The group formed and released one album in 1988
Yanomamos, the band containing Grant Hart on drums, Miss Jane Mansfield on bass and Timothy G. Piotrowski on guitar and vocals, returns with Comes Alive. The three piece group which formed in 1988 released their latest LP 29 years after its first Quizas (pronounced Kick-Ass) was released. Part one of Comes Alive was recorded in 2015 as an EP but was never released. The group returned to the studio after Hart’s cancer diagnosis in 2017 to finish the LP which was released on November 17th via Con D’or Records. The test pressings arrived on the night of Hart’s passing on September 14th.
Yanomamos became a tribe adopting their name from the indigenous people of the tropical rain forest in Southern Venezuela and Northern Brazil that were known to be wild, untameable and a force to be reckoned with. Hart shared a quality with Marcel Duchamp of pursuing an endless quest in pushing the boundaries of creativity. The jammed out psychedelic improvisations of Yanomamos rhythms, riff damage, peaks and valleys galore lace perfectly together with his innovative and masterfully delivered drum tracks.
Mansfield’s and Piotrowski’s early 80’s band Duck Kicking Vulture caught the attention of Hart. In 1987 he offered the band 12 hours of recording time and 12 hours to mix. The deal was made just before Husker Du’s break up, then everything fell apart.
Yanomamos came together spontaneously in the summer of 1988 when Hart invited them to Creation Studio where he was working on Intolerance. The session was recorded on a boom box and released as Quizas (Kiss Ass). This was the first post-Husker Du project to hit vinyl from any of its members. At that time the band played a handful of shows, including their infamous “Fire Show” in First Avenue’s main room. The groups second “Fire Show”, also in the main room was a 2011 benefit for Hart after a fire destroyed his South Saint Paul family home.
