Musical History
Guitarist Michael Yonkers formed his own Michael Yonkers Band in Minneapolis in 1967. His garage-rock beginnings are documented on Michael and the Mumbles (De Stijl, 2009), recorded in 1966. He formed his band at about the same time when Hendrix was forming his Experience.
The album recorded in 1968, Microminiature Love (1969 - Destijl, 2002 - Subpop, 2003), his creative height, reached the extent of the era's styles, from Jefferson Airplane-ish acid-rock (Jasontown) to voodoo-blues (Boy In The Sandbox, Smile Awhile).
His collection of unreleased recordings from 1964 to 1969 are included in Free Flight (Get Hip, 1997).
Before his back broke in 1971, Michael Yonkers had recorded a few singles and a few collaborations. All these albums were released decades after they had been recorded: the acoustic, folkish Grimwood (1974 - De Stijl, 2007), recorded in 1969, Michael Lee Yonkers (1974), recorded in 1972, Goodby Sunball (1974), recorded in 1973, Borders of my Mind (1974), and Thy Will Be Done (1976). These albums have cute ideas with a lot of fillers, but none of these were really groundbreaking.
A private home recording of 1977, Lovely Gold (Drag City, 2010), even though its a rough production, the songs present a dramatic musical twitch.
After being away for more than a quarter of a century due to his debilitating conditions, Michael Yonkers returned with It's Only Yonkers (Galactic Zoo Disk, 2004).
Carbohydrates Hydrocarbons (Go Johnny Go, 2007), Cold Town (Learning Curve Records, 2010) and Period (S-S, 2012) paired him with the Blind Shake for sessions of distorted garage-rock, probably his finest since Microminiature Love (notably Carbohydrate Hydrocarbons).
A solo guitar show that inclined towards cacophony was No Kidding (Ruby Red Editora, 2008).
Bleed Out (Spiral Staircase, 2009), mainly instrumental, documented a 2004 collaboration with Plastic Crimewave Sound.
The High-Speed Recording Complex (Burka For Everybody, 2010) was a concert with fellow electric guitarist Gregory Raimo of the Gunslingers, nearly a sequence of Raimo's single album GR & Full-Blown Expansion.