An Interview with Jason Bowman of The Yagas
(Güzin Paksoylu – Metal Oda 2025)
New York–based alternative rock/metal band The Yagas have made a powerful entrance into the metal music scene in 2024, generating wide excitement with their haunting sound and the presence of acclaimed actress Vera Farmiga as their vocalist. Their music is powerful, cinematic, and emotionally charged.
The band name Yagas evokes mystery and folklore, drawn from Baba Yaga — the wild witch of Slavic forests, a guardian of thresholds and transformation. Neither wholly good nor entirely evil, she is a figure of ambiguity: luminous and terrifying, destructive and protective. This duality shapes the band’s aesthetic and creative identity.
We spoke with Jason Bowman — drummer of The Yagas and founder of the Rock Academy — about the origins, philosophy, and future of the band.
Could you share the story behind the choice of the band’s name and how it connects to Vera’s Ukrainian heritage and the band’s overall spirit?
Jason Bowman: Actually, I think we’re all Ukrainian. And Baba Yaga is a folklore figure from the Slavic region. She’s an old lady who lives in the woods in a hut on chicken legs. You can go to her for advice or for help, but if you approach her without respect, the hut can turn around and run into the woods. She’s as likely to help you as she is to harm you if you don’t approach her correctly. She’s the stuff of dreams — wonderful and terrifying at the same time. That duality fits what we’re after aesthetically.
(The Magical Hut of Baba Yaga)
Do you think Vera Farmiga’s background in acting and Renn’s musicianship shaped the creative identity of The Yagas? Would you say the band’s storytelling experience strengthens the philosophical side of your music?
Jason Bowman: I think we’re all storytellers. All performers are storytellers — you can’t be a good performer without being a good storyteller. It informs everything we do. And as far as musicianship, this band more than most is a democracy. It’s a true collaboration. Each of us brings our ideas and influences, and we weigh them together. When that one idea hits and we all feel, “That’s it,” then that’s what we go with.
(Actress Vera Farmiga)
Your debut album, Midnight Minuet, released in April 2025, feels remarkably cinematic and intense. Could you walk us through the creative process? How did this album come to life?
Jason Bowman: So many elements had to fall into place. There were endless songwriting sessions — sitting around the living room, throwing out ideas, seeing what worked and what didn’t. Honestly, the creative process is more about weeding out what doesn’t work than finding the rare gem that does. We met whenever we could, on weekends or stolen moments, and hashed things out.
The Yagas blend rock, metal, and classical music. What artists shaped this unique sound? Is the love for metal a common denominator among you?
Jason Bowman: Definitely the metal. One reason our sound is eclectic is because we draw from so many different influences. I grew up listening to metal — it informs everything I do. But for the band overall, The Cure comes to mind: dark, sinister, yet gorgeous and heartfelt. Nine Inch Nails too. Honestly, if it’s good, we use it.
How did the band come together? The story of The Yagas forming in a parking lot while waiting for your children at Rock Academy is both poetic and serendipitous.
Jason Bowman: The funny part is — I had no idea it was happening. It was my school, and their kids were attending. I was teaching while Mark, Renn, and Vera were hanging out in the parking lot. The chemistry became obvious once they joined the adult program together. Some songs required double-kick drumming the other players couldn’t handle, so I took them on. And once we started playing, it felt immediate — like everyone looked at each other and knew, “This is right.”
(Music teacher and drummer Jason Bowman)
Your songs often feel like scenes from a film. There is a gothic element in both your videos and sound. Are you aiming for a visual or theatrical dimension in future performances?
Jason Bowman: Always. Absolutely. Our aesthetic is dark, witchy, stunning. We’re always after something that pulls the listener or viewer out of themselves and into something glorious, something beautiful.
“Each track as a spell brewed in a cauldron of melancholy, darkness, and madness.” Vera Farmiga
Vera described each track as a spell brewed in a cauldron of melancholy, darkness, and madness. You also prefer recording in natural environments over sterile studios. How does this choice influence your sound?
Jason Bowman: At first, we demoed everything in our living rooms — I was even playing drums on a keyboard which never works, but that’s the way we started doing it. We fell into a rhythm with it. Since we don’t all live near each other, so we were just stealing moments when we could get together and demo the stuff. For the album, we needed real drums, so we went to Dreamland Studio — which is aptly named. We tracked drums, bass, guitar there, then took everything into our own comfortable environments and really polished it at home.
The Yagas covered the Ukrainian folk song “Chervona Ruta” with Gogol Bordello in June and released a new single, “Illusion,” in September, thematically linked to The Conjuring universe. What comes next for the band?
Jason Bowman: We played a couple of shows in August in the northeast US, and we’re always working on new material. We’ve got maybe twenty-something songs brewing. We’ll be recording and playing a lot more.
If someone could listen to only one track to understand The Yagas, which song would you choose?
Jason Bowman: “The Crying Room.” It’s not your average song. There are no repeated parts — no repeated verse or chorus. The verse is short, and the rest is all wails, cries, beautiful instrumentation. It’s heavy and it’s beautiful — that’s what we’re going for.
Thank you Metal Oda.
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The Yagas stand at the crossroads of folklore, cinematic storytelling, and melodic darkness — a band born in a parking lot, fueled by friendship, and shaped by the wild witch of the woods. Their music and aesthetic draw from the duality of Baba Yaga: mysterious yet luminous, dangerous yet beautiful. In every song, The Yagas summon that same threshold magic — the place where fear becomes wonder, shadows become myth, and sound becomes a spell.
Band Members:
Vera Farmiga (vocals)
Renn Hawkey (keys)
Jason Bowman (drums)
Mark Visconti (guitar)
Mike Davis (bass)
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