posted 1/7/2008 8:56:51 PM

Ya Ho Wha 13 - I'm Gonna Take You Home

by Plastic Crimewave

At long last the mysterious saga of Father Yod and Yo Ho Wa 13 (or sometimes “Wha”) has come to light, and the most important thing is that this was not some hidden fringe freak-cult or anything, but an essential chapter in counterculture history—or better yet, a chapter in humanity’s history as a whole. For years, collectors marveled at their privately pressed album covers waxing poetic on how such images could have taken shape—like the messianic, robed and hairy Father Yod howling while beating a gong on one LP, yet decked out in a white pimp suit adorning a Rolls Royce on another. The sounds within certainly bred more questions than answers—who was Yod prophesizing to? Who was coaxing such deranged tones out of his guitar?? Was this a real cult??

Well it seems the Zeus-like figure of Yod was in actuality one Jim Baker, whose ordinary name didn’t fit such a larger than life figure from the very beginning. Though Baker did share the namesake of his legendary mountain-man great-grandfather, who laid down the template for his kin-- he had some 27 children by both pioneer and Native American wives, fought alongside Kit Carson and Buffalo Bill, and was said to have tangled with grizzly bears with his bare hands, and somehow lived to 80 years old. Yod Jim was known for a secession of accomplishments himself in his youth, working on irrigation projects, becoming a judo-master, an expert marksman, and perhaps most importantly realizing the connection between health and diet. This led him to become a member of the legendary “Nature Boys,” which included famed fitness guru Jack LaLanne and Eden Ahbez. From then on it seemed like Baker continued on a pretty logical path to enlightenment-- first opening one of the first vegetarian and raw foods restaurants, The Source, on Hollywood Boulevard, and soon after finding his guru, Yogi Bhajan, who fueled his interest in the ancient mystery school, Soon after Baker rechristened himself Father Yod, growing out his hair (a divine act he believed) and holding meditations that drew the likes of Smokey Robinson and John Lennon to the Source. The restaurant became a center for disaffected yet idealistic hippie youths, who all became party of the “Source family”. Usually clad in all white, and largely consisting of long-haired and quite beautiful ladies (yes, he ended up with some 14 wives) and boys, so the family grew quickly. Yod’s teachings encouraged early morning purity, “sacred smoke”, tarot, alchemy, Kabbalah, Egyptian magic, the invocation of the secret holy name “YHVH” (loosely translated as “Yo Ho Wha”), and naturally musicians began to join the fray. The restaurant was doing extremely well, so Father purchased the 60” gong used on the Dr. Zhivago soundtrack and various other pieces of new fancy musical equipment, and began forming groups like “Fire, Water, Air” (who he maintains was the inspiration for “Earth, Wind and Fire”) and Yo Ho Wha 13, who performed at UCLA, Beverly Hills High School (!), parks and wherever they could. Yod also started Higher Key records, which had about 9 official releases and about 65 albums in the can, all recorded in real-time, many of which were lost. Key to the recordings were acolytes like guitar god Djin, bassist Sunflower, and studio whiz and drummer Octavius. Nothing was ever rehearsed, and most sessions took place after meditation at 4am.

1974’s “I’m Gonna Take you Home” remains largely shrouded in mystery as to specifics, but remains one of the group’s most interesting and captivating LPs. The cover depicting a naked Yod with a nubile adorned over his lap on one side, and clad in his white suit and hat finery with his Rolls Royce on the other, remains one of the most extreme record cover images in history, not to mention the gatefold where the same naked lass drinks from Father’s serving cup gently. The sounds? Unearthly to say the least, Yod works himself into a bellowing fury as the band chugs along, Djin’s guitar weaving intricate flanged webs, while the bass and drums pound increasingly harder. Yod whispers words of wisdom in between, as well as his own unique sort of throat singing, which is more like a buzzing wasp, actually. The closest one could describe it comparitively is like Beefheart and his Magic Band meeting up with the Velvet Underground in some blown-out seeking-of-higher-consciousness jams.

Yo Ho Wha 13 made perhaps more out-there albums like “Penetration” and “Expansion,” and more rockist ones like “2” (or “Savage Sons of..”) but “I’m Gonna Take You Home” remains a pretty perfect document of their vibe. The Family made a few bad moves after that, like relocating to Hawaii and selling the restaurant, and then there’s Yod’s well-documented and perhaps suicidal hang-gliding death, but the white-light cult of Yo Ho Wha impacted society greater than the world will ever realize, or maybe someday they shall...

- Plastic Crimewave

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