BGS is proud to partner once again with our friends at Yamaha Guitars to bring you exclusive Yamaha Sessions shot earlier this year in Los Angeles, California. On a sunny afternoon, the fellas of Water Tower joined us and Yamaha at a cozy and cute backyard studio in the shadow of the Hollywood Hills in Burbank. Water Tower are an exciting and buzzed-about band in the bluegrass space, pulling as much inspiration from punk, rock and roll, pop, and hip-hop as the mountains of Appalachia and the rural bluegrass landscapes and sounds we all hold familiar. Their sets and shows are rollicking, energetic, unhinged – and equally charming – wowing audiences with their energy, repertoire, and hijinks. (Watch their first performance, “Sittin’ on Top of the World” here.)
For their second song and performance in this latest edition of our Yamaha Sessions series, Water Tower frontman Kenny Feinstein is once again joined by bandmates Tommy Drinkard (guitar) and John Seltzer (ukulele bass). Drinkard steps up to the mic to sing lead on “AMPM,” a song first recorded and released by the band back in 2023. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the band’s Southern California roots, painting a fast-tempo string band picture of a 24/7 Los Angeles convenience store. Next, Feinstein jumps in on verse two – after leaning into his hypeman role through verse one and chorus one – before sliding back up to tenor harmonies for the next chorus.
“I need a little two-for-one/ Over at the AMPM, the corner of Glendale/ At the AMPM, only listen to myself…” they sing, leading into a fiery flatpicking solo by Drinkard on his Yamaha Guitar. The Yamaha Guitars played by Water Tower provide the perfect, lush sound bed for the winking silliness and earnest hot licks they’re known for. These are instruments not just well-suited to bluegrass, but to all sorts of string band sounds, whether infused with punk, showmanship, humor, grit, burnin’ licks – or all of the above.
Stay tuned, as we’ll unveil one more Yamaha Session in the near future featuring Californian indie-folk singer-songwriter Cayden Wemple. It’s all part of our celebration of the 60th anniversary of Yamaha Guitars. From the legendary FG Red Label guitars to modern innovations like their TransAcoustic series, Yamaha continues to set the gold standard for acoustic guitar craftsmanship worldwide. To celebrate 60 years of guitar excellence, visit Yamaha.com and stop by your local Yamaha dealer today.
Watch all of the videos in our Yamaha Sessions series here.
This content is brought to you in partnership with Yamaha Guitars.
