Andy V Galeon (former drummer of Death Angel) took some time to share his current project, YEIBICHAI and his views on the power of MUSIC!!
HJB: Hey Andy!!! Great to hear you are jammin with YEIBICHAI (pronounced yay-beh-chay). What does Yeibichai mean?
Andy V Galeon: The name is Native American in origin, Navajo to be exact. Yei's are spirits, they connect Man and Creator, they control the natural forces on Earth, day, night, rain, wind, sun, etc. The Yeibichai is a talking God, who speaks to Man, telling him how to live in harmony with all living things, with a few rules of behaviour, while using only basic things for survival.
HJB: What brought you guys together?
AVG: We all gravitated towards one another through the medium of Music, with the intent of playing meaningful, heartfelt, yet aggressive and powerful Music. As you may or may not know, I have been a disciple of Music for a long time, as have the other members, Stephen Vincent Ezell-Vox, Jimmy Tomahawk-Guitars, and Tai Hake-Bass, we all come from different backgrounds and have different Musical taste, but what we bring to the table is heavy Music, with an organic and indigenous style, with nothing but respect for all that came before us, as in all the natural forces. We're not reinventing rocket science or building an indestructible machine, we're doing the opposite like using a drum to communicate, or using arrows and machetes instead of nuclear bombs.
HJB: I love the CD. Cactus Buttons, Badwater & The Ritual, I can feel the Native American ambiance just in the name of some of the songs. Do you have a song that has become your favorite or is especially meaningful to you?
AVG: Since all the songs are so different, each one brings out various forms of emotion, but Cactus, Badwater, and The Ritual specifically really ring true to me personally, but maybe that's because they took longer to internalize and learn! Haha! We're in the mode of recording all the spontaneous jams right now and locking in with each other which has come surprisingly fast. When all members are on the same page you really would be surprised how little verbalization there is between members. It's a nice change and one that I really needed in my Musical progression as a player. Who says Democracy can't work? If you don't stretch your boundaries then you'll never know what can be accomplished.
HJB: I love that idea!! I hope to hear some of that spontaneous jammin live soon!!!
To learn more about Yeibichai go to:
http://www.yeibichai.com
http://www.facebook.com/Yeibichai
http://www.reverbnation.com/YEIBICHAI
