Difference between revisions of "Red Yeti"

Revision as of 15:06, 30 June 2014

Red Yeti is a Provo, Utah, band that is rising in the music industry with a unique mission.

The band is composed of five returned missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who attend Brigham Young University. Kimball Barker is lead singer and guitarist. Barker and guitarist Isaac Lomeli formed the band in 2012. They had played in several bands before playing together. Coleman Edwards, who plays keyboard, soon joined them. Jared Scott plays bass guitar and Nicolas Blosil plays drums. Lomeli is from Washington and Scott is from Texas; the rest of the band is from Utah.

Red Yeti won the 2012 RAW Artists “Musician of the Year” award. RAWards invited the band to play in a Hollywood event honoring all the competition’s winners. Red Yeti declined because the event was held on a Sunday, a day members of The Church of Jesus Christ believe they should observe as holy. Barker said, “We acknowledged that God had helped us get to this point so we weren’t about to disregard His commandments.”[1]

The band had its roots in indie folk music, but has evolved into a rock ‘n’ roll, blues, and new age sound. The band’s fan base includes their parents’ generation as well as teenagers. Red Yeti includes other artists in its concerts. The band’s concert celebrating the April 2014 release of its third EP featured work from BYU industrial design, graphic design, and music recording students to create a one-of-a-kind set design and custom merchandise. Scott said, “I think our goal in writing music in general is to kind of inspire and really help other people find motivation in their lives, and I think when you bring in another medium, another artistic medium, it really adds more flavor and more applicability to the music, and it really can kind of help people a lot more.”[2]

Red Yeti has played in every venue between Provo, Utah, and Rexburg, Idaho, and played to thousands of fans in the UCCU events center at Utah Valley University. One of the band’s priorities is to emphasize live shows and create an experience for concertgoers. The band wants to give performances that uplift, change, and unify people, and it encourages attendees to take part. Scott said, “If you want to hear the music, listen to it online. If you want to experience the music, come to our shows.”[3] Lomeli adds, “Allowing people to be a part of the creative process gives them ownership of the happiness they walk away from, which in turn strengthens their internal ability to find that happiness later after our show.” He said that the band hopes to give people good music and something to look to.[4]

Barker said Red Yeti’s goal to be “something to look to” is a missionary opportunity.