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They never had a chart-topping hit, save for that one summertime tune that put them on the Billboard. They didn’t dominate MTV. But for decades, Y&T has done what few bands can: outlive the hype.
Y&T has graced Bay Area stages for years. Van Halen, Metallica, Poison and Motley Crue, at some point, opened for them. Y&T plays a heavy rock style and continues to maintain popularity in the Bay Area and Europe as the band members enter their 60s and 70s.
Guitarist John Nymann does not take that impressive longevity for granted.
Y&T celebrated their 50th anniversary last year and are on another tour this year. On Saturday, April 5, Y&T played Redwood City’s Fox Theatre, one of their frequent tour stops.
“It was special at the 40th (anniversary) and the 45th, and we were hoping we’d be able to get to the 50th,” guitarist John Nymann said. “Then Meniketti and his cancer scare…”
Dave Meniketti, 71, is the only remaining original member of Y&T (formerly named Yesterday & Today). He’s the lead vocalist and lead guitarist with a powerful voice. In February 2022, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“It was an easy fix, because they caught it really early,” Nymann said. “We weren’t too afraid. But, anytime that word comes up, it’s never good.”
A year later, Meniketti announced he was in complete remission.
Touring at 69 years old is not a feat Nymann and the band take lightly.
“When I first got into Y&T as a guitar player with the three original members, I remember our manager saying, ‘maybe (in) a few years, people will see an old band from yesteryear, they will die off, and you guys probably won’t keep playing after that,’” Nymann recalled “… Well, that didn’t happen at all.”
After the Fox Theatre, Y&T has one show in Reno, Nev., and another in Rocklin, Calif. Then, they play in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. They’ll finish their tour in November in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
“We just kept getting more popular, playing more countries and more people (are attending),” Nymann said. “Word got around, and the band slowly built up stamina to playing and being on stage.”
In 2018, Y&T released acoustic versions of six songs called Acoustic Classix Vol. 1. The band released their latest album Facemelter in 2010. Nymann says the band is considering making more new music and acoustic re-recordings.
“It’s on the back burner,” Nymann shared. “Something when we get around to it, we could do … It’s up to (Meniketti); with the cancer and everything he’s been through, his mind just wasn’t in that headspace. But lately, he’s been saying, ‘I’m up for doing another record at some point.
“I hope we do, because we’re not getting any younger,” Nymann added.
Nymann attended the same high school as the band’s original drummer, Leonard Haze. Nymann saw Meniketti, Haze, Phil Kennemore and Joey Alves jamming locally in the band’s infancy.
Nymann had played for the Eric Martin Band (Martin is the lead singer of Mr. Big) and the Greg Khin band before joining Y&T as a full-time member in 2003.
“It feels like family,” Nymann said. “‘You grew up (with us) and you’re good enough to join us now.’ I told all my friends, ‘I’m in Y&T! I can’t believe it.’”
“I was 16, he was 18, now he’s 71 and I just turned 69,” Nymann continued. “We have a long friendship, so (that) makes it extra special for those years of being friends and guitar players.”
Surprisingly, the band is still touring despite limited commercial success.
“It’s uncommon for a band that doesn’t have any hits,” Nymann said. “Y&T is not a hit band that had a million-seller. To reach that audience, it just happened naturally, word of mouth. ‘Summertime Girls’ is the only song in the US that got any notice, and that was after the band had been together for six albums.”
“Summertime Girls” topped at 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the only Y&T song to ever chart on Billboard. Despite that, the band will still play songs from their 12 studio albums to hundreds of cheering fans this Saturday and throughout the tour.
“If you like bands that have great lead singing, great lead guitar playing and great strong drumming, like Led Zeppelin or White Snake … You might want to see Y&T,” Nymann said. “Meniketti is a force to be reckoned with.
“He doesn’t show any signs of slowing down,” he added.
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