6.17.2010

Two Yetti sightings in one weekend...

About a week or so ago, Ben Coll of The Yetti (pic above) hollered at us talking about how cool these upcoming shows with The Quick & Easy Boys are gonna be. Consequently, we threw him some hard-hitting questions at him to learn more...

WVRS: What’s been going on with The Yetti in 2010?
BC: So far this year, we've only played a handful of shows. The band members live in Fayetteville, Charleston and Huntington. All of us have day jobs and some of us have kids, so, many times music has to take a back seat. Since we can't play all the time, we tend to pick more meaningful dates to book. This year we opened for Headtronics at the V Club and had a blast. Those guys were great and our drummer, Brad Kinder, got to jam with them for damn close to an hour and I must say, he held his own and really kicked the show up a notch. Made me proud.

Also, Back in April we played the Meuwl Memorial show at the Blue Parrot in Charleston. We've played a few times at Cantrell's Pub in Fayetteville, where the crowd response is the best in the state, in my opinion. And, as you know, we have this coming weekend booked for V Club and Cantrell's.

Since we don't play out as much anymore, I've been getting my musical jollies by assisting others with recording. I went to the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe OH, back in '08 and have been trying to focus more on that craft. Drummer Brad Kinder and I have a fledgling studio/recording biz, Big River Records, and are trying to get that rolling. Currently, we have started to collaborate with B. Rude, supplying him original music and recording his vocals for other tracks he brings in. Also, we plan on recording the next Vern's Pot O' Chili album here at our place and not guaranteed yet, but might do recording for The Fabulous Brothers Steele. So, yeah; involved pretty heavy in churning out some new music.

WVRS: So, you got your own recording gig going, is The Yetti gonna record new stuff anytime soon?
BC: Yeah. Most definitely. I don't think I'd like to work in a traditional studio setting where some dude sits around staring at you while you wait to be creative. So, having all this gear at home is a big plus. We can work at our leisure. We've got plenty songs demoed up, just waiting to get everyone together for a good session. It'll come out when it's ready. No hurry on that.

WVRS: How do you guys like playing the V Club?
BC: Our previous experiences with the V Club have been great. It's a pleasure dealing with Pat Guthrie and the sound man up there, Sam, is excellent. When we first played there, we were still pretty much based out of Huntington, and used to draw sizeable crowds. A lot of our fans from back then have kinda moved on and moved out of town, but we still got some good, supportive peeps up there.

WVRS: You guys played the V with The Quick & Easy Boys last year, how much are you looking forward to playing with them in Fayetteville?
BC: Everyone in our band thought they were killer. The crowd that night was decent, but not as wild as we're used to seeing in Fayetteville. The guys in Q&E were super cool and I told them if they ever come back and want to see how West Virginia really gets down, they need to stop through Fayetteville. So, turns out they remembered and I was contacted by their management and I got it set up with Cantrell's.

The Cantrell family treats us the best, so we play the majority of our gigs in the 'ville there. What's coolest about Cantrell's and the 'ville in general? It's definitely crowd participation. People down here enjoy a good time, always dance. With all the raft guides, kayakers, and climbers that migrate here and all the wily locals, the dirty hippy crowd is in full effect. So, yeah, it's usually a solid party atmosphere.

WVRS: What are your thoughts on The Quick & Easy Boys as a unit and the atmosphere people can expect?
BC: All really nice guys. When we met them, they all had pretty rad mustaches. Musically, they're pretty similar to us, but more polished. It's that whole thing of each band member bringing their own influences to the table and agreeing on the ones you have in common and taking that and making something hot. They touch on everything from the funk to honky tonk, much like us, and I think that kind of blend is just damn good to facilitate a party.

--- The Yetti will join the Quick & Easy Boys at the V Club in Huntington Fri. 6.18 and at Cantrell's in Fayetteville Sat. 6.19

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