Once a week, there's a place in Tempe where time takes a cigarette and country music lovers are transported to the smokey, whiskey soaked days of the early 1970's. Dana Armstrong, a third-generation Valley of the Sun girl, has done her level best to conjure up that bygone era for patrons of Yucca Tap Room at Southern Avenue and Mill.
For the past five years, Armstrong has hosted Valley Fever, Sunday nights at Yucca Tap. At the weekly gig and various special events throughout the year, fans can experience a more authentic version of the "Arizona country" Dana and many grew up with, albeit with much less nicotine.
"I wanted to recreate a kind of old Arizona feel...kind of like Mr. Lucky's" Says, Armstrong. Mr. Lucky's, which closed in 2004, was a long-time favorite of the Valley honky-tonk set. Although it spawned such pale imitations as big-box country-themed clubs Graham Central Station and Toby Keith's, Mr. Lucky's was there from the get go, and there was nothing ironic, kitschy or retro about it's country/western character.
"I wanted to rebuild that moment. I just brought the records I wanted to hear to the place I wanted to hear them," she explains. "I invited everybody I knew and hoped some would show up...I figured if they stayed that was just a bonus. I didn't want to force it on anybody - Whoever else appreciated it, that's who I wanted to be there."
Dana thinks the Yucca Tap Room was the perfect environment. "It looked right - it's been there for forty years."
The Yucca Tap Room is kind of easy to miss, but once you find it you'll understand the appeal. To say it's unassuming is an understatement. It looks very much as it has for forty years, just off the southwest corner of Southern and Mill, with a low, flat roof and peeling paint. Yucca still doesn't accept credit cards, either - yet another charming throwback to the past!
Once inside, though, the atmosphere is warm, and you can hear some of the best music in town. "After about three months [spinning records at Valley Fever], we decided to start adding [live] music...usually just one band every Sunday…"
The bands are mostly NOT cover bands, though. "Some of them are just straight honkey-tonk bands, like Junction Ten...they write their own songs, but they sound like they're from 1975, which is perfect for me. I can't really label it...we have some bands that come at it from a sort of folk angle, but they all have the same spirit. The bands don't stick to covering those songs, but they're definitely strongly influenced and inspired by those old songs."
Valley favorite Flathead is part of what Dana calls the "Valley Fever family" of bands. "Greg Swanholm [lead singer of Flathead] is like our biggest supporter...he was there from the beginning and still comes every Sunday," she says. "The thing about Flathead is they're so unique and hard to categorize...I don't know what to call their music, but it fits right in."
Armstrong has noticed the popular re-discovery of country/western culture of late, but draws a distinction between that and Valley Fever. "It may be a trend right now generally, but at Valley Fever it's the real deal." Instead of re-packaging and borrowing from the original version of the culture, "we're actually trying to re-cultivate and delve into it."
Why 1970's honkey tonk? "I have this thing where I just want to be living in a very specific era...it goes back to my childhood and my dad's taste in music...Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Mo Bandy…" She plays older stuff, too. "I'll play anything from the fifty's...Hank Snow, Hank Thompson...but my favorite is the late 60's to early 70's."
In addition to Sundays, Valley Fever typically hosts several day-long events throughout the year. "We have our annual all-day show called the Quarantine usually in March. Last year we had Waylon day, to celebrate his birthday, then we had HanksGiving, where six bands played all Hank Williams covers."
"It's still fun!"
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