Cayucas
Cayucos may be a town in California off of State Route 1, but Cayucas (pronounced the same only with different spelling) is also the name of the band made of Zach Yudin, his twin brother Ben on bass, Banah Winn on keys and Casey Wojtalewicz on drums. Live, Christian Koons joins them on guitar.
Singer/ songwriter Zach Yudin has been writing and recording music for about 7 years throughout various projects. When he moved to Japan for a year to teach he became inspired by the country’s love of electronic music he then began writing Daft Punk style material. He also did experimenting with vinyl samplings from old rock albums by bands like the Beach Boys, the Tornadoes, and the Animals that would form a crucial component of Cayucas’ early sound. Although the synthesizers have since been set aside, the combination of both styles of music directly impacted the album.
His solo project ‘Oregon Bike Trails’ began on Jan. 18 2011, the day he posted his first song online through BandCamp. Through that moniker he put out the “High School Lover” 7-inch via Father/Daughter Records, which in turn caught the ears of label Secretly Canadian in 2012 whom they are now signed to.
The B-side on the “High School Lover” 7-inch was ode to the town of Cayucos, which is the track that inspired the name change to Cayucas. Since then he’s released Cayucas’s debut LP ‘Bigfoot’ this year and has expanded to a full band. The LP was recorded up in Oregon and was produced by Shins member Richard Swift.
Interview with Zach Yudin. Photography by Cara Robbins
Did you grow up in a musically/ artistically inclined household?
Not exactly, our mom is a singer and she sings in choirs but that is it. We grew up playing sports but I was interested in dance / singing from a very early age for some reason.
How was SXSW this year? Do you think festivals in general are more for the musicians or the fans going to see/ find music?
SXSW was a lot of fun, we played a handful of shows & made a few new fans. I thought it was a great thing not sure why ppl seem to talk trash about it. It’s a bit congested w bands though…
Zach, I read that you spent a year living and teaching in Tokyo, and you starting listening to and writing some electronic dance music and then you got into sampling which was a direct influence on how OBT/ Cayucas started. What do you think the pros and cons of sampling are?
The pros are it is a totally fresh way of writing a song. Finding a bass line or drum beat you could never think up on your own can be very exciting. The downside is it may be hard to recreate that sound live.
Which music scene are you most influenced by? The Tokyo music scene or the Southern California music scene? Would you ever collaborate with an electronica musician/band?
I don’t know if there is such a ‘scene’. I find my tastes are constantly changing though and right now I like the idea of writing music w a Cali vibe to it. Yeah I’d collaborate w a DJ or something I will always like electronic dance music so we’ll see.
What’s the writing process like? Is there any interesting backstory in how the songs came to be?
Well I originally started by sampling bits & pieces of old vinyl. Vintage drums gtr etc… The songs were sounding beachy and laid back, so I wanted to put that kind of vocal on top. So I recorded some reverby vocals w lots of harmonies and that’s how the first songs were written. & I’m still writing songs this way today.
Since the band came in after the album was recorded, how is it for you all to recreating the songs live after you just made this album? What do you find to be the most difficult?
The songs are very bare bone. Though they have good foundation an opportunity for the melodies to stand out. No guitar player would ever choose to play the same chord all the way through a song, but I think it’s better that way. Nothing is too difficult it can be tricky finding the right sounds to play or to exclude from a live show.
What was the process like assembling a live band? When did everyone fall into place? How extensively have you toured together?
The live band has varied a bit but we’ve been playing live technically a year in October. The past year has been a huge # of shows and tours.
‘Bigfoot’ was produced by Richard Swift (The Shins, Damien Jurado, Foxygen) and recorded at his studio in Oregon. How was this experience?
This was really cool. It was a quick process, we recorded 10 songs in 10 days and usually only did 1-2 takes. Richard did a very good job of shaping the sound of the album. It was very cold & rainy which was an interesting juxtaposition. I didn’t really see the sun while I was there.
How do you think recording the album up in Oregon impacted the album?
It may have a sad undertone just by default, or more forest-y then originally intended.
Last question, what does this west coast band think about the east coast?
I have enjoyed the east coast, especially NYC / Brooklyn is a pretty sweet area. It’s cool almost at the same level …not quite though. I live out there, so don’t go there.
