Hum (band)
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| Hum | |
|---|---|
 Promotional picture from 1998. Left to right: Bryan St. Pere, Matt Talbott, Tim Lash, and Jeff Dimpsey. |
|
| Origin | Champaign, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 1989–2000 |
| Genres | Space rock Alternative Rock |
| Labels | Mud Records 12 Inch Records Cargo Records Martians Go Home RCA |
| Members | Matt Talbott Tim Lash Jeff Dimpsey Bryan St. Pere |
| Past members | Andy Switzky (1989–1993) Akis Boyatzis (1989–1990) Jeff Kropp (1989–1990) Joe Futrelle (1990) Rod Van Huis (1990–1991) Baltie de Lay (1991–1993) |
| Website(s) | (Unofficial) |
Hum are a space rock/Alternative Rock band from Champaign, Illinois. They have not been consistently active as a recording or touring group since 2000.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Founding and early recordings
The initial line-up of the band formed in 1989, with vocalist and guitarist Andy Switzky, guitarist Matt Talbott, bassist Akis Boyatzis, and drummer Jeff Kropp. Matt and Andy met at a cafe named Treno's where the latter worked. Discussions about music led to the two forming the nucleus of a Hum. Matt had previously played in the local group We Ate Plato and was presently a member of Honcho Overload; Andy had performed in the semi-serious live band Obvious Man and had studio experience with Designer Mustard Gas.
The group performed at Akis' basement for their initial months. Due to a suggestion from Rick Valentin of Poster Children, the band chose the name (over contenders like Grendel's Arm, Pod, and Feedbag), an intentional vague description of their sound, and went through a second drummer before overhearing Bryan St. Pere playing along to a Rush record out of his apartment window and recruiting him.
This line-up was not to last long, though, as Akis left home for Greece in 1990. Local musician Joe Futrelle, who played with Andy in Designer Mustard Gas joined briefly, before leaving for more serious musical pursuits, and was replaced by Rod Van Huis, also of Steak Daddy Six. Due to personal reasons, he amicably split the band, and went on to perform in the Great Crusades. With the addition of Balthazar "Baltie" de Lay, of the band Mother, the band recorded their first demo in famous engineer Steve Albini's basement in Chicago, Illinois.
The band recorded eight songs in first or second takes, with only vocal overdubs, and had an official demo to shop around, named Is Like Kissing an Angel (She Said). At this point, the group's primary singer, guitarist, and songwriter was Andy, and that remained the case when their first album, Fillet Show, was released by local label 12 Inch Records in 1991. The album features a faster, heavy sound somewhere between punk music and heavy metal, with more overt political and humorous material than the later oblique lyrics that Matt Talbott would write.
Pressure grew on Baltie to focus his efforts on Mother and other pursuits, so he too left on good terms with the other members of Hum. Left without a bassist again, Matt suggested Jeff Dimpsey, his bandmate in Honcho Overload. In that group, and during his brief stint with the Poster Children, Jeff played guitar and Matt actually played bass, but the transition was smooth, and the band recorded two singles, "Hello Kitty"/"Roar, I'm a Tiger" and "Sundress/Time Is Melting", the former on 12 Inch, and the latter on the new Champaign-based label Mud Records. Around this time, the Champaign scene started to coalesce with members of one band joining up with members of another to form an indefinite amount of one-off side projects, and the Parasol Records distribution company helped promote local acts nationally and brought in alternative music to Champaign record stores.
In the interim between these singles and the next album, creative differences grew between members of the band, and Andy left. The remaining members recruited a local fan named Tim Lash, almost a decade their junior, to play guitar. His previous experience had been in a speed metal group The Grand Vizars (with Joe Ludwinski from Scurvine and Matt Friedburger from the Fiery Furnaces), and once casually remarked to the band after a show that if they ever needed a guitarist, they could give him a call.
[edit] Mainstream success
The classic lineup of the band was in place, and the quartet headed to Idful Studios with Brad Wood producing Electra 2000. The album was released in its first two pressings by 12 Inch Records and distributed through Cargo Records. The lyrics were far more non-linear and conceptual, and introduced some of the space and science imagery that would dominate later songs. The album produced no singles, but due in no small part to distribution by Parasol, caught the attention of representative of RCA Records. The band was signed, and hooked up with local club owner and sometimes-musician Ward Gollings as tour manager. They switched to producer Keith Cleversly for their major-label debut You'd Prefer an Astronaut in 1995. The album would produce their biggest hit, the single "Stars", with promotional appearances on Beavis and Butt-head, Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, and the Howard Stern Show. The song was also remixed by Empirion, and was indicative of the space rock/prog rock direction that the band was taking.
The album swiftly sold 250,000 copies, and Hum played their largest dates promoting the record. Further singles "The Pod" and the promotional "I'd Like Your Hair Long" failed to generate much interest, and the band spent much of the rest of the year and 1996 on the road. In late 1997, they teamed with Mark Rubel at Pogo Studios to record their fourth album, Downward Is Heavenward.
The biggest promotion for the album came with an appearance on Modern Rock Live on January 25, 1998, and the album was released in February. Singles "Green to Me" and "Comin' Home" were promotional-only, and the band only sold 30,000 copies by the end of the year. Around this time, the band missed out on an opportunity to record live favorite the Police's "Invisible Sun" for the X-Files: Fight the Future film soundtrack. At the last minute, Sting and Aswad decided to record a reggae cover, keeping the band from a large potential fan base. Due to disappointing sales, and large record label mergers, the band was dropped from their contract in 2000. While touring in Canada, the band's van got into a minor accident, signaling the last straw. They played their final shows on December 29 in St. Louis, Missouri and December 31 in Chicago, Illinois.
[edit] Post-Hum and reunions
Matt went on to form Centaur with local musicians Derek Niedringhaus and Jim Kelly. The former had been in Castor and Sarge, who had been produced by Matt, and the latter was involved with Parasol and drummed in 16 Tons and Love Cup. To date, only one album has been released, In Streams, on the Martians Go Home label, set up by the band themselves to release the vinyl version of "Downward Is Heavenward" and the re-release of Electra 2000 on CD. A second is being produced. Matt produces in his studio Great Western Recorders and has started a family.
Jeff resurrected a side-project from 1997, National Skyline with Jeff Garber, also of Castor. This outfit put out a self titled album, the ep Exit Now, and a second full-length, This = Everything. The band was also featured on the Parasol compilation Sweet Sixteen, Volume 2. He moved to Texas to pursue his career.
Tim formed two groups, the electronic duo Glifted with T. J. Harrison of Love Cup, and Balisong, a heavy rock trio with other local musicians. To date, Glifted have released Under and In on Martians Go Home, and are recording an ep. Balisong has yet to record, but continue to play live and have the intention of recording. He currently works for the University of Illinois.
Bryan has largely quit music, and is rumored to have taken up residence in Indiana in the pharmaceutical industry. He also has a family.
In August of 2003, the band reunited for a one-off appearance at Furnacefest, a festival of hard, alternative, indie, and emo rock acts from across the country. As the story went, the band said that they would be willing to play any show for a high price (assuming that no one would actually be willing to pay that amount), and the organizers at Furnacefest called their bluff. Hum headlined the final night, playing a set and an encore. The band was reportedly dissatisfied with the performance, and actually preferred the surprise warm-up show they played in Champaign directly prior.
In August of 2005, it was announced that they would play another reunion show on October 15, headlining the first Rockfest music festival in Champaign. The announcement came amidst rumors that Jeff had moved back to Illinois, that the band were talking of recording again, and that they had possibly written new material. After playing 13 songs to 3,000 people, the individual members were ambiguous but hopeful about working together further.
[edit] Members
Previous Members
- Andy Switzky - Guitar, Vocals (1989–1993)
- Akis Boyatzis - Bass (1989–1990)
- Jeff Kropp - Drums (1989–1990)
- Joe Futrelle - Bass (1990)
- Rod Van Huis - Bass (1990–1991)
- Baltie de Lay - Bass (1991–1993)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Fillet Show (12 Inch Records), 1991
- Electra 2000 (12 Inch Records), 1993 and (Martians Go Home), 1997
- You'd Prefer an Astronaut (RCA), 1995
- Downward Is Heavenward (RCA), 1998
[edit] Singles and EPs
- "Is Like Kissing an Angel (She Said)" (demo), 1990
- "Hello Kitty" / "Roar, I'm a Tiger" (12 Inch Records), 1992
- "Sundress" / "Time Is Melting" (Mud Records), 1992
- "I'd Like Your Hair Long" (RCA), 1995
- "Stars" (RCA), 1995
- "The Pod" (RCA), 1995
- "Puppets" / "Aphids" (RCA), 1998
- Promotional single bundled with some copies of Downward Is Heavenward
- "Green to Me" (RCA), 1998
- "Comin' Home" (RCA), 1998
