As Of Yet is one of those bands that is hard to describe in a few simple words because there's so much in their musical stew. First, how about the basics? They're based in Lexington, KY and all four of them attend the University of Kentucky.
Their influences range from Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, and The Who to Warren Zevon, Tori Amos and assorted jazz stuff. Oh, by the way, As Of Yet is Scott Arrington (vocals/guitar), Kristian Klaene (guitar), Neal Fitch (drums) and Andy Leathers (bass).
Arrington, Klaene and Fitch met in 1992 at the Kentucky Governor's Scholars program where they jammed a bit after discovering mutual musical ground. The band as it is today actually came together two years ago at U.K. with the addition of Leathers. "I think it should be known that Andy was essentially appointed our bass player. He happened to live on the same floor of the dorm and we needed a bass player in a hurry." Don't for a moment think that this necessity is what kept them together, though. Its the chemistry, which is especially apparent in the interaction of the "world's greatest rhythm section" as Fitch and Leathers have been dubbed by many (including myself).
The recent culmination of influences, creativity and chemistry is an album entitled Leave Bronx that exemplifies everything As Of Yet is: dynamic, fresh rock n' roll coupled with a funky, fried chicken lovin' shake-your-ass groove that's hard not to dig. And the most outstanding thing about it? It was recorded on a four-track. "Scott had mixes in multi-colored graphs before we even officially decided to record. We called him a geek for it, but without his passion for planning the album wouldn't have been as successful as it is," so observed Klaene. "When the time came for recording, I was more than willing to take on the burden of saving us money by taking the DIY route," says Arrington. "As something of a perfectionist, I set the quality goal too high (CD quality), and in the end actually surprised myself and everyone else with how well it came out."
And for a young band that has mainly played around Lexington, at places such as the Wrocklage (before its demise), J.D.I. and Lynagh's and gotten airplay on UK's WRFL and good reviews in the Kentucky Kernel, surprising things keep happening.Hey, they can even pull off these songs acoustically, as evidenced by a recent show at the Coffee Stop in Lexington, which was attended by a great many people. Great songs, a terrific recording, and above all a respect and chemistry with the band itself that's so seldom seen these days. As Fitch said when asked the "delusions of grandeur" question (as he put it), "I'd really like to see AoY play in Cincinnati and Louisville... maybe try to establish a regional following." As with all good things, they start small and can grow into mighty big things, just like As Of Yet is doing.
-Scot N. Kaeff
Contact Zone: As Of Yet
923 Journal Avenue
Lexington, KY 40508
http://sac.uky.edu/~slarri00/AsofYet