Article By: Taylor Waring ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway
[Editor’s intro] Dubuque, Iowa’s Telekinetic Yeti began their journey in 2015, and in only a couple of years these two gents have steadily and strongly ascended. Just in time for FireBreather Fest (today!) in Indianapolis, IN, we have a chat with the duo for you before the show. Back in July of last year, Halsey reviewed their 2017 debut full-length ‘Abominable’ [review].
Taylor recently spent a quick minute yapping with Alex and Anthony about their album, upcoming recording, and tour plans, as well as their appearances at today’s FireBreather Fest and September’s Descendants Of Crom. ~ Leanne
Telekinetic Yeti is:
Alex Baumann – Guitar, Vocals
Anthony Dreyer – Drums
RIFF RELEVANT [Taylor]: On a scale of Spoon Kid in ‘The Matrix’ to Dr. Xavier, what is the extent of your telekinetic powers?
TELEKINETIC YETI: Spoons, forks, knives, sporks, it’s pretty extensive. We’ve been going back and watching old Star Wars movies lately, which inspired us to experiment with the telekinetic choke. We can grow marijuana telekinetically, as well. It’s really great.
RIFF RELEVANT [Taylor]: How many of those cool stage lights have you broken on tour? Have you ever considered switching to a clap light?
TELEKINETIC YETI: All of them, besides one. We’re considering switching to flesh lights.
RIFF RELEVANT [Taylor]: I’m sure the brute strength of the Yeti combined with telekinesis makes loading and unloading all your amps relatively easy, but are there any downfalls to touring as just two crypto-hominids?
TELEKINETIC YETI: It requires a lot of good food to keep our powers going, specifically bananas, raw flesh, stuff like that. Sometimes it can be a challenge to find the time for proper nourishment on the road. A bonus, though, is say you play a show and each band gets 20 free drinks… well, as just two hairy fucks that’s not too shabby.
RIFF RELEVANT [Taylor]: ‘Abominable‘ has been out for a year now. How has the last year treated you?
TELEKINETIC YETI: Really great. Everything’s really been snowballing. It all started with the “Stoned and Feathered” music video and great album reviews once we released Abominable. We then were fortunate enough to have the opportunities to tour with Weedeater, Truckfighters, and 1000mods.
Coming up in July, we have some shows with Black Label Society and Corrosion Of Conformity, which we are very excited about. [dates below] We are also looking at doing a headlining tour at some point here. Most likely in the summer.
RIFF RELEVANT [Taylor]: Anything planned for the next record that you can chat about?
TELEKINETIC YETI: We are fairly far along in writing the next record. We have around seven or so songs that we have finished writing and more in the works. We are really excited about the new stuff and feel like it’s all a step in the right direction.
Overall, we think it has better grooves and is catchier than our first release, and there’s quite a bit more vocals than our first album had. We are planning to get to the studio by the end of the year, possibly sooner, it all just depends on our touring schedule.
RIFF RELEVANT [Taylor]: You’re headlining FireBreather Fest. Is this the first fest you’ve headlined? What bands are you most stoked to share the stage with?
TELEKINETIC YETI: Yes, that is the first fest we will have headlined. We are really excited to share the stage with Greenbeard, Toke, and Archarus.
I’m sure the other bands that we haven’t gotten a chance to check out will be awesome, too. We know the Riff Relevant and Doomed and Stoned folks helping to put it on have great taste in bands, so I’m sure it’s gonna be a treat.
RIFF RELEVANT [Taylor]: Rumor has it (okay, confirmed) you’ll also be on Descendants of Crom Fest. What does it mean to you to be descended from Crom?
TELEKINETIC YETI: To us it means we are the descendants of a god of thunder and doom.
TELEKINETIC YETI:
Website | Facebook | Big Cartel | Bandcamp | Spotify
Tour Dates:
4/14 – Indianapolis, IN @ FIREBREATHER FESTIVAL
7/16 – Peoria, IL @ Monarch Music Hall w/Black Label Society, Corrosion Of Conformity
7/17 – Joliet, IL – @ The Forge w/Black Label Society, Corrosion Of Conformity
7/29 – Hartford, CT @ The Webster w/Black Label Society, Corrosion Of Conformity
9/28 – Pittsburgh, PA @ DESCENDANTS OF CROM
Details on FireBreather:
A one-day stoner rock festival, FireBreather Fest is TODAY – Saturday, April 14th, 2018, at Indiana City Beer 24 Shelby St, Indianapolis, Indiana, and will begin at 3:00 pm (EST). The event is 21+. Food is available all-day by Black Metal BBQ.
There will be ELEVEN heavy stoner rock and metal bands at FIREBREATHER FEST:
TELEKINETIC YETI | GREENBEARD | TOKE | HORSEBURNER | HEAVY TEMPLE | STONECUTTERS | HOWLING GIANT | SUPER MOON | VOID KING | THE MOUND BUILDERS | ARCHARUS
SATURDAY, APRIL 14th @ Indiana City Beer
FireBreather tickets can be purchased via Brown Paper Tickets or at the door:
https://firebreather2018.brownpapertickets.com/
TONESMITH is host and presenter of FireBreather Fest and sponsored in part by Riff Relevant, as well as Blackseed Records, Indy Metal Vault, Kuma’s Corner, NWO Metal Militia, Doomed and Stoned, and Eleven Productions.
