Oakland hard rockers Y&T have been a durable fixture on the rock scene since their start more than 50 years ago. And while the metal masters have racked up more than four million units in sales, when it comes to recognition via awards, they’ve arguably never received their due. That’s about to change: Y&T will be presented with the Icon Award at this year’s Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, April 8-15.
An embryonic lineup of the group came together in 1972 as a quartet playing covers; for their first gig they thought up the name Yesterday & Today, a nod to the 1966 Beatles album that originally sported the notorious (and now rare) “butcher” cover. By 1974, the group had changed in two significant ways: Dave Meniketti had joined on lead guitar, and the band began to write its own material.
Yesterday & Today’s early albums earned positive reviews, but minimal support and tepid promotion by their label kept them from breaking out in a bigger way. In retrospect, it was a good thing when London Records dropped the band after 1978’s presciently-titled Struck Down. Signing with A&M Records and shortening their name to the snappier Y&T, the band’s classic era would begin.
The foursome—Meniketti plus rhythm guitarist Joey Alves, drummer Leonard Haze and bassist Phil Kennemore—would record and release five studio LPs and a live set between 1976 and ’86. Three of those melodic metal albums would appear on the Billboard 200; 1984’s In Rock We Trust peaked at No. 45. Notably—and unusually for an album-oriented hard rock act—Y&T landed three of its songs on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock singles chart in that period: 1983’s “Mean Streak” (No. 25), In Rock We Trust’s “Don’t Stop Running” from ‘84 (No. 33), 1985’s “All American Boy” (No. 48) and their biggest hit, “Summertime Girls” from 1985 (No. 16).
Meniketti—longtime leader of the band and today the sole surviving member from that classic era— looks back fondly on the lineup that turned out those hits and wowed audiences with its powerful live shows. He notes that the interaction among the players defined Y&T’s sound. “Phil had to really hold it down [on bass], because Leonard’s [drumming] style got wilder and wilder,” he says. “But Leonard and Phil had a great relationship through the years, with all of our songwriting and playing.”
The band’s lineup and style underwent a foundational change when Haze exited the band in 1987 (he’d return again in 2001 and remain with the group until 2007). In his place came a very different drummer, Jimmy DeGrasso. Where Haze played a straight-ahead style built around a drum kit with a single bass drum, DeGrasso made full use of a double-bass setup. “His style—and everything else that went with it—made quite a difference in the band,” Meniketti says, noting that DeGrasso’s approach freed Kennemore to play his bass in a more inventive and expressive manner.
By the late 1980s, Y&T entered a period in which the lineup would undergo multiple changes. Three of the classic four were still on board for 1990’s Ten and Yesterday & Today Live (1991), but the group went inactive in ’92. But within the space of three years, the lineup that made Ten had reunited, going on to craft a pair of studio records, 1995’s Musically Incorrect and the critically-acclaimed Endangered Species in 1998. The group continued as a popular live act, but didn’t release another studio record until 2010’s Facemelter. That record would be Y&T’s last with Kennemore, and first studio set with drummer Mike Vanderhule.
With Vanderhule on board, Meniketti says that Y&T came “full circle,” as his style is closer to that of original drummer Leonard Haze. But the lineup continued to rotate for a few more years before settling down to a stable, durable and powerful foursome that has now been together for many years.
An EP featuring acoustic arrangements of band classics (Acoustic Classix Vol. 1) appeared in 2018, but releasing new music isn’t the priority it once was. Facemelter remains Y&T’s most recent release of new material to date.
“Album releases don’t mean what they used to mean,” Meniketti explains. “In the ’70s and ’80s you made a big release, and it was part of getting airplay and booking a tour.” Today, he says, hardcore fans might enjoy hearing a new tune. “But will that sell more tickets?” he asks rhetorically. “And will it make us any money? No, not really.”
Yet Meniketti doesn’t categorically rule out a new Y&T single or album in the band’s future. “It’s not as simple as saying, ‘Hey, let’s go to a rehearsal studio, get together and write some songs,’” he says. “But it’s absolutely a possibility.” Instead, these days, Y&T focuses its energies on live performance. And with a seasoned, tight lineup, the band is well-positioned to do just that.
“John Nymann has been with us the longest,” Meniketti says. In fact, guitarist Nymann provided background vocals on Y&T records, and toured with the band for some time before joining officially in 2003. “I’ve known him since the very beginning of Y&T’s career,” Meniketti says. “He went to school with Leonard Haze; even before we became a band, he came over the first time Leonard and I rehearsed together.”
Meniketti points out that at 20 years, Mike Vanderhule has the distinction of being the drummer with the longest tenure in Y&T. “He’s a drummer’s drummer; with him, every night is consistent.” Relative newbie Aaron Leigh has been Y&T’s bassist for a decade. Even before joining, he played with bands that opened for Meniketti’s group.
“I was always impressed with his playing and his attitude,” Meniketti says. “When he first auditioned after Phil Kennemore passed away, that was the first time that the songs sounded like they did when Phil was in the band.”
Meniketti believes that this long-running current lineup is true to the original goals and spirit of Y&T. “I’d like to think that we haven’t really changed from the standpoint of how we put the songs across,” he says. “I’ve been a stickler for making sure that we play the songs the way that the original band did, but these guys had that attitude already. It’s about all of us working together to maintain the integrity of the songs; that’s been the standard all the way through our existence.”
Y&T’s significance, power and enduring appeal were all underscored by the appearance of a 2019 documentary film, Y&T: On With the Show. Narrated by rock historian, podcaster and radio personality Eddie Trunk, the film charts the group’s history, highlighting the band’s connections and tours with AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne and others. “It was pretty true to the band’s sentiments all the way through,” Meniketti says, adding that directors Geoff Ganz and Mark White “really captured our essence.”
Along the way, Y&T earned praise from some of the biggest names in hard rock and metal. Ronnie James Dio singled the band’s leader for special praise when he described Meniketti as “one of the most underrated singers on the face of the Earth.” Meniketti recalls his reaction when Dio put his arm around his shoulder after a gig and made that proclamation to everyone within earshot. “I was turning red, because he’s the god of this style of music.”
And now, a half century after Meniketti’s band released its debut album recorded in San Francisco, Y&T is receiving more recognition. At this year’s Poppy Jasper International Film Festival, the band will be presented with the Icon Award, in honor of what organizers describe as the group’s “pioneering influence on American rock music and their enduring five-decade legacy.”
Previous Icon Award recipients represent achievement across the spectrum of arts and entertainment; past honorees include Brian Auger, Ed Begley Jr., Edward James Olmos and Penelope Spheeris.
“From the very beginning, Poppy Jasper has always been about storytelling across disciplines,” says festival director Mattie Scariot. “Music, in particular, is essential to cinematic storytelling; it shapes emotion, memory and meaning.”
She explains that Y&T was selected for the Icon Award “because their story represents the very spirit of what Poppy Jasper stands for: independence, longevity, authenticity and community connection. What makes Y&T special is not just their music, but their endurance and integrity.”
The Icon Award will be presented to Meniketti and his band mates by Randy Spendlove, producer and two-time Grammy Award winner. “Music and film share the same emotional language,” Spendlove says. “And Y&T’s music has always carried a cinematic power. Honoring them at Poppy Jasper recognizes the role music plays in storytelling, and celebrates artists who’ve shaped culture well beyond a single medium.”
For his part, Meniketti appears equally appreciative and nonplussed to be honored with PJIFF’s Icon Award. “When I first heard about it, I thought, ‘Well, that’s… interesting,’” he says with a chuckle. But he emphasizes that in his view, Y&T has always been slightly under-recognized for its contributions to music. “But then, here’s a band from the Bay Area that’s been consistently popular for 52 years, so it’s nice to get recognition for that. And it’ll be fun.”
The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival runs from April 8-15 at venues around the south Bay Area. Y&T Icon Award presentation will be on April 7 at 6:30pm at Morgan’s Cove, Morgan Hill. pjiff.org
