Brad Yoder

Writing songs is not easy, by any means. If it were, we'd all be stars. Or it would be a situation in which, as Brad Yoder says in one of his song titles, "Everybody's Got a Record."


Brad is one of the select few who not only writes songs, but writes them extremely well. He labels himself a folk singer, which is true, in some records. He often documents life as he sees it, and his audiences can identify with the words he sings, a combination that usually makes for an entertaining show.

Some of his tunes merit heartfelt laughter (Check out "Local Band"); others might bring the sensitive listener to the verge of tears. But whatever he chooses to sing, prepare to be impressed by what he accomplishes as a singer and guitarist. And a songwriter, of course.

On Saturday, Brad played at the Inspiration Cafe in Washington, a small coffee house that has some pretty good acoustics. I recorded him through the soundboard on one channel, and on the other I used a microphone placed about four feet from the speaker onstage. The result is a mix that highlights his guitar in one channel and the vocals in the other, perhaps a bit too prominent of a separation in some places, but the sound is very clean.

Unfortunately, I must have inadvertently did something with the white balance as far as the video, as Brad shows up in sort of a magenta hue, and the image isn't as sharp as it should be. Oh, well. I'll double-check next time.

You can see what I mean on this video: 'One Excuse'

Opening for Brad was Jordan Umbach, a Washington student who shows a lot of promise with his own songwriting and is developing an assured manner of performing in front of audiences. I'll post something of his shortly.