Bobby Yang
With deft renditions of guitar solos that rival the masters of rock history, Bobby Yang revolutionizes the violin with an unorthodox style that defies the notion of the violin as solely a pristine and symphonic instrument. His rendition of Eddie Van Halen¹s “Eruption” solo, a solo featured on Van Halen¹s debut album, is touted as better than the original, and Yang does it acoustically, without pedals or effects, on a violin. Yang¹s guitar-inspired technique relies on vigorous intonation, innovative bowing, inimitable instincts, and experimental sounding points, the point at which the bow meets the string. The technique produces a sound that vacillates between the passion of a violin and the rawness of a guitar; it is a performance that leaves audiences proclaiming that they have never heard a violin create such a sound.
They have never seen such a show either as Yang delivers impassioned performances. Unlike his contemporaries and classical predecessors, Yang incorporates movement and drama into his live shows. Forsaking the classic violin stance, he bends at the waist at a song¹s climax, jumps around the stage, places a defiant foot on a monitor or falls to his knees in a lone spotlight. His performance is evocative and superb, a collage of memorable music and scenes. While in Aspen, he was a frequent soloist with symphony orchestras, including a breakthrough Harris Concert Hall performance of Mozart¹s 3rd Violin Concerto with improvised cadenzas and a last movement in-cadenza tribute to Hendrix¹s “Hey Joe.” On the East Coast, he has earned the admiration of rock musicians and has been invited to perform at Philips Arena, The Bowery Ballroom, Music Midtown, The Variety Playhouse, The Mercury Lounge, and the Atlanta Grammy Heroes Awards.
The same artists that admire his showmanship invite him into studios where he crafts poignant string arrangements for tomorrow¹s Top 40 tracks. In the studio, he uses the violin to create orchestral layers composing parts for the cello, viola, and violin, and then performing each part on a separate track to create a recorded orchestra. It is the work of an entire symphony. He has worked closely with Butch Walker crafting string arrangements for several songs on Walker¹s album Letters. His work with Walker has earned him the opportunity to record with Avril Lavigne, Collective Soul and Default. Most recently, he went to New York to work with acclaimed 311 and Tool producer Ron Saint-Germain. As Birmingham¹s Eyes Around proclaims, “He turns songs to gold.” It is a skill that cannot be taught as its mastery arises from an innate instinct.
This remarkable instinct along with unorthodoxy, passion and prowess are the marks of a master, and history does not forget the masters. They are remembered, and in fact, as time transpires, the truly great become more grand, more brilliant, sometimes more dark, but always more legendary. Music has many legends made so by their disregard of convention, their passion, and their inimitable prowess. The marks of a legend are the marks of Bobby Yang.
