Dave Yeomans
Guitar, Mandolin, Accordion, Melodica, Harmonica, Kazoo
Born in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1956, Dave grew up with music in the house. His mother played piano, Hawaiian guitar, and ukelele. His maternal grandfather played the organ, and at one time played in a string band, and taught Hawaiian guitar, and ukelele. His dad played the accordion when he was a kid. Dave began taking piano lessons at age 5. The lessons continued for 6 years, until neighborhood ball games became the higher priority. (The lessons were at 1:00 Saturday afternoon!)
After seeing "The Benny Goodman Story", he decided to take up the clarinet in fifth grade. He played clarinet, and bass clarinet in jr. high, and high school, but by twelfth grade, sports again became the priority, and he quit band for his senior year.
Dave dabbled with the guitar a little (learned three chords!) in high school, but didn't pursue it seriously until the late 1980s. That decision was the result of an evening around a campfire at School Section Lake County Park, while attending the Wheatland Music Festival. One of his fellow campers, one Angus Francey, was visiting from Scotland, and was a very good guitarist. Dave and Chris Youmans kept asking for different songs, and Angus would ask how they went. After five or six times of Chris and Dave getting through the first verse only, and forgetting the rest, Angus got a little tired of it, and told them what he thought! "You guys don't know any of these songs! You don't know how to play!" And so on. Dave decided Angus was right, and he should learn to play. So he dug out the old Kay guitar from high school days, and started playing a lot of John Prine songs.
A few years of playing around the camp fire with three or four other guitars, got him to thinking that there needed to be a different 'voice' in the mix, so he took up the mandolin. The mandolin fret board seemed to be easier for him to figure out, and it is now his instrument of choice.
Dave is married to Kathy. They live in Pleasant Lake, Michigan, and have three daughters, two sons-in-law, and two grandsons. |