Joh Yowza/Legends

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"Jowza is delivering more than lyrics in his entertaining style—he's communicating joy. If I didn't hear it myself with my own ears, I'd swear it's telepathic. But it's not. It's an actual pitch that affects me and makes me happy. Many species I've observed—even if they don't like the sound of the voice—will end up clapping and cheering when Joh Yowza finishes a set."

―Sullustan music critic^[src]

J'ywz'gnk Kchhllbrxcstk Et'nrmdndlcvtbrx,^[2] more commonly known under his stage name Joh Yowza, was a male Yuzzum performer for the Max Rebo Band, originally hailing from Endor.

Biography

Joh Yowza was something of a runt compared to the other taller Yuzzum. When the other members of his herd would look through the Endorian forests for food, he was often left by himself and would sit alone and sing Yuzzum cries. While wandering in the forest for food one day, Yowza found a spaceship that had landed for repairs. He wandered onto the ship, and it was not until later that the captain, Roark Garnet, found him. Garnet nicknamed him "Furball" and kept him on the ship to help with cooking, cleaning, and other tasks.

When Garnet's ship landed on Nar Shaddaa, Yowza wandered off and found his way into a seedy tapcafe named Uncle Chesko's where the band Evar Orbus and His Galactic Jizz-Wailers was performing. Yowza began to sing along right in the middle of the tapcafe, and everyone enjoyed him so much that Orbus decided to make him an official member of the band. Orbus would provide him food and shelter in exchange for Yowza performing in the band. It was his new fellow band-member Sy Snootles who gave him his new stage name of Joh Yowza, which, unlike his real name, was actually pronounceable in Basic, and therefore much better for business. Yowza became somewhat of a celebrity with songs like "Galgamok" and "Jedi Rocks".

When a gig at Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina on Tatooine went sour, Evar Orbus was killed, and Max Rebo and Sy Snootles took over the band. They later auditioned for Jabba Desilijic Tiure, and although Bib Fortuna suggested Yowza sit out the first round (because of a bad experience Jabba had with Yuzzum in the past), Yowza later burst onto the stage and joined the band anyway. As it turned out, Jabba was actually quite impressed and rather liked the Yuzzum's performance.

The band stayed at Jabba's Palace for a while. While there, Yowza found a friend in fellow Yuzzum Wam "Blam" Lufba. Though the band accompanied Jabba on his (ultimately last) trip to the Pit of Carkoon, they managed to escape the explosion of his sail barge. After this, the group disbanded, and Yowza went to Mos Eisley and found his way onto a small passenger liner. He formed a new band, called the Palpatones, with former Max Rebo Band members Rystáll Sant and Greeata Jendowanian, and agreed to perform on the ship in exchange for a place to stay and the opportunity to travel to exotic locales. And travel he did, along with his friend Wam Lufba, throughout the Outer Rim Territories and the Centrality.

Behind the scenes

Joh Yowza was added to the extended musical number in the Special Edition of Return of the Jedi in 1997. While he was a computer-generated character, another Yuzzum, Wam Lufba, was portrayed as a puppet in the original film and can be seen in the darkened background of the court.

Elements of Joh Yowza's performance, such as his gravelly, soulful singing voice, and his tendency to play air-guitar while singing, appear to be based on real-world singer Joe Cocker.