Last month I sent out a heads up on how to catch YellowFever, the band not the pneumonia, on tour, while sharing a lovely comic depicting the formation of the duo. I tried in vain
to catch one of their performances, but incongruous schedules hindered my attempts to get to the cats behind the human suits. I
eventually caught up with Adam and Jennifer to bug them with my list of
curiosities.
Love the name. Curious to hear what possessed you
both to take a band name after what Wikipedia calls “an acute viral hemorrhagic disease?”
We thought of it as choosing a name for a sports team. Cougars, Oilers, Giants, etc… We wanted it to be intimidating .
What influenced you two to turn your moniker
YellowFever into a single word, no spaces?
Being that Yellow Fever is so scary, it has become a very popular
choice for bands and sports teams alike. We've eliminated the space to
set ourselves apart from the pack.
Adam, how do you manage your multi-tasking duties of
keyboards, drums, vocals and other miscellaneous instruments?
While
doing multiple things at once, I seem to rely on muscle memory more
than anything else. The more I think about it, the harder it is to do. I
feel like I play simpler than I normally would, and in general that’s a
good thing.
Mad respect, I could never find that kind of
coordination. I once attempted playing a Moe Tucker style floor tom and snare
setup while manning a Discman for back up loops and accompaniment. I did it for
a good Monterey bro and the gig was at the nefarious former Shadow Lounge in SF
and totally blew it; no coordination, no rhythm whatsoever. Dude didn’t speak
to me for a couple weeks. We’re still homies now, but I learned to appreciate
people with a sense for rhythm and juggling.
The
very first show we did as a two piece I totally blew it. We opened for
this band Voxtrot and the place was packed. I got so nervous that I
forgot how to play. It was very embarrassing.
How did you both get into making music?
We were bad at everything else. Also, we look bad in Khaki slacks.
Jennifer,
what’s the word on your old band Carrots? Do you still talk to any of
those gals? Any future projects with them or releases?
I'm
not sure what they're up to. Chef (drummer of the Carrots) is my running
partner. He has an amazing children's music band called The Telephone
Company you should check out.
How did the ‘Fever happen?
Playing outside and not wearing a coat. We met at the hospital in the pneumonia ward.
How has the touring been going thus far? Give us war
stories.
I have a war hero
story. We played in Des Moines, IA at a venue across the street from an
apartment complex for the elderly. While doing laundry and eating
chinese pizza across the street, we became acquainted with many of the
residents and a physician eating pizza with his wife. They all came the
show and bought merchandise. It was a fun night.
The sound has a very synergistic sound, kinda like the
magic you hear on some of those old Miles and Pharoah Sanders discs where they
are bouncing notes back and forth to each other. Do you both just jam out on
whatever instruments and then apply the lyrics or the other way around or how?
We
usually have a vocal melody and kind of build the song around that. We
generally do everything to compliment, in one way or another, the vocal
melody. It's funny you should reference old Jazz dudes, that's all I listen to.
Austin is the heartland of all things music. In what
was if any does Austin affect YellowFever?
It makes it easy to live here. We get health insurance, mental health
treatment, and fancy ear plugs for being musicians in Austin through
this thing called H.A.A.M.(Health Alliance for Austin Musicians). The
scene doesn't seem to work together much, but it's neat to be around
other musicians.
What Austin bands should we be looking for that we’re
not listening to but really should be?
Silent Diane, Hatchet Wound, Air Waves, Daniel Francis Doyle, Rebecca Havemeyer, I'm sure there are more.
Rumors talk of a much anticipated album in the
works. Care to confirm or deny?
Confirmed. Should be done in Early September.
Will the album be on Wide World?
We're not really sure yet. We have several options. We'll let you know.
