Lars Pruitt of Yam Haus talks "The Thrill"
Minneapolis band Yam Haus just released a music video to their summertime hit song “The Thrill.” Yam Haus is proving, with these releases, that they have the skills and energy to make this band notable. Lars Pruitt, lead singer of Yam Haus, told me, “[We] would love to keep growing and creating. That’s about all I can ask for. I want to still be grateful and excited to do this.” Pruitt also talked with me about the band, their new releases, and what to look out for in the future! Continue reading to learn more!
GMAT: Tell us about yourself! Who is Yam Haus?
YH: We’re a four piece band from Minneapolis. Yam stands for You Are Me which is our way of reminding ourselves and our fans to treat people well. Three of us are old friends from high school Zach (bass) Seth (guitar) and Lars (vocals guitar/keys that’s me btw) and then Jake (drummer) is originally from Detroit but we met him playing around in Minneapolis where he went to school.
GMAT: “The Thrill” is perfect for summertime! What does the song mean to you?
YH: Thanks! For me, “The Thrill” is about the chase – the human tendency we all feel to run after something outside of ourselves to find whatever we’re looking for (happiness, success, experience, etc.) Life is a chase and it flies by, we’re kind of saying pay attention and enjoy. Like an amusement park ride, we go through all this prep work of buying a ticket, gathering with friends or family, driving in a car, waiting in line etc. just to enjoy a couple quick moments of adrenaline. As a band we’re simply welcoming people to the park, taking your ticket.
GMAT: Why is there an abrupt ending to the song?
YH: It’s a play on the whole “it’s gone before you know it” line. Like I’m singing it and suddenly I get cut off. Trying to make you feel that sense of “wait what it’s gone?”
GMAT: The music video for “The Thrill” is set at an amusement park. It’s jam packed with good vibes and high energy! Give us a deeper look into the filming and creative process for the video.
YH: Thank you, we had a blast filming it! We worked with a group called F3 Visuals who we randomly met this past winter.
They really are the ones who made the amusement park thing happen. We had met and brainstormed how we wanted the video to feel multiple times but didn’t exactly know where we wanted to film it. Jay (from F3) reached to Valleyfair and pitched the idea. They agreed to let us in before the season opened and film in return for a promo video made by F3.
It was an unbelievably fun and lucky break. We owe a lot to Jay and F3. They were top notch all the way through. By the time we got there we had our list of outfits and shots we knew we wanted to get and we just went for it. We had amazing help from a makeup team as well lead by Heather Trachsel.
We also brought in a group of extras to ride some rides with us and have fun. They paid to do it and in return got to hang out at the park and ride some rides that day, plus they got the download of the song early, AND we hosted them at a friend’s home to have a little summer hang out and watch the video super early!
Watch the official video for "The Thrill" here:
GMAT: Do you have any funny stories or favorite moments from filming?
YH: The whole clown balloon fight at the end was super fun to shoot. It was the last thing we did and we were all just slap happy and exhausted after a long day. It was the perfect way to end it.
GMAT: Besides these releases, does Yam Haus have any other plans for 2019? Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
YH: We are so close to confirming our biggest show yet. A potential headline date at First Avenue’s Mainroom. It’s a 1,500 cap club in the heart of downtown [Minneapolis]. By far the most iconic and popular spot for national acts coming through town.
If we can book it our goal is to sell it out. If that happens I think we can say we’ve achieved all we can or know how to with what we can do on our own.
Plus we have lots of more music. For sure another single this year, potentially two.
