Mother Yeti is an eclectic rock band from the Northwest. Fuzzy, warm, freaky, dreamy, and strange.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Bill Tracy – Guitar/Vocals

Zack Degler – Guitar/Vocals

Joseph Hein – Bass

Jim Rizzuto – Drums

Zachary Calkins - Keys

The band is currently just a 3 piece with me (Bill Tracy) as lead/rhythm guitarist and vocals, Joseph Hein on Bass, and Jim Rizzuto on the Drums. The other two members are working full time jobs in different cities and are currently not able to play consistently with the group. The occasional reunion shows take place from time to time.

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Mother Yeti? How long has the band been around?

The band has been around since 2012 and has had multiple members. Mother Yeti was Zack Degler and I’s first official band we were a part of and it started off as just a 2 piece. Jim Rizzuto has been in multiple bands that played in the late 80s and throughout the 90s. To name a few: Deathstar, Pitchfork Tuning (from Chico CA), Sabertooth, Kelly Blair Bauman (Portland). Joseph Hein has played in several bands as well, one of them being Foxygen (around 2013-2014)! The other band he was in was called CRUMBS. Joe also has his own band that has toured multiple times and it is a self-titled band name called (Joseph Hein) Zachary Calkins, Bill Tracy, and Zack Degler have all been in the Joseph Hein band at one point in time from 2016-currently.

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

We were originally called Blue Yeti, but didn’t put anything out under that name so we usually avoid this conversation entirely. But, here it goes. We played in shitty bars/restaurants around Moscow Idaho and tried to play classic blues covers, but also big rock n roll tunes from Zeppelin, Sabbath, and Ween. We thought “Blue” represented our bluesy side, while “Yeti” represented our mythical monster side. Shortly after naming the band, we finally decided to google the band name, and came to the realization that there was a microphone company called “Blue” and they had a USB mic called the “Yeti”, making it the “Blue Yeti” microphone. We knew at that point the band name needed to change before recording our first EP. While conversing over some beers, we decided to keep the Yeti aspect but change “Blue” to “Mother”. It sounded good to us, and made sense considering we have a soft and nurturing side, but also have a mythical monster side. We like to tuck you into bed, make you soup when your sick, and kiss your booboos, while also trying to scare the living hell out of you and give you nightmares.

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

Bill Tracy and Zack Degler co-wrote the songs for the self titled EP and Gimmicks Valley. But our newest recorded material was written and mostly entirely recorded by Bill Tracy. Themes on Gimmicks Valley involved corrupt political power, friendship, confusion of society, loveless lives, poser artists who flaunt their lame creativity, Hell, culture clashing, and beer drinking morons. The new/unreleased recordings written by Tracy are slightly more laid back but involve very similar themes.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Ty Segall, Pond, My Morning Jacket, Ween, Crumb, Khruangbin, BADBADNOTGOOD, The Voidz, The Lemon Twigs, Twin Peaks, Dan Auerbach, Deerhunter, Fat White Family, Anderson Paak, Mac Miller, Viagra Boys, Mac Demarco, D”Angelo, The Raconteurs, Nirvana, Arctic Monkeys, Angel Olsen, Courtney Barnett , Danger Mouse, Wilco, and the list could go on and on and on.

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

I think I wanted to start a band since I was about 13 and discovered ACDC’s live in Dunnington albums. I also got to see Blink 182 around that time and just fell in love with loud drums and guitars. I saw Ween play an epic show around 2011 in Bend Oregon, right before they broke up, and it inspired me greatly. Shortly after, in 2012, I saw My Morning Jacket at a small venue in Boise Idaho and they made my eyes water with joy. Some of the best sounding shows of my life so far and they definitely inspired Zack and I (Bill) immensely.

What do you do to prepare for a show?

To prepare for a show, we usually just get some drinks in us to loosin up, maybe do some hand stretches, contemplate our existence, then hop on stage and give it all we got. We also try to rehearse the tunes at least twice/week to get a real tight sound. We are not perfect, but practicing consistently helps us a ton.

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

I would say our biggest highlight is playing Treefort Music Festival in Boise Idaho. Zack and I grew up in the Boise area so we had tons of old friends at the show. The crowd was great, and its not super easy to get into Treefort these days as a smaller band. It is a growing festival that has huge names on the bill. We hope to get in next year.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

I would love to tour with Ween someday. I just think their crowd would really dig our sound, considering its all over the place with style but it all blends together in somewhat of a collage. We are also massive fans and worship them to a certain extent. I would also love to tour with Ty Segall or Pond. Ty has a massive sound and has inspired us so much over the last few years, and he is beyond prolific. Whether it’s a fast punk song, a sludgy banger, or some kicked back Neil Young type groover, Ty Segall knows how to hit all the sweet spots. Pond is one of our favorite Australian bands that is basically a brother band of Tame Impala. I believe their music is produced by Kevin Parker and has a couple of the same members, so it sounds super similar to Tame Impala, but it just has more grit, and seems more underground/unheard of, which is the perfect cup of tea for us. Ty Segall and Pond also make incredible music videos and seem to truly understand their music as an art form and not just a commercialized piece of bullshit.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We are just your basic old school rock ‘n’ rollers. We love listening to vinyl, making fun of each other, getting in touch with our spiritual sides, and pumping out tunes that please our ears. We are worried for the current music industry, and realize the times are changing. We don’t feel we need to conform to anyone’s rules or seek peoples approval, we just want to make great tunes that we can be proud of when we are on our way out. Act accordingly.