The Yardbirds

The legendary British rockers the Yardbirds have reformed 35 years after changing the world of electric guitars, recorded a new CD, and will appear at Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel on July 16 at 7 p.m. as part of their American tour.

The legendary British rockers the Yardbirds have reformed 35 years after changing the world of electric guitars, recorded a new CD, and will appear at Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel on July 16 at 7 p.m. as part of their American tour.

Tickets are $40 from Ticketmaster but Dreamcatcher’s Club members can purchase tickets for just $20 at the Jackson Rancheria Box Office. The Box Office is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and accepts cash, credit cards, and Dreamcatcher’s Club points. Must be 18 to purchase tickets or attend the show.

By now, everyone knows the Yardbirds legend, if not their music; the band graduated three of the great Ph.D.s of rock guitar - Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page.

They created hard rock out of standard twelve-bar blues, doubling the tempos and whacking the amps up to ten. On the British club scene, the Yardbirds, the Animals, and the Rolling Stones ruled the stages.

The Yardbirds expanded the range of the electric guitar, experimenting with feedback, sustain, and fuzztone. They also coined and popularized the rave-up, a kind of free-for-all where you jam long and hard, not as soloists, but in a tandem, until you reach an epiphany about 10 or 20 or 30 minutes later, a shuddering climax of decibels and pure energy, and then back into the song for one more boom-boom chorus.

“We won’t attempt to write a book on the Yardbirds here,” sayings founding member Chris Dreja. “We’ll simply reiterate that the Yardbirds, perhaps more than any other group, brought guitar pyrotechnics to rock & roll in the 1960s. By introducing Clapton, Beck and Page to the world, and giving them plenty of space to create, the band set the template not only for Cream, the Jeff Beck Group and Led Zeppelin (whose original moniker was the New Yardbirds), but for virtually every rock group featuring distortion, feedback and in-your-face electric-guitar virtuosity.

Three years after their 1992 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Yardbirds reformed, but they chose to stay below the radar, tweaking their lineup and working up material.

That has changed with the release of their first new studio recording since 1967’s “Little Games.” What’s surprising about the new music “Birdland” is that, a full 35 years later, the sound remains distinctly and electrifyingly that of the Yardbirds. It’s also very much of the moment, as another generation of gritty, guitar-slinging units like the White Stripes, the Hives, the Strokes and the Vines connects with the reinvigorated rock audience.

Among the talents of founding members Chris Dreja (rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Jim McCarty (drums, backing vocals) is a knack for locating brilliant guitar players.

The Yardbirds tradition of working with musicians of extreme individual talent and potential has lead to passing the guitarists mantle to a new generation of player. Twenty-one year old Ben King has stunned everyone in the band with his unbelievable natural gifts and feel for our music.

Filling out the group are Detroit-reared frontman/bassist John Idan, a lifelong Yardbirds fan who views his gig as a labor of love, and onetime Nine Below Zero member Alan Glen blowing harp in the spirit of the late Keith Relf, the band’s original lead singer.

The group’s music includes new recordings of some original Yardbird classics, including “For Your Love” and “Shapes of Things,” along with new material.

“None of us are youngsters, of course,” points out Dreja, “And we don’t know how many years left of touring there may be. So this is going to be a pivotal moment for us, no doubt. But this is a band. That is what the Yardbirds are, warts and edginess and all. It’s the real thing.”

Don’t miss this new version of one of the founding groups of rock and roll.

For more on the Yardbirds visit theyardbirds.com.