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Yeibichai
Bio:
YEIBICHAI (pronounced YAY-BEH-CHAY) is a San Francisco, California based progressive hard rock band who shortly after forming, released its full length self-titled debut album in December of 2010.
The term Yeibichai was first encountered by founding guitarist Jimmy Tomahawk who often visits the befriended Navajo peoples on their homelands. To them, the “Yei’ Bi’ Chai”, or simply The Yei, are essentially beings who come to man from the “other world” to remind him how to live in balance with the natural elements of this realm. An image of a Yei’ Bi’ Chai can be seen on the band’s debut album cover created by Navajo artist Zeke Sena, a friend of the band and native of New Mexico.
With Grammy winning engineer Mark Vinten at the helm, YEIBICHAI entered a Northern California studio in September 2010 to begin tracking their full length debut album. Throughout the following 3 months in a frenzy of productivity, the debut was recorded and mixed in Los Angeles and mastered in San Francisco.
YEIBICHAI has created a worthy buzz since breaking into the San Francisco music scene in early 2011 receiving praise from the gritty alt/metal crowd, quirky psychedelic prog rock appreciators as well as ambient electronic/world music fans alike. The latter can attributed to the use of indigenous instrumentation such as Indian Tabla and Native American flute heard throughout the debut effort performed by special guest Thayne Hake, Bassist Tai Hake’s father.
In 2011 shortly after releasing the debut album, drummer Andy V Galeon, founding member of the band Death Angel joined YEIBICHAI bringing with him years of experience touring the world over as a highly revered drummer in modern hard rock and metal circles.
YEIBICHAI have received consistent airplay on San Francisco’s 107.7 The Bone, University of San Francisco’s KUSF, Stanford’s KZSU, UC Berkeley’s KALX, San Francisco’s FCC Free Radio, among other California stations and internet radio stations such as Jango.
Drawing influences from many cultures merged with heavy-progressive rock, esoteric thinking, and psychedelic-spiritual expressionism, YEIBICHAI is a unique musical entity with a compelling undertone wherein vocalist Stephen Vincent Ezell explores the beauty and absurdity of life in the new millennium.
Just as their namesakes do, YEIBICHAI seek to peel back the thin facade between our preconceptions of what is possible and what we deride as merely phantasm.
Members:
Tai Hake – Bass
Andy V Galeon – Drums
Stephen Vincent Ezell – Vocals
Jimmy Tomahawk – Guitar, Synth
Featured Video:
Artist Links:
Official Site
Facebook
MySpace
Youtube
I love this band!!! I had to have it so I went to itunes (I know, ‘boo-hiss’), found their album and now blasting it at home. Thank you socorock for bringing them my way. I can’t wait to check em out LIVE!
While I don’t criticize their music, they ought to be ashamed of themselves for their blasphemous choice for the name of their band. The Yeibicheii are sacred and holy to the Navajo, and to use the name in such a flippant manner is shameful.
I whole heartedly agree.
Grow up hipsters and change the name of your band. Ridiculous!
I don’t know about the name which is taken from our culture which is a sacred ceremony and you have to be initiated which you guys aren’t.Bad omens come with it which you don’t understand.This ceremony is created only for the Dine’ People,just doesn’t fit.It’s suppose to be harmony,beauty,not the negative side.
You have to live it to understand!
Hope you think about it and have respect for the Dine’ People.
I cannot speak directly for Yeibichai but through interviewing/talking with them on a couple of different occasions, they are not simply choosing a “cool” name. I believe they have close ties to the Navajo. If you read their lyrics, you will find uplifting / esoteric and very positive messages. I hope they reply to some of these comments personally. -Jordan
this is medicine people and repres for Navajo Dine’ land on protecting on sacred rites and ceremony, SoCoRock, we would like to ask you how to contact this band. forward their email, mailing address, and their attorney name. send it to my email. thanks Dine’ of Northern Arizona
Again, I agree. Please change your bands name!
Please choose some other name for your band. The Holy Beings you have blasphemously named your group after are not, “essentially beings who come to man from the “other world” to remind him how to live in balance with the natural elements of this realm”. That is a total misunderstanding and misrepresentation. It may seem a “cool” thing to do to name your group after something that stands in stark contrast–and some would say in direct opposition to–the industrialized and materialistic West, but the fact is that you DO NOT KNOW WHAT YEIBICHEII ARE and so your appropriation is thus not only offensive but destructive. You are injuring our culture by treating it as something to exploit for self-gain, i.e., misappropriating something from our culture to make your band seem cool, etc. You are NOT helping the Navajo people by doing this. In fact, you are only opening the door wider for further exploitation of the Navajo people and what little we have left. Please reconsider your action in this matter.
YES!
If you have any respect for your Native peoples her on the Great Navajo Nation as you say you do, I ask that you change your bands name. Just because you were here and might have witnessed the ceremony does not mean you have the right to use the name. I wil assure you I will bring this to the attention of the legal representative of your Nation to make sure that you don’t get away with this. Change your bands name!!
Zeke Sena you should not have drawn the pic for them. Do you not understand the sacredness of the name and to just willingly draw this for them to put it to that music! You ought to be ashamed. And for this band to utlize the name Cactus Buttons for their song, OMG you will stop at nothing to explot the Native American People will you. You people disguss me!!
With all do respect to the native peoples and their culture… GET OVER IT!! it’s a fucking name.