Brooklyn-based rock band returns to perform at Bluebird Nightclub

Signed to local record label Secretly Canadian, the experimental rock band Yeasayer will perform in Bloomington for a third time at 9 p.m. Thursday at the Bluebird Nightclub, courtesy of Spirit of ‘68 Promotions.

The Brooklyn band has also invited chillwave musician Washed Out to open the show.

Yeasayer released their debut album “All Hour Cymbals” in October 2007 and their sophomore album “Odd Blood” earlier this year.

The IDS spoke with vocalist Chris Keating about his ties to Bloomington, Cyndi Lauper and not being just a trend.

IDS You have ties to Bloomington since you are on the local record label Secretly Canadian.

Chris Keating We’ve played in Bloomington two times before, but it was a long time ago. It was actually how we met our label. When we played there, we stayed at Chris’s house. It was a cool experience in town, meeting people. It’s really how our career started. We met Chris who owns the record label. He’s everywhere. He just shows up when I open my closet, and he’s an international man of mystery.

IDS For those in Bloomington who may have never heard your music, how would you describe your sound?

Keating I’m not very good at describing music in words.

IDS Well what about artists who influenced your music?

Keating I listened to a lot of dance hall music, stuff from Jamaica and Cyndi Lauper records. I liked “She’s So Unusual” and stuff like that; Chaka Khan, Can and MC5. It’s all over the place. It’s being a part of this generation where you listen to a diverse array of music because you have an iPod and you’re not aligning yourself with one idea of music.

IDS I saw an interview where you said your band focuses on “vocal music” and less auto-tuning. We have the Jacobs School of Music here with a lot of talented students, but they aren’t involved in the indie music scene much. Did you have any vocal training?

Keating Not really. I grew up singing in different chorus groups and doing musicals and theater but it was not as formal as what kids do at Indiana or Julliard. Some of the other guys did classical music, but I never did that. And, to be honest, we did do some auto-tuning to make weird effects but not like Kanye or Jason Derulo.

IDS You released “Odd Blood” earlier this year; can you tell us about the progression from “All Hour Cymbals?”

Keating We made it in the basement in one room with one microphone, actually downstairs in Brooklyn directly two stories down from where I’m sitting right now in my apartment. We felt like the ideas we wanted to record we weren’t hearing in music, so it was combining Bollywood type of stuff with electronic and rock elements. It was cool — people liked it and wanted to hear it. We were influenced by more poppier, dancier stuff and went in that direction.

IDS And a lot of people say your music is “unique,” but I think that word is thrown around so much in the industry today, so what really does make your sound unique?

Keating We all have pretty broad tastes in music. You’re only as original as your influences. It’s a combination of different elements contrasting. I don’t necessarily know that we are unique but we try to be.

IDS How?

Keating Just to be conscious of what kind of music is out, the music history before us and where we want to fit in. You don’t make art in a bubble or in a vacuum, you have to be aware of musicians and artists before you and what music will sound like in 20 years that you’ll never achieve but it’s interesting.

IDS The music from the 1950s to the 1970s was 20 years of constantly evolving music, so how do you compete with that?

Keating I really don’t know, it’s not up to me. History isn’t necessarily written by me but by the next generation of youth. If your painting, writing or music can appeal to people from two generations 20 years from now, you did something right. If not, you were just a trend.

IDS You performed at Coachella and Lollapalooza this summer; do you prefer performing at festivals or on tour in these smaller venues?

Keating Smaller venues. Festivals are fun, but festivals are impersonal. You’re on a really giant stage and there’s a far distance between the stage and crowd with 300 security and 100 photographers. It can be cool, but it’s not as personal and doesn’t seem as real. Playing to new people is always good, but when you’re playing a club they just come to see you. At a festival they come to see another band but come to see you and it can be really fun because your playing to 30,000 people — that rush of energy doesn’t happen at smaller clubs so it’s nice to have both.

IDS Should fans expect anything different during your live show?

Keating We change up songs for the concert, let songs evolve and forget what they sound like on the album. We make every show different and exciting. Hopefully people won’t be disappointed.

IDS There are a lot of students on campus involved in non-profit organizations. Can you tell us about what you are doing with Invisible Children and la Blogetheque? How did this come about?

Keating The trip has actually been delayed because of a serious security concern in Uganda. We were supposed to have been there already but now I don’t know when we are going. With this trip we’re aiming to work with Invisible Children to bring awareness, not to make a political statement. People are basically trying to work with kids and musical education to better their lives torn apart by war.

IDS Where do you think activism and music intersect?

Keating Activism and politics in music is going back to folk songs, and I like music that actually says something. Music gives power to political movements and can oversimplify them, as pop songs tend to do. Politics and activism can be really hard to deal with and it’s kind of good to have music. It can be unglamorous work being an activist so its nice when there can be a marriage between them. People take singers seriously, I’m not sure why, but the relationship people have with political music is very strong instead of someone just talking — it does not have as much momentum.