Jeremiah
Wontsewitz: Guitar
Jimbo: Guitar
Defenestrator: Drums
yowie (you-e), n.
Cryptozoology. 1. A large, relict, egg laying hominoid descended from
Gigantopithecus, autochthonous to Southern Australia. This lucifugal
biped is known for its fulsome effluvium of ordure, and is characterized
by its pointed saggital crest and hexadactyly, with an opposable tibial
dactyl. Often growing to more than 8 centals, this omnivorous nocturnal
anthropoid has been reported to be necrophagous in times of penury.
Also Noocoonah, Doolagahl, Gooligah, Quinken, Thoolagal, Yaroma,
Yahoo.
HISTORY
Its profound
geographical isolation makes Australia an unlikely habitat for a missing
link that could exist for millions of years without being documented
by science, especially since no primates are indigenous to the continent.
Nevertheless, the land down under claims its own version of Bigfoot,
the Yowie. The creature's long history can be traced back to aborigine
legends. An aborigine folk tale explains that when their people first
migrated to Australia thousands of years ago, they encountered on
the new continent a savage race of ape-men. The aborigines' ancestors
went to war against the ape-men, and in the end the humans triumphed,
thanks to their ability to make weapons. - Bigfoot
Encounters
Three years in the making, Cryptooology, Yowie's debut album, is an
album at war. Yowie, a dual-guitar and drums trio from St. Louis,
have been stunning audiences with their incomparable barrage of sonic
kung fu. They accelerate the progressive-rock rhythmic sensibilities
of RUINS and MAGMA and mutate them with the shriekier side of BIG
BLACK and SLAYER. The band incorporates many variations in time signature,
tempo, and tuning, to create a virtual audio maze, but no matter how
complex things get their compositions remain cohesive and compelling.
Earlier this year, with their debut album still being recorded, the
strength of Yowie's live show alone garnered them a nomination in
The Riverfront Times' 2004 St. Louis Music Awards, alongside local
acts as diverse as Nelly and Chuck Berry to Jay Farrar and Chingy.
The Yowie has yet to be found in Australia, but can be found touring
the U.S. in support of Cyptooology this year and into 2005. The band
has already forged a strong Midwest following based solely on their
astounding live shows, performing with the likes of: CHEER-ACCIDENT,
THE FROGS, WESLEY WILLIS, THE CHINESE STARS, THE FLYING LUTTENBACHERS,
and X27, to name a few.
PRESS
QUOTES (pre-Cryptooology release):
"In the
band's three-year history, Yowie seems to have done everything in its
reach to make things as difficult on itself as possible. It is in this
constant self-challenge that one can see a sort of intellectual nobility
shining through songs that often sound as if they'll spin out of control
and whiz off into the ether. O'Connor's drumming is a befuddling barrage
of 32nd notes, jarring stops and cymbal splashes that defies simple
description, often calling to mind the rhythmic mayhem of the music
of Raymond Scott, the composer of scores for countless cartoons from
the 1940s. And the dueling, microtonally tuned guitars of Wonsewitz
and Hagerty engage in sonic relationships that don't seem to want to
exist, often creating dissonance that's oddly compelling. It's high-velocity
music of intense discipline, rigid structure and focused force; Yowie's
kung fu is very good. The aural ass-whupping they so effortlessly throw
down energizes, excites and amazes further with every listen. It's an
ululating tribute to human potential through music, a testament to the
fact that we as humans have much further to go. If music is the history
of the human spirit, Yowie proves that musicians could start being a
little more honest with themselves by seeking out every remote nook
and cranny in the mind and bathing the darkness in an unrelenting light
If it's possible to explain Yowie in one sentence, Hagerty has at least
come close, if not nailed it beautifully: 'The point is to free the
material and the given tools from each other."
- The Riverfront Times
"An incomprehensible blend of tightly wound math rock composition, but
played with 'expressive' guitars, making them sound more like blood
brothers to bands like U.S. Maple or Arab On Radar rather than Don Caballero.
Each song packs more composition than an entire album from most (bands)...
I've heard the future of music and my ears are still bleeding.
- Crackle Pop Journal
"Yowie is the best band St. Louis has ever seen."
- stlpunk.com
