When Chris Speed formed Yeah No in the late 1990s, there was no lane for its hybrid style, which drew from both post-punk and post-bop, with shoegaze and Balkan klezmer folded in. Speed, a multi-reedist, had intrepid partners in trumpeter Cuong Vu, bassist Skúli Sverrisson, and drummer Jim Black — each one a sonic visionary, and all of them committed to a band ideal. They’ve since pursued other projects, in far-flung locales. So it felt momentous this spring when Yeah No kicked off a reunion tour at Solar Myth, under the auspices of Ars Nova Workshop, whose inaugural show they played more than 25 years ago. Before this show, Speed and Black sat for an onstage interview with Nate Chinen, whose history with the band goes back to that time.
Yeah No, with Chris Speed and Jim Black
