BAND SPOTLIGHT | Phil Yates

Based out of Burlington, Vt., singer-songwriter-guitarist Phil Yates spent time in Los Angeles and Chicago, then Columbia, S. C. and once upon a time lived in a little burg called Springfield, Ill.

After attending high school here, he split town and now teaches mathematics at a college in Vermont, while making music he describes as “too folky for the rockers and too rocky for the folkers.” Opening this Friday for Aaron Kamm and The One Drops as a solo act, he usually works with his band the Affiliates and racked up shows with notables such as, the Mountain Goats, The Babies, Joe Jack Talcum of Dead Milkmen, Wckr Spgt and Franklin Bruno. Recent reviews of the band’s latest album, Oh So Sour, mentioned the Lemonheads, The Replacements and the Mountain Goats as comparable bands, putting Phil and friends in some fine company. Known for his witty lyrics and post-punk pop sounds, Yates brings carefree fun to serious subjects while bouncing the beat to make it all worthwhile, and altogether a hoot and a half.