By Katie Scarvey
kscarvey@salisburypost.com
Salisbury’s own Yadkin River Theory will be playing at Benchwarmers for a CD release party this Friday at 9 p.m. A Handful of Dave will open at 7 p.m.
Yadkin River Theory formed in 2009, led by Tony Green and Tripp Edwards. Rounding out the band are Kenny Thomas, Garrett Christy and Craig Hanks, who joined the band in 2010.
Except for Craig Hanks, who is from Charlotte, all of the band members hail from Salisbury.
Over the last year, the band’s popularity has led them to tour heavily; they’ve played venues up and down the east coast from New York City to Athens, Ga.
The group’s debut album is called “Born of Red Clay” and was recorded and mixed here in Salisbury by Jerod Jacobs and mastered at Studio B Mastering by Dave Harris in Charlotte.
The band’s sound has been described as “falling somewhere between Tom Petty and The Who, with some Dylan, Cure and Elvis Costello thrown in the mix.”
Undoubtedly — references to British bands notwithstanding — this is a band firmly rooted in Southern rock, even when they’re singing about the California coast, as they do in “Natalie Wood.”
The band’s Southern storytelling bent shines through in songs like “Johnny’s Grave,” a tale of vengeance that starts out with the line, “In a 67 Chevy he made his escape/after Jennifer Johnson accused him of rape.”
The album will be available at the show on CD. It is also available on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic, Rhapsody and most all major digital outlets on the web.