INTERVIEW: Yam Haus

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INTERVIEW BY: Caitlin McGeehan 

PHOTO BY: Victoria Smith

Indie trio Yam Haus are currently on tour bringing their EP Stupid and Famous to stages across the US. They played World Cafe Live last month and are wrapping up the tour in Chicago in mid-November. WHIP had the chance to connect with the band about their experience in Philly, the decision to go guitar-heavy on this EP, and their experience as a band on social media (plus what they’d ask Bruce Springsteen about TikTok if they had the chance). 

You are currently on tour across the US! What have the shows and crowds been like? Do you have any highlights from when you were in Philly earlier this month?

Indeed! They have been small but mighty. We’re at the stage as a band where if the small club is full of people we feel like we’re playing Wembley Stadium. It’s nice cause it feels like we can really connect to most everybody that comes. Chatting after the show, seeing everybody’s faces up close, it really does feel like a super connected little community. We’re grateful.

Highlight from Philly: During soundcheck Jim McGuinn from WXPN came and said hi, and gave us a tour of the station.

The latest Yam Haus release is the EP Stupid and Famous, which is a great title for a great EP! Was this title always the plan, or did you have other working titles?

It fell into place pretty naturally, just dawned on me one day to call it that as we were making release plans, and everybody seemed to like it so we went with it.

This EP is more rock-leaning than your past releases. What was the process behind this newer sound and including those gritty guitars? 

It was a by-product of our live sound. When we started releasing music we hadn’t really figured out our live sound, then we spent the next five years doing that. Live we don’t play synths and we depend on our guitars to do the heavy lifting. This EP was informed by this, and came pretty naturally.

For a first-time listener, what should they expect going into the EP? What should a new fan expect from a Yam Haus show?

It’s pretty straightforward. Not a ton of frills, but hopefully a lot of fun. We just step up and play. High energy, loud drums and riffs, and a lot of shout singing at the top of your lungs. That’s the current Yam Haus show, and I suppose the EP as well.

“So Long” is a fitting kickoff track and sets the scene and energy of the EP. How did you decide on the tracklist order?

We went back and forth one time with our label and we all signed off on the second iteration. It feels nice to start with “So Long,” which was actually written to be an opening song for the live set, and to end it with “Stupid and Famous.”

You’ve recently started approaching social media for Yam Haus differently. What was that shift and how has it been going? 

I sort of stopped enjoying making content all the time. I got really uninspired by most of what I saw online and didn’t feel compelled to throw more slick content into the ether. The shift was to be more casual and less slick on socials. It’s been good for my mental health. I always feel this aching sense that we should be doing more but I’ve learned to take that feeling with a grain of salt and not feel pressure to get more attention. Writing, recording, and releasing music is the main focus. Social media takes a back seat to that. And that’s ok. I’m learning to accept that and love it.

If you could ask one artist (or one person in general) one question, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I’d ask Bruce Springsteen what he would’ve done if he had to make TikToks when he started his career.

Is there anything coming soon that we should look out for from Yam Haus?

Lots of new music is in process. Some of it is pretty good and we hope to hop on some support tours next year. Hope to meet some new fans and expand our audience a bit if we can.
You can keep up with Yam Haus and the behind-the-scenes of their time on tour on Instagram and TikTok.