Tim Yunker On State of Scene, New Company Tim Yunker Media Group

Tim Wenger | July 1, 2015

by Tim Wenger

Tim Yunker is a veteran in this city’s music scene, having fronted both Tim Yunker & The Sound Junkies as well as Steele & Colfax, hosted an internet radio show (that featured a nice cameo by myself on an episode back in 2012), and working as a videographer. He recently launched a new company called Tim Yunker Media Group and has his services up for offer for all of your filming and editing needs. I caught up with Tim to get the latest on this project and his thoughts on the state of the hip hop scene here in the Mile High City.

CMB: Give us some background on how this concept came to be and was launched.

TY: The idea is a culmination of fifteen active years in the entertainment scene as both a performer and engineer/videographer. When I was at school at CU Denver for Recording Arts, I always preferred, and had the ability to, do my school projects from my home studio. Though in hindsight I wasted studio time on some great gear, I’m glad for the experience as is taught me just where the world of digital recording is in 2015. While going through the music scene here in Colorado and beyond, I always ran in to the same problem: artists feeling ripped off by the big studio business model, and a general sense that there has to be a better way to spend resources to secure a good product. I kept waiting for someone to fill this vacuum as I did contract work for a lot of these production houses, yet no one seemed willing to genuinely work with the artists who came through their studio. I went through the big studio process myself with a couple different projects, and I have to admit I felt taken advantage of. I felt if I dropped $1200 for one song it should come out sounding pretty stellar, but I was disappointed every time. I came out with a very cookie cutter product. So as time progressed, I decided to start offering these services myself. Something invaluable that CU taught me is that you can have all the gear and knobs in the world, the most important part of the recording process is who is behind those knobs. This developed in to Tim Yunker Media Group. You can think of it as a studio by artists for artists. I’ve been on both sides of this process and recognize how important, even necessary, it is to feel like you’re handing your creative project off to someone who will do everything in their power to realize your vision for what is, after all, sacred to artists; our creativity. I also know how hard it is out here. Resources are limited, that $1200 can go a long ways. That can be the start of a mini-tour, merchandise being pressed up that might actually start generating capital for your band or project. You might come out of the studio with an album, if you spend the same amount as you will on a car, but now you have no way to push that product as you just spent all of your money in the studio. I work within the artist’s budget, don’t charge hourly, and include post-production in every quote. So you can spend that money for one song, or I can produce an album for you. I collaborate on every mix, and will never call a project wrapped until both parties are as satisfied as humanly possible. Why would I put my name behind something I can’t be proud of? I want you to hand your album off to the next customer with absolute faith that they will be satisfied. Every genre is accommodated. Sorry Tim, I know that’s a little long winded.

CMB: You say that you are trying to generate a ‘positive feel in the hip hop scene.’ How do you plan to do that?

TY: Denver has a much better hip hop scene than most people think. We’re launching a platform this summer that I’m really excited about called COlab. The idea behind this is to bring artists from across all genres together for an intimate live performance. Emcees aren’t necessarily used to performing with live instrumentation. It puts them in to a different realm that is much more organic an accessible. We’ve got artists lined up to do specific features that will be taped with state of the art equipment, and delivered across all medium of social media and beyond. We regularly bring a camera downtown and start up a cypher circle, freestyling, and you’d be surprised at how many talented cats you run in to who simply haven’t had a platform like this to foster their ability or get the word out to a broader audience. I’ve found that this is a great first step in encouraging up and coming artists to pursue their craft and become more involved In the scene. The production is similar to teambackpack.net, but much more extensive. We have some singer/songwriters, full metal bands, poets and comedians lined up to take part. If you’re interested in this, it’s free of charge and you can contact info@timyunker.com for more details.

CMB: Do you feel that the scene is pretty divided right now and how so?

TY: For sure, though not as much as it used to be. Hip hop is a funny game in general man. There’s a vicious ego that you almost have to possess in order to compete at all. I can attest to that. If you call yourself an emcee, you better live and breathe this. It’s different than other genres in that regard. Inherent beef is present and you can expect your skill to be tested. That’s just the game, but that can obviously damage the underlying community that is so important in any genre for success in a given market. Bands all know or know of each other out here where as one emcee isn’t necessarily aware of the next. As anyone who has ever been in a band can attest, community is crucial to upward mobility. The only way you’re going to jump up to the next tier is if, usually, someone gives you a hand up. The scene is so divided out here that you can pretty much divide it in to different districts on a map. Northern Colorado has their thing going on, shout to all my people up in FoCo, but they’re not aware of what’s going on in say, Aurora and ACO isn’t aware of what the Denver scene is on to. I feel like the emcees doing the best right now, take 3Two for example, are putting all that aside and making a conscious effort to show that to him, it’s all love. He’s a beast who could body about anybody in this town, but you’ll never see him come across like that. As a result, he’s got a much bigger face in the game. I’m ready to battle anybody, anywhere, but that only takes you so far. You have to squash beef, let things slide past your rapper ego, and play the same, bigger game that every musician has to go through. It’s a hard enough scene as is, no reason to make it harder by thinking you’re the hardest rapper alive, for real you’re not. I am J

CMB: You up to anything musically right now?

TY: You know me man, I can’t stay still for long. Dylan McCarthy, former bassist of Steele & Colfax, are about the polish off our first full length, a long with one of the rawest emcees I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, Avery J. and I’ll tell you objectively man, this really is the best music I’ve personally written thus far. I can’t wait for you guys to hear it. Keep an eye on T.Y.M.G. for more info. I never stop for long.

CMB: Where can I learn more?

TY: You can check out the website for direct information on services that we provide, www.timyunker.com and be sure to stay up on the facebook page, facebook.com/tymg5280, to see what we’re up to. Things are happening fast so the facebook page is the best place to get ready for what we have up our collective sleeve.