YaHoWha13 Interview: SXSW 2010

YaHoWha13 [or Ya Ho Wha 13, if you're so inclined] formed almost forty years ago in sunny Los Angeles as a way to set to music the spiritual message of lead singer Father Yod [or Ya Ho Wha, if you're so inclined], founder of the Source Family commune. Father Yod has since passed, but band members Sunflower, Octavius and Djin Aquarius have kept the YaHoWha13 flame alive, continuing to create mind-bending psychedelic rock jams in the interest of blowing psyches and ensuring their Father's enduring memory. Spinner caught up with Djin and Octavius before their SXSW gig and got the 411 on Yahowha13, straight from the Source [cough].

Describe your sound in your own words.

Djin Aquarian: YaHoWa13 is a totally spontaneous, unrehearsed, in the now band -- music made to order. It has no boundaries or rules. It's wild, free, sometimes beautiful, sometimes chaotic but always magical.

Octavius Aquarian: Transformative overcoming-a-mental-experience-of-adjustment-pain/pleasure-innertainment.


How did your band form?

Djin: We were created by our earthly spiritual Father Yod while living in the Source Family School of Arcane Wisdom where we recorded, designed and manufactured our own vinyl records which are now extremely sought after by collectors.

Octavius: Against our ego's will.

What are your musical influences?

Djin: I'm not being smug when I say we have no influences other than what our subconscious minds synthesize out of the blue ether.

Octavius: All the sounds at once that can be heard when one is still.

How did you come up with your band name?

Octavius: We were given the name by our Father/teacher.

Djin: Father named it and it's a form of the ancient mystery name of God called "The Tetragrammaton" by the ancient Greeks. It means "is was will be" and "fire water air," and represents the universal laws and principles.

What's your biggest vice?

Djin: Everyone's biggest vice is negative mental attitudes.

Octavius: Creative freedom.

What's in your festival survival kit?

Djin: Kindness, awareness, good nutrition and plenty of rest.

Octavius: Peace.

Who was your first celeb crush?

Djin: Del Shannon.

Octavius: When I was in third grade I loved Annette Funicello of the 'Mickey Mouse Club.'

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Octavius: With no guilt it would be 'Om Deeksha' by Maneesh de Moor and 'Cafe del Mar.'

Beatles or Stones?

Djin: Beatles, then Stones.

Octavius: Ha. Both at one time or another, mostly because of the hard work it takes. That's like the 'Friends' or 'Seinfeld' question.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Djin: I don't know about crazy, but the tremendous respect and love we've received from fans, some of whom were not even born when we made our records back in '73, have exalted us as co-creators of the psychedelic genre.

Octavius: How much willpower it takes to stay focused and intentional. And how many people are ready for our sound now. It's all according to the predictions of our Teacher.


Megan Koester is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.