It’s been a busy time for Yam Haus of late. After taking the year 2024 off, Yam Haus are back in the swing of things — including recording some new music, preparing to release a double single, and even opening for pop-country band Old Dominion at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand.

Yam Haus visited the MPR booth as part of The Current’s Morning Show … in the Afternoon, live from the Minnesota State Fair. Listen to the session using the audio player above, and find an interview transcript below.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: We're very excited about some new music. Yam house. I've got Lars here on the guitar and those lead vocals, Zach on bass, Jake on drums, and so hey, just now you played "Dollar Store Mansion," so let's talk about a new single. And it's not just a new single, but it is a double single, so you're kicking it old school with like the double A side. I love that. So "Dollar Store Mansion," and "Arrest Myself." So tell us about those songs. Tell us about the single, double single coming out.

Lars Pruitt: We love the double model right now. We've been in a double model this summer. It's kind of fun. But yeah, so "Arrest Myself" is actually the lead single in terms of, we have a record label, and they decided that one was better, you know, that awkward conversation?

Jill Riley: Oh, sure, sure. Because they know!

Lars Pruitt: To protest you play "Dollar Store" on air. OK, that one's good, too. But "Dollar Store Mansion," man, that song was a journey. That idea popped into my head in like a dream. And at first I was like, "Am I writing this song about our country?" Or, like, maybe the current state of the church? Or, like, very deep, heady stuff? And then I landed on, why don't I just make it about me and how I often feel empty, but I can project a good look, so it's much more of a self-loathing type beat, which is kind of fun. So shout-out to self loathing, everybody!

Jill Riley: It's the Minnesota way. I mean, come on! 

Lars Pruitt: But it's fun. It's a really fun song. We're very proud of it. I love how it sounds in the record. And it's coming out September 5. And then "Arrest Myself" is a song I wrote about my wife looking back at the time when I decided I was really gonna dive into monogamy. And it kind of feels like this weird, like turning in the keys to any young exploration of what love even means. And I'm now doing it with one person, and it's like a surrender-type song. And we've been listening to a lot of just like Springsteen, inspired by a lot of like Tunnel of Love. There's a song called "Tougher Than the Rest" that I have listened to like, 7,000 times in the last three months. And I just wanted to — the guys can attest this — I've always felt uncomfortable writing love songs, like straight-up love songs, so I finally did it.

Jill Riley: How long have you been married?

Lars Pruitt: I've been married now for six years.

Jill Riley: OK, very good. Six years.

Lars Pruitt: I know, like, point-05, things about marriage at this point, and it's going great.

Jill Riley: I just celebrated 18 years with my husband.

Lars Pruitt: Wow! We have an expert in our midst.

Jill Riley: We know nothing yet, but we're gonna learn. Someday. Someday we're gonna become really good at this. So with the announcement of new music coming, I understand there's going to be a First Avenue Mainroom show. That's very exciting.

Jill Riley: All right, so that — what, new year! — we're looking forward to the new year. You guys, it's almost 2026, if you can believe that. So January 10 in the First Avenue Mainroom, that is very exciting. Have you guys played First Avenue very much?

Lars Pruitt: Yes!

Lars Pruitt: January 10 is it, but we played First Avenue, the Mainroom, for the first time in December of 2019.

Jill Riley: OK, so it's been a little while.

Lars Pruitt: It was so exciting. And then we played it again in 2023, so this is sort of like the three-peat, but the first time we sold it out. The second time, not quite. So we're hoping, with all of you amazing people, we can sell it out January 10.

Jill Riley: Let's do it. Very good. Broadcasting live from the Minnesota State Fair at the Minnesota Public Radio booth, live with Yam Haus. You've you have been on site during this year's Minnesota State Fair. I wanted to do a little recap of the big gig you had at the Grandstand, where you guys opened for Old Dominion. So if you're not familiar, pop-country band out of Nashville. How did that come together? How did you get connected for that gig? 

Lars Pruitt: So a mutual friend of myself and the guitar/piano player, Trevor, in the band Old Dominion, connected. He had heard our song, "Green lights," actually, and reached out to my friend and was like, "Hey, this is like, becoming my new favorite band. Is there a chance I could maybe write a song or hang out with with anybody?" And so I was in Nashville, we had a songwriting session, and I kid you not, that same day, we connected on a million levels. We wrote a song we both really loved, and at the end of the session, he was calling his booking agent, being like, "How can we get these guys on a show with us?" So it was one of those, like, I feel like so much of the music business is predicated on people helping you and just things you don't really deserve, and right place, right time. And it felt like one of those moments. So they got us opening for them at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand this last Thursday.

Jill Riley: How did it feel to be on the Grandstand?

Lars Pruitt: Terrifying.

Jill Riley: I bet.

Zack Beinlich: Yeah, it was scary. It was, I think it was like 14,000 people, yeah, which is, like, way more than we've ever played to.

Jill Riley: It's bigger than the capacity of First Avenue. We'll put it that way.

Lars Pruitt: I will say, though, and the guys can maybe agree this, I'm more nervous for this, because this is way more — we can't hide anywhere. There's a lot more places to hide at the Grandstand. Big sounds. Like it's very intimate. So this is more exciting to me, in a way, because I'm like, "Oh gosh, I hope I don't screw up."

Jill Riley: Well, you haven't done anything wrong. You've been doing very well.

Lars Pruitt: Sweet. Thank you. Yes. Thank you.

Jill Riley: Yeah. So Yam Haus on the air on The Current. We are at the Minnesota Public Radio booth. I am joined by Lars and Zach and Jake. How does it feel to be releasing new music? I mean, last year, things were kind of quiet, weren't they? How does it feel to be kind of back in the swing of things?

Zack Beinlich: Yeah, we took 2024 off, which was probably pretty stupid. And now we're back into, like, playing lots of shows and releasing music we love. And after you, like, take a break and come back to even just what you were doing before, it's like, "Oh my god, this is amazing." So we're just super stoked to be here and releasing music. 

Jill Riley: You've got the single coming, the double single. Would that indicate a new record at some point?

Lars Pruitt: My lawyers will be in touch with — No, I'm just kidding. There's so much new music. We're actually at the point where we're trying to figure out what to do with it all. In the meantime, with the way streaming and social works, like new people finding your songs is so much based on social media these days, we're doing like a slow burn. So I think an album is definitely possible. And there's two or three different versions of the album that we've had in mind, and we're sort of just gonna do this, like, sort of building-the-plane-as-you-fly-it type model for the next, like, six months.

Jill Riley: So like, this single totally makes sense for you guys right now. Just to kind of roll out. Where have you spent time recording? Where are things coming together?

Lars Pruitt: Two places, mainly, there's a place in Toronto with our friend Gus that has been amazing. It's like a home studio. And then this amazing studio in Minnesota that hopefully most of you know. It's Pachyderm in Cannon Falls.

Jill Riley: How many people are familiar with that name?

Lars Pruitt: Yeah, it's if you don't you can check it out. Super beautiful.

Jill Riley: Some very famous records were recorded there. Nirvana In Utero was recorded there. Let's see PJ Harvey. Records from Soul Asylum and Trampled by Turtles. So when you're in that place, it has a very kind of mid-century modern vibe, but I'd say on steroids, because it's a cool place. Is there water in the pool? There's a swimming pool. There's an indoor swimming pool at this place. But not, I would say, don't think about like, a mansion, super fancy, but it's just this part of the of, like, the main house where I just, I'm trying to picture like Dave Grohl and Kurt Cobain taking a dip in that pool. Is the pool like, do they have water in? Does it still work?

Zack Beinlich: We swam hard last time we were there. We were doing aerobics and stuff.

Lars Pruitt: We did aerobics, water aerobics.

Jill Riley: OK, excellent.

Lars Pruitt: We had a ton of fun. It's the kind of space, it's the kind of studio that the songs almost kind of write and record themselves, because it's just inspiring to be there. We feel kind of similarly in Toronto, but Minnesota is just a different — there's literally a trout stream that goes right in the backyard, so we brought like a fishing pole, and I didn't catch anything, but I should try again next time.

Zack Beinlich: It's the best.

Lars Pruitt: Learning some things, it's super fun.

Jill Riley: All right. Well, we're looking forward to the date of September 5 for "Arrest Myself" and "Dollar Store Mansion." We're looking forward to First Avenue, January, 10. This is awesome. Thank you guys so much. Yam Haus on The Current.

Songs Performed

“Green Lights”
”Dollar Store Mansion”

Credits

Guests – Yam Haus
Host – Jill Riley
Producers – Nilufer Arsala, Derrick Stevens
Digital Producer – Luke Taylor

External Link

Yam Haus – official site