Bechtolt was born in Astoria, Oregon and began playing music as a teenager, dropping out of high school to play drums in his brother's touring punk band. He started working with electronics in the late 1990s and began releasing solo records under the name YACHT in 2003. Nearly all of his recordings have been distributed by both Marriage Records and States Rights Records.
Claire Evans came of age playing in bands in the underground noise scene of Los Angeles, and was part of the Portland-based The World Court. She has presented her PowerPoint performances at MoMA PS1, The Kitchenand the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art and has collaborated with Bechtolt on literally hundreds of projects since they met in 2004.
In 2003, Bechtolt was commissioned to create a full length audio/visual electronic pop opera by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA). He performed with his group The Badger King with bandmate Marianna Ritchie (a Wolf Colonel and Dear Nora alumnus who went on to record alone as Manta, and then Mantar).
In 2006, Bechtolt collaborated with Khaela Maricich as half of the pop group The Blow to release Paper Television. Bechtolt toured extensively with The Blow, providing beats and backup vocals until quitting the band in 2007 in order to focus on his work in YACHT.
In January 2006, Bechtolt was commissioned for two performances for the New York based art and technology platform Rhizome, as part of their "Crap-tops vs Laptops" show. In February 2006, he performed at the Museum of Modern Art's P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center and produced an hour-long internet radio program with Clear Cut Press; a Northwest-based publisher of new literary work.
In 2007, for the release party for YACHT's album I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real, Bechtolt performed a concert on an actual yacht on the Willamette River in Portland.
The 2009 release, See Mystery Lights, was the first to feature Claire Evans as a group member.
YACHT live performances include dancing as well as elaborate PowerPoint presentations. Bechtolt documents his professional and sometimes personal life via video, text, and images on his blog.
In 2010, YACHT expanded to include The Straight Gaze; a backing band of 2 additional members. Bobby Birdman plays bass guitar and sings backing vocals while Jeffrey Jerusalem plays drums. In this incarnation Bechtolt and Evans both play instruments.
Bechtolt is a co-founder of the Portland-based popular blogging web community Urban Honking as well as the producer, editor, cameraman and a writer of The Ultimate Blogger.
Both Bechtolt and Evans are vegans.
Sites: YouTube, SoundCloud, Discogs, Wikipedia, Twitter and www.teamYACHT.com
Shangri-La
YACHT Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There are more fun places here that I can patronize
And you my friend aren't born again
You're dead already
If I can't go to heaven let me go to LA
Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day
If we build a Utopia will you come and stay?
St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I love my friends in hell, as above and so below
When the rapture comes, if you don't mind
I'll be waiting down here and sweating
If I can't go to heaven let me go to LA
Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day
If we build a Utopia will you come and stay?
Shangri-la la la la la la la la la
Accumulating cumulus in our backyard
My puzzle pieces fooling heaven bit by bit
Beneath this jigsaw sky I sit
And wonder wonder wonder where do I fit?
If I can't go to heaven let me go to LA
Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day
If we build a Utopia will you come and stay?
Shangri-la la la la la la la la la
YACHT’s song Shangri-La is a playful commentary on the concept of heaven and the idea of utopia. The song opens with the artist expressing a desire not to go to paradise in the afterlife, but rather to stay in the earthly realm and enjoy all the fun places that it has to offer. YACHT’s lyrics also seem to challenge religious doctrine by questioning the idea of being born again; they suggest that those who believe in this doctrine are already walking dead.
The chorus “If I can’t go to heaven let me go to LA, Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day”, is repeated throughout the song. YACHT is suggesting that heaven is not the ultimate destination, and that there are other places on earth that can be just as pleasurable. The song title “Shangri-La” is a metaphor for the perfect paradise, and YACHT is questioning whether such a place can be created on earth. YACHT poses the question “If we build a Utopia will you come and stay?”, it seems that YACHT is suggesting that a utopia is possible, and it can be created on earth for people to enjoy.
The last verse of the song is particularly interesting. YACHT describes the sky with “Accumulating cumulus in our backyard, My puzzle pieces fooling heaven bit by bit”, it’s as if YACHT is suggesting they are building their own paradise instead of waiting for one to be built for them. The last two lines of the song, “And wonder wonder wonder where do I fit? If I can’t go to heaven let me go to LA, Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day, If we build a Utopia will you come and stay? Shangri-la la la la la la la la la” seem to suggest that YACHT has found a sense of belonging in creating their own paradise on earth.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want to die and go on off to paradise
I would rather live life to the fullest in the many fun places here on earth than die and go to paradise.
There are more fun places here that I can patronize
There are many places on earth that are more fun than the idea of going to paradise after death.
And you my friend aren't born again
You have not experienced a spiritual rebirth or undergone a transformation in your life.
You're dead already
You are living a life without any ambition or passion, making it as good as being dead already.
If I can't go to heaven let me go to LA
If I can't have what is ideal, then I'd rather make the most of the good things I can have, which is Los Angeles in this case.
Or the far West Texas desert or an Oregon summer day
Other great options for me to enjoy life to the fullest are the deserts of West Texas or a beautiful summer day in Oregon.
If we build a Utopia will you come and stay?
If a perfect society or community is created, would you be willing to live in it?
Shangri-la la la la la la la la la
A perfect place or society where everything is ideal and happy.
St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I cannot go to heaven even if St. Peter calls because I don't believe in that concept.
I love my friends in hell, as above and so below
I am content being with my friends who are not religious or do not believe in a higher power, because in life as in death, humans are all equal.
When the rapture comes, if you don't mind
In the event of the rapture, the epic event as predicted by the mythology of Christianity, and when everyone else is ascending, I will stay behind.
I'll be waiting down here and sweating
I will stay on earth and suffer through all the difficulties that come with it.
Accumulating cumulus in our backyard
Clouds building up in our backyard, a metaphor for the complications and layers that we experience in life.
My puzzle pieces fooling heaven bit by bit
My life may not make sense, but I am living it the way I want to, piece by piece going against the ideals of heaven.
Beneath this jigsaw sky I sit
Underneath the sky that is fragmented and does not make complete sense, I sit and wonder about my existence.
And wonder wonder wonder where do I fit?
I constantly question where I belong in this world and whether I fit in anywhere.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: CLAIRE LOUISE EVANS, JONATHAN WARREN BECHTOLT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind