Michael Yonkers: Dark 60's psych god
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Michael Yonkers and his Mumbles
Is it possible that while creating the songs that would make up the album Microminature Love, Michael Yonkers had prophetic visions of the Dead Kennedys, Joy Division, Pere Ubu, and The Fall? Because while Yonkers sat in some basement or garage in the middle of Minnesota, he made something so ahead of it's time, that it quickly made its way onto the shelves of Sire Records, not seeing the light of day until 2003 when people had the good mind to reissue it.
While I can concede that Yonkers may not have been a prophet, he certainly was a visionary, and another previously "lost" album bearing his name is getting the reissue treatment thanks to De Stijl Records. His pre-Microminature Love band, Michael and the Mumbles were Nuggets-era outsiders who sounded something like a Midwestern cousin of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators, and their self-titled album lends even more evidence to the fact that Michael Yonkers should be considered among Arthur Lee, Captain Beefheart, and Kim Fowley, as one of the eras greatest eccentric geniuses.
Posted on November 13, 2009. More on: michael yonkers, michael and the mumbles, de stijl records, sire records, roky erickson, 13th floor elevators, arthur lee, kim fowley, captain beefheart
