was the original guitarist, he was followed at various times by three men who have become legends of rock guitar: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page.
Each of those guitarists brought an individual quality to the band, says McCarty.
“Eric always had a thing about him,” he says. “Jeff brought something different, an off-the-wall sound that was almost psychedelic. He was very spontaneous. Jimmy had been a session musician, so he had things all worked out.”
McCarty says that he and other original members (Keith Reif on vocals, Paul Samwell-Smith on bass, Chris Dreja on rhythm guitar) were all united in their respect for the blues tradition.
“We were kids from the South London suburbs,” McCarty says. “I always loved American rock ’n’ roll like Gene Vincent, the Everly Brothers, and Buddy Holly.”
“But the blues had something extra to it. There was an emotion and a rawness. There was an excitement to that music. There was nothing like Sonny Boy Williamson or Howlin’ Wolf in British music.”
It was a cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning” that cemented the Yardbirds sound, McCarty says. “I give credit to Paul Samwell-Smith for that arrangement, where it was quiet in the middle and then built to a crescendo.”
The band’s covers of blues songs (such as “I’m a Man” and “Good Morning, Little School Girl”) were followed by a string of original numbers: “For Your Love,” “Heart Full of Soul,” “Shape of Things” and “Over Under Sideways Down.”
Other songs, such as “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago,” reflected a mix of blues and psychedelia. “That was Jeff,” McCarty says, referring to Beck’s guitar innovations.
“The strength of the Yardbirds is the repertoire,” McCarty says. “We have great musicians in the group. But that repertoire is what has really stood the test of time.”
The Yardbirds disbanded in 1968. But various members would play together in different combinations. For example, McCarty and Reif formed Renaissance in 1970, and several members reunited as Box of Frogs in the 1980s.
In 1992, not long after the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, McCarty (who has forged a solo career) reformed the Yardbirds as a touring band. In 2003, several guest artists joined the group for the “Birdland” CD.
McCarty is the first to admit that he is unsure what is next for the Yardbirds. “There’s always been something experimental about the Yardbirds,” he says. “There’s always something unknown about them.”
THE YARDBIRDS
WHEN: 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1
WHERE: Newton Theatre, 234 Spring St., Newton
TICKETS: $29 to $49
INFORMATION: 973-383-3700 or www.thenewtontheatre.com