The wonderful debut album from Drakes Hotel was released on Reverb Records in May 2007. Entitled "Tell Me Everything," the 11 song album is inspired from their travels, having lived in Santa Cruz, Seattle, Omaha, Portland and now Iowa over the past few years. The prolific team of Chris Y and Amy Drake had assembled two to three albums worth of songs and had a pretty tough time paring down the tracklisting for this debut, but the result is nothing short of amazing. Their musical influences span the atmospheric spectrum. It’s safe to say that the fuzzy guitars of Chris Y, the beautiful and surreal vocals of Amy Drake fit right in with the rest of the Reverb camp. The music of Drakes Hotel comes singularly from the spirit and soul of Amy Drake, Chris Y and their old-school drum machines, samplers, guitars and technical trickery. The two met in a record store in Santa Cruz, CA in 2003 and found some instant musical chemistry. Soon after meeting, they moved to Seattle to begin work on their first set of songs. They put out a very limited self released CD two months later and it quickly sold out. Having grown tired of city life they decided to move again to start work on their next CD. They chose the isolation of Amy's family farm in the middle of nowhere outside of Blanchard, Iowa. The isolation served their songs well as they completed two CDs worth of material, some of which would later end up on their official debut album. However, the harsh winter and desolate atmosphere began to take its toll and they fled to Amy's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. There they finished meticulously mixing their songs. It was about that time that they entered into the world of social networking. There they found immediate and enthusiastic fans. It was also there that they were first introduced to Reverb Records, which released it’s official debut album “Tell Me Everything.” The music scene in Omaha was in full bloom when Drakes Hotel arrived with the Saddle Creek Record's bands having enjoyed national and international success. They were graciously welcomed by local artists to the area stages where they worked to translate the dynamic intensity and cinematic scope of their recordings to their audiences. Having done away with drummers the band has taken the beats from their recordings and simplified and reimagined them for the live experience. Their use of multiple older drum machines is integral to their intense live show.
Chris Y. recorded and toured throughout the US in the late 80's and early 90's as a member of Baltimore Post Punk/New Wave band Social Skill which later became Immortal (the US version). They released numerous tapes and one LP "Paradigm" which you can still find in various record shops around Baltimore. He performed solo throughout the 90's as "The Candelions" and released two EPs "Flights and Wires" and "Hearts and Choirs" in 2003. His distinctive style relies on unusual tunings, odd chords, and an imaginative use of effects. He has engineered and produced all of Drakes Hotel's music. In 2009 their song “Here’s to the Days” off of their “Tell Me Everything” release was licensed to the USA Network television series Royal Pains, which was coincidentally the band’s favorite show at the time. Their follow-up album “Sparks that March” was self-released in 2009 to a great deal of fanfare. They’re currently back in the studio working on a new album.
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