Friday, July 23, 2010
IF YOU GO
What: Lord of the Yum-Yum at the Bonfrog Music Festival
When: The festival begins at 1 p.m. at both Cedars and the Lemon Grove and in the rear parking lot. Lord of the Yum-Yum will perform about 11 p.m. Saturday in The Lemon Grove, 122 W. Federal St., Youngstown
Tickets: $3; call 330-301-0282
110 W. Federal St., Youngstown
By JOHN BENSON
YOUNGSTOWN
Over the past five years, musician Paul Velat, known by his stage name Lord of the Yum-Yum, has had a love-hate relationship with Youngstown. He loves Northeast Ohio; but some audiences hate his unique, eccentric and oddball performance act. It’s this struggle for acceptance that keeps the Chicago-based artist coming back, including a Saturday show at the Lemon Grove, part of the Bonfrog Music and Arts Festival.
“I’ve been to Youngstown maybe like four or five times,” said Velat, whose day job is a Windy City elementary-school teacher. “At first it was nothing. I chipped away, and I used to play at the Nyabinghi. The audiences kept growing, and it seemed like Youngstown has a wild streak a little bit. I kind of like that unpredictability in an audience. Like the fans at the venue at Nyabinghi, sometimes people would really totally hate it, and at times people were awestruck. I like the mixture of not appealing to every single soul but trying your hardest to win them over at the end. I didn’t want it to become so easy, and that’s the way Youngstown has been.”
In describing a Lord of the Yum-Yum show, Velat threw out names such as Tom Waits, Benny Hill and even Andy Kaufman. Perhaps a better comparison would be “Weird Al” Yankovic.
“It’s a vocal version of classical pieces with pop references thrown in,” Velat said. “I funnel it all through a live loop-making device, so I can basically transform myself into a virtual choir as I play. Like I’ll infuse ‘1812 Overture’ by Tchaikovsky with Salt-n-Pepa’s ‘Push It.’ I prefer to work with iconic [music]because there’s a familiarity the audience has with the material. So usually, the spine of the songs is a classical piece that people are familiar with.”
In case you can’t tell, Lord of the Yum-Yum is equal parts performance art, comedy and even social commentary. With roughly 100 shows a year, Velat is sincere about his truly unique and one-of-a-kind show.
“It’s definitely funny and goofy,” he said. “But people shouldn’t think that it’s making fun of the things they love. I mean it is, but it’s not doing it to make a mockery. I’m just celebrating pop culture.”