It can be difficult to jumpstart a motionless crowd of D.C. concert goers, but one Baltimore band has found a way literally to bring life to the lifeless. In fact, in a very meta sort of way, Yeveto formed their group a few years ago for the sole purpose of adding a modernized sound to a classic horror film. They wrote and recorded a new score to the 1920s Paul Wegener movie, Der Golem, about a beast in Jewish folklore made from clay and animated by sorcery to protect the Jews in Prague from persecution.

The instrumental group consists of Russell deOcampo on piano/keyboard, Ben Hoffman on drums, Gregory Rago on guitar and the post-Golem addition of Amy Cavanaugh on cello, who enhances their sound with a stunning eeriness. While continuing to compose film scores, the band morphed into a more traditional rock band and have been performing their work on stage, occasionally with visuals flashing on the screen behind them. But no film is really necessary, as their music alone tells a story. It’s not entirely menacing, and much of what shines in their dark demeanor is the fast paced drumming and riveting guitar elements that drive tracks like “Heart of a Dog”.

Yeveto released a new album earlier this year, For Stars and Atoms, and opened a show at Iota last week where they performed for a nearly full house. Their set alternated between the upbeat and the surreal, with their unique style and soundtrack-like qualities working well live. The band takes a sophisticated area of music and transforms it into a lighthearted setting where artsy isn’t just black-and-white.

Visit them at: MySpace.com/Yeveto

Buy their album: On Itunes

Questions for Yeveto:

Why the name “Yeveto”?

GREG: Yeveto was a word I had written down in a notebook after having read it somewhere—I think in a Charles Olson poem or essay. I liked the sound of the word (though later I found out the pronunciation is nothing like the spelling) and the consonant-vowel-consonant-vowel spelling. It is of Greek origin—the etymological root of the word Genesis. It means “to come alive.” Since our first soundtrack project, Der Golem, is about a rabbi who brings a man made of clay to life, we thought it was fitting.

How did you get involved in composing the soundtrack to Der Golem?

GREG: Ben, Russell, and I had played music briefly many years before YEVETO formed. Then a few years back Russell and I were catching up over a beer. The waitress at the bar, Alana Roth, who was also running the film series at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore, asked if either of us were up for scoring a soundtrack for a new series they were putting together. I was playing in a group at the time that wasn’t right for a soundtrack so Russell and I said, “hey, let’s put a band together.” We called Ben immediately, and brought in the bassist from my previous band, Roger Shrader, though he left the group right after the soundtrack was completed. We ended up with bass payer Kevin Donnelly which worked out great.

Upon the suggestion of a friend, we pitched Der Golem as our project. We loved the magical nature of the film and the very dark scenes, which was instantaneously inspiring…any other movie and we probably never would have gotten it done in time. Der Golem also has very short scenes, which helped us break up the action and create a lot of different “mini songs” for it. So, yeah, we wrote 90 minutes of music within the first 60 days of the band being together. We were pulling 12 hours days every weekend to complete it.

Why did you decide to add a cello?

AMY: They saw my kick ass ad on craigslist (the first and last ad I have ever posted..) I had just moved to Baltimore and was desperate to find some musicians to permanently collaborate with that shared my musical sensibilities. Not a gun for hire!

RUSSELL: I was actively searching craigslist for other players and came across Amy’s post. Cello was the perfect fit for our music because of its versatility in range and sound. plus Amy made YEVETO look less ugly.

GREG: I think at the time we knew we needed a new element in the group. We were just done the Golem soundtrack and were writing new non-soundtrack material. We felt like what was being written needed more than a trio playing it. Of course, the idea of a vocalist instantly came up but I think our ideal was also to have another instrumentalist—something unconventional.

BEN: We thought the cello would bring a rich new sound to what was pretty much a rock outfit. Luckily we met a cellist who was talented and who fit in with the band personality-wise. It has definitely made us approach music differently, but in a good way.

GREG: Once Amy was in the group it was instant collaboration—she was a perfect fit. The songs really got shaped by the entire band, which I think is part of not having a singer-songwriter type in the group.

You mention on your website about possibly incorporating vocals in the future. Have you found anyone yet, and what exactly are you looking for in a vocalist?

GREG : Not yet. I think we change our minds on a weekly basis. If it’s one of those inevitable weeks where you’re feeling bored with yourself , then we think, “yeah, we need a singer.” Then we’ll have a great show or get to a new plateau as far as working on a song and we discard the idea of a singer pretty quickly. Lately, I’ve been pretty consistently OK with not having a vocalist.

AMY & RUSSELL: I think we agree that if we have a singer we would want someone with a voice that represents an instrument that none of us play, blending evenly with the rest of us, rather than atop. We are not looking for a front man in a singer per say…more a vocalist that could use their voice like an instrument.

Have you been or will you be working on any other soundtracks?

GREG: When we released “For Stars and Atoms” in January '07 we incorporated a film during our release show titled, The Adventures of Prince Achmed, as a “loose” soundtrack.

AMY: All the songs on the cd melded nicely to the film, plus its always great to have a visual component in live performance especially when you don’t have that quintessential front man.

BEN: We would all love to do another soundtrack if the situation presented itself. It’s a lot of work and requires a lot of time but we’re always on the lookout for another great movie to score.

Are you always imagining specific scenes as you write and play?

BEN: I don’t think we imagine scenes when we write, but I always picture scenes after the music is written. ..like, I think a song would go great with a certain scene when I hear it played back. We’ve often been told our music sounds very ‘soundtracky’, most likely due to being instrumental and avoiding chorus verse chorus structure.

What are each of your musical backgrounds?

RUSSELL: I played sax for years and came into a band with Ben with the intention of playing sax but wound up playing keys. Since I am self taught on keys, my style and role as a keyboardist is a bit unconventional.

BEN: I’ve been playing drums for 16 years with various bands in the Baltimore area. Many of those wonderful years, as Russell pointed out, were spent playing with Russell so he and I understand each other pretty well at this point musically.

AMY: I have been playing the cello for to many years to count …pretty much my entire life. I do have a degree in music performance, but much of what I have learned about music came after the degree….learning to listen and improvise has been huge. I have also been really lucky and played with some great musicians over the past 10 years primarily doing session work and writing string arrangements for various rock bands between here and NYC.

GREG: I spent many years in a few different indie rock bands in Baltimore, none of which were remotely what I wanted to be doing, so my background isn’t very consistent. I’m personally very interested in early American folk music, though my playing in Yeveto is the result of other influences—Dog Faced Hermans, God Speed You Black Emperor!, Ethiopiques, Melvins, Marc Ribot…

What is your favorite film of all time and why?

GREG: If I consider the soundtrack in my ranking, it would be Dead Man by Jim Jarmusch, hands down. It’s a totally engrossing film and the Neil Young soundtrack is brilliant…extremely influential for me. Otherwise, maybe Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Also a good soundtrack on that one…

BEN: That’s a tough question, as my favorite film changes every few months. As of right now I’m a huge fan of Park Chan-wook films, like Old Boy and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

RUSSELL: La Jetee by Chris Marker. Watch it and you'll agree.

AMY: Like Ben I change my mind every few months as well, but I have always liked the stillness of the film The Big Blue..I am not even sure if that film has a soundtrack it’s been so long since I’ve seen it. There is a lot to be said for space in film and music.

How important is a film’s score in telling a story?

GREG: Early silent films, at least the ones I’ve seen, dictate a wonderful rhythm for a musician to work with. I feel that our music was very indebted to the film’s material while working, so I think it’s a symbiotic relationship. The music is key to silent films. Try watching one actually silent. It’s almost impossible.

BEN: For modern films I think it’s less important but a good soundtrack can make an average movie great.

What are a few of your favorite local bands in either D.C. or Baltimore?

THE BAND: The Red Vines, Relugious, Monarch and The Celebration, which are all Baltimore based bands. As for D.C., we are not as familiar with the scene as we could/should be. …just one more reason to get down here and play more often. Baltimore is not that far away, but the two music scenes seem light years apart. There should be more support for bands city to city/band to band.

What is your opinion of the D.C. area music scene?

AMY: I am from D.C. and I know that area has alot of great musicians, but now living in Baltimore I feel really disconnected to my hometown which makes me sad. I used to play with a DC band called 24fps for a long time before I moved up to NYC in 2002. My brother had been playing with an old DC band for years called Jumpin Jupiter…but now I have know idea what’s happening here. I think that Yeveto would like to have a home within the D.C. music scene.

GREG: Our first show in the area, at the Iota, recently was wonderful. It was one of the friendliest crowds we’ve ever played for. People seemed earnestly interested in the music. It was a breath of fresh air compared to Baltimore where people seem to have this chip on their shoulder, even when they come to see a band live.

AMY: We want to come back to DC sooner than later, although we will be at the IOTA in late September which will be great.

Photo by Andrea Hope