The last two gigs saw Yoder flying solo; this time he’s bringing a reconstituted version of his backing band of diamond dogs. You see, Scott Yoder is a one-off in the annals of glam-rock — a hybrid of high-glitter à la Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars welded to the work ethic of a particularly ripe folk-punk troubadour.
It’s a jarring juxtaposition when you encounter Yoder live the first time — as we did on a weeknight at Uncle Lou’s, with Yoder clad in a cape singing into a telephone receiver, looking more like he was beamed in from a utopian world of Jobriaths — but he loves this way of living his musical life. For Yoder, traveling and being on a stage, any stage, is where life makes most sense.
“It's the most natural spot for me to be,” says Yoder. “It's more relaxing to me than going to the grocery store or you know having any day-to-day things to do.”
Yoder credits a stint touring as the backing and opening band at the tender age of 20 for Moldy Peaches eccentric and road warrior Kimya Dawson as being pivotal to shaping his work ethic.
“I took a lot from her work ethic and it’s really just in my bones at this point,” reflects Yoder. “Really being dedicated to the music and connecting with people and not being too aloof or too holier-than-thou. She’s a very down-to-earth person and that served as a huge example to me.”
Speaking of backing bands, Yoder is — as mentioned before — back on the road with a full band. And as enthralling as those solo shows were, you can tell Yoder is happy to have creative comrades along with him.
This time it’s Dave Harvey on drums — also from Nudity and the seminal Behead the Prophet NLSL and producer of some past Yoder recordings — newcomer bassist Michael Trew and longtime creative foil Fiona Moonchild.
Besides being a formidable synth-pop artist in her own right, Moonchild ably fills the Mick Ronson role to Yoder’s Bowie, right down to Yoder supplicating in front of Moonchild as she shreds away during shows. Their creative telepathy is apparent.
“It really just stems from our friendship and how compatible we are, down to our shared interest in things like tinned fish and going on little pointless missions,”says Yoder. “We can just shoot the shit for however long, and that’s what you need in a long-term partner who’s going to be in a van with you for multiple continents and multiple months.”
Though he enjoyed his stint as a solo artist, Yoder feels more musically complete playing as part of a band.
“I’m a fundamentally collaborative perform-er. I’ve learned how to play instruments while playing alongside other people,” says Yoder. “For me, doing the solo tours was a chance to experiment with myself and push myself away from that comfortable, familiar territory. I was more interested in collaborating with, interact-ing with and even confronting the audience as much as I could. That was really fun for me. But I love mixing it up with this band and having the different dynamics and different musical sensibilities bounce off each other and see how songs can develop that way.”
And what a collaboration it is. The singer and band hit the stage with makeup like war- paint, accentuated by pulsing lights and fog machines, duly romping and stomping through a set of strangely familiar glammy anthems led by a ghostly, bedazzled Yoder. This is a band that leaves it all on the stage. (We suddenly remem-ber Yoder playing the outdoor patio at Stonewall during a frigid winter night and swinging from the stage rafters.) There’s usually even a tender unplugged part of the set, summoning up visions of Marc Bolan frozen at that crucial crossroads of pixie-folk and Electric Warrior.
“I treat the stage as if is a ritual. ... If you’re up on a stage, if you’re performing for people, you have to do the most that you think you can do with that opportunity,” says Yoder.
“It doesn’t matter what the size is. It’s incumbent upon you as a performer to fully realize your creative vision in that venue. I feel like a big part of why people want to go out and see live music in person is that they want to be transported somewhere. They want to have an escape.I know I do.”
And though it’s tempting for hacks (including this one!) to imbue Yoder with Thin White Duke mystique while filling column inches, Yoder goes out of his way to puncture it, to keep things DIY and human-scale outside of that make-up-smeared hour on the stage.
“I’m not a super glamorous person day to day. I like to eat some peanut butter out of the jar while waiting for the gas to pump and then get some drip coffee and take the dog for a walk,” demurs Yoder. “That’s the regular kind of thing.”
Rest assured, however, that Scott Yoder will not be eating peanut butter out of a jar in public at Will’s Pub come Wednesday. Future Bartenderz, Super Passive, The Sourdrops all open. Just in case you needed more heavyweight incentive.
8 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, Will's Pub.
Location Details
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