Local band to perform at Texas music fest

While the temperatures here in the Wabash Valley continue to blast its residents with sub-freezing temperatures and snowstorms, Austin, Texas is enjoying a quite mild winter with 52-degree days and with light wind.

Maybe that's why Terre Haute's local band Yearbook Committee pushed as hard as they did to get an official invitation to play at the "South by Southwest Festival" (SXSW) taking place in downtown Austin starting on March 11 and ending on March 20.

SXSW is the longest running music festival in the United States and has lifted Austin to be called the "Music Capital of the World." On top of the festival, Austin holds the "Austin CCity Limits" series downtown throughout the year, drawing some of the biggest bands in the world.

But while the feel-good story of a small-town band possibly on the verge of mega stardom surrounds Yearbook Committee, band member David Goodier admits it's anything but an underdog band bursting out of the garage and onto the stage as pyrotechnics light up the arenas.

"When I was 16, I believed by 21 I would absolutely rich and famous," Goodier said. "But now, that idea just sounds miserable to me. We are doing this for the enjoyment of music. We play at our best when we are having fun."

Goodier, who also plays guitar and sings in another local band, Native Mind says that band is trying to stay loose in order to keep perspective.

"If we don't keep that ‘looseness' when we are performing then we are simply six people playing on stage."

The six-piece band is a conglomeration of local Terre Haute acts, like Jon DaCosta from Cuba, Travis Dillion from DeRailed and Christina Blust. As simple as it sounds, YBC was conceived just by a bunch of friends and musicians getting together to do what they love.

YBC's neo-bluegrass or folk style has caught the attention of a lot of people in the community. As Blust, who recently married Goodier in a reception here in the area, talked about the growing popularity the band has received and the positive effects it's had on people involved and Terre Haute itself.

Blust, originally from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati, Ohio said that moving to Terre Haute in 2006 initially had her worried.

"When I researched this town, all the news I could find about it was the Timothy McVeigh execution and the Holocaust museum [burning down], but then when I got here and met all these musicians and people who really loved music, I started to like Terre Haute. I am excited to go to Austin and represent this town and show people there is more to this place than the negative views people have."

As Goodier added, "when you look at all the lineups for the festival, you see all these performers from cities like London, or Chicago. Or then you see bands from Germany and Ireland and here we are and we're from Terre Haute. It might catch people off guard. I used to think I should say I was an artist from [Indianapolis] to get a little bit more credit, but now I hammer the Terre Haute thing into the ground. That's who we are going to represent."

YBC has a little less than two months to get prepared for what is most likely the biggest moment for these musicians. But based on the reactions of Blust and Goodier when they thought about how fast that time will go by, they must be ready.

"It's been a lot of work," Goodier said. "I just want to get down there now, play our set and go watch some really great bands after that."

To get in mid-season form, YBC will be putting on a free all-ages show on

Tuesday, Feb. 4th in the Halcyon Contemporary Art Gallery located at 25 South 7th Street. The gallery will open from 7-9 p.m. with the show to follow.

pushed as hard as they did to get an official invitation to play at the "South by Southwest Festival" (SXSW) taking place in downtown Austin starting on March 11 and ending on March 20.

SXSW is the longest running music festival in the United States and has lifted Austin to be called the "Music Capital of the World." On top of the festival, Austin holds the "Austin CCity Limits" series downtown throughout the year, drawing some of the biggest bands in the world.

But while the feel-good story of a small-town band possibly on the verge of mega stardom surrounds Yearbook Committee, band member David Goodier admits it's anything but an underdog band bursting out of the garage and onto the stage as pyrotechnics light up the arenas.

"When I was 16, I believed by 21 I would absolutely rich and famous," Goodier said. "But now, that idea just sounds miserable to me. We are doing this for the enjoyment of music. We play at our best when we are having fun."

Goodier, who also plays guitar and sings in another local band, Native Mind says that band is trying to stay loose in order to keep perspective.

"If we don't keep that ‘looseness' when we are performing then we are simply six people playing on stage."

The six-piece band is a conglomeration of local Terre Haute acts, like Jon DaCosta from Cuba, Travis Dillion from DeRailed and Christina Blust. As simple as it sounds, YBC was conceived just by a bunch of friends and musicians getting together to do what they love.

YBC's neo-bluegrass or folk style has caught the attention of a lot of people in the community. As Blust, who recently married Goodier in a reception here in the area, talked about the growing popularity the band has received and the positive effects it's had on people involved and Terre Haute itself.

Blust, originally from Fort Thomas, Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati, Ohio said that moving to Terre Haute in 2006 initially had her worried.

"When I researched this town, all the news I could find about it was the Timothy McVeigh execution and the Holocaust museum [burning down], but then when I got here and met all these musicians and people who really loved music, I started to like Terre Haute. I am excited to go to Austin and represent this town and show people there is more to this place than the negative views people have."