Thanks so much to Vernon Lee and Jason Tan for this interview they conducted and have let me publish on the blog. This interview conducted with Simon Holmes from the legendary Australian band The Hummingbirds was conducted back in 2003 for a Singaporean music discussion group. This email music group is sadly defunct by now and this interview deserved to be resurfaced as The Hummingbirds are one of the best indiepop bands ever. Enjoy!
++ Give us a brief history of how did the four of you, Robyn St Clare, Alannah Russack and Mark Temple come about together prior to releasing your debut single “Alimony” on Phantom Records?
I wrote a song called Alimony. Having played with Mark a few years previously in a band called Bug Eyed Monsters, I gave him a call and we got together. A gentleman called John Boyce initially played bass (who had also been in BEM). Mark met Alannah at the pub (!) and suggested she come down for a jam, which she did, and then stayed. When John left, Rob put her hand up and thus it began…this would all have been circa 1986 or thereabout.
++ The band hailed from Sydney. How was the music scene like in the city and for that matter, in the overall Australian independent scene in the late 80s to early 90s?
I first moved to Sydney in 1983 from Canberra. It seemed at the time as if there were bands playing every night, and there probably were. I was fond of Laughing Clowns, Wet Taxis and The Birthday Party, and would regularly go and see all these bands and more. I must admit however that as much as I enjoyed their music, none of the bands were playing the kind of music I wanted to hear, which would explain why I became involved in my own band. Once The Hummingbirds got started, we seemed to be able to find plenty of places to play and plenty of like-minded bands to play with. Put it this way: it was a scene, with the requisite bands and hangers-on, and if you weren’t playing that night, you’d probably be going to see a mate’s band that was.
++ Are there any Australian indie bands that you particularly like at this moment?
To be honest with you I never go out anymore, and my awareness of the current local scene is minimal at best, so I’ll have to pass on this question.
++ It’s interesting to note that you are one of the rare few guitar bands that share vocal duties – in this case; you, Robyn and Alannah. How did that arrangement come about?
There was no conscious effort to harmonise: it just seemed right and felt right. I was always at pains to democratise the band as much as possible, so would encourage any and all contributions. If it sounds good, do it!
++ Continuing with the earlier question, one thing that friends of mine who, like me, are big fans of the band, agree unanimously that the vocal harmonies of the Hummingbirds, in particular when the three of you blend together is simply divine. My favourite is on “Madison”. How did you achieve such amazing vocal co-ordination?
Um…practice. It just seemed like our voices sounded good together and we worked at it so as not to tread on each others’ toes, musically speaking. We also felt that the idea of a ‘lead’ singer was not necessarily important in our case.
++ The band had legendary producer Mitch Easter to produce both “lovebuzz” and “VaVaVoom”. Describe his contribution in shaping The Hummingbirds’ sound.
Mitch is a beautiful human being who knows how to pull a good sound and a great performance. I recall that all the arrangements were worked out before we began recording, so his contribution was equipment, inspiration and patience. Being in a rock band himself also helped with the inevitable ‘us against them’ routine that all bands fall in.
++ While The Hummingbirds have a unique musical trademark, which bands would you credit as having some influence on it?
This isn’t a cop-out, but I certainly felt and feel influenced by all music and all sound, be it good or bad. I have no recollection of there being any particular musical acts that we felt an affinity to. I would at the time half-jokingly describe our ultimate band as being a cross between The Carpenters and Throbbing Gristle, which still seems like a reasonable template.
++ We had a best albums of all time poll in our fanzine a while ago. I named “VaVaVoom” as among my all-time favourites while another person polled “lovebuzz”. In hindsight, tell us a bit more in details as to how you perceive each album?
The first album was relatively easy to make, as we had already written all the material previously. In the end, it did involve a trip to America to remix and rejig it, but we were pleased with the result. It seems to be a fairly straightforward proposition and cheery with it. My only regret is that we re-recorded the first two Phantom singles for it at rooArt’s insistence – this of course was a mistake, as you can’t reheat a souffle. I like the record, and at the time thought it was the bee’s knees, but then of course you always do.
The second album is my personal favourite, but I can see how it may have been a little more difficult to digest – it was almost an hour long, generally fairly depressed and replete with plenty of new instrumentation we weren’t known for at the time (horns, etc.) – it was a stretch for us. I must admit that there was a conscious effort on my part to push the envelope, as ‘ fuzzy pop’ really wasn’t doing it for me anymore by that stage.
What both albums have in common is they were made with one guiding principle: what is the best possible alternative to complete silence that one can imagine, and how does one create it?
++ Were you very disappointed that after the high of being named as the Best New Band in 1988 by Rolling Stone magazine at about the time of “lovebuzz”, the band didn’t maintain that critical and commercial momentum in subsequent years?
The majesty of rock: everyone goes up the greasy pole, and then slides back down again. We were flattered by any and all attention paid to us, and never expected any of it, so it was all good, as they say.
++ I really like the last two singles “Gone” and “Tail” on IV Recordings. By that time, why did the band decide to call it a day?
Close listening to either of the last two CD EPs would reveal a severely depressed combo. We had been well and truly through the ringer in our relatively brief time together, and too many mutual disappointments will ruin any relationship. We knew way before we broke up that it was coming – just check out the names of those last two CDs.
++ What are Robyn, Alannah and Mark doing these days?
Bringing up kids, living a life – you know, the usual stuff.
++ I believe you were involved in some musical projects after The Hummingbirds – among them in a band called Fragile. Tell us more about your post-Hummingbirds days.
My post-Hummingbirds days have revolved around working in retail for a living, and pursuing my band Fragile for musical fun. Fragile have released three CDs to date, ‘Airbrushed Perfection’ on Half A Cow and ‘Radical Simplicity’ and ‘Kaizen’ on the Humble Pie label. Having done the pop thing with The Hummingbirds, I am now interested in doing the rock thing with Fragile, and will continue to do so for as long as it interests me.
++ I actually had the opportunity to watch Fragile play at the Annandale recently. The songs of Fragile sound like bluesy alternative rock. What are some of the artistes that you are currently listening to and how have they influenced the sound of Fragile, which is quite a contrast to The Hummingbirds’ sound?
I listen pretty much exclusively to hip-hop and disco these days. As John Entwhistle said about heavy metal, “I like to play it, but I sure as hell don’t like to listen to it.”
++ The Greatest Hits compilation released in 2001 – how did that come about? What are some of the responses to the album that you have heard thus far?
This came about because I got a phone call from BMG saying they were going to put out the CD and would I like to prepare it for them, to which I agreed. The responses I have gotten have been positive, except that people feel that it is too cheap (!)
++ I have to ask this: is there like a treasure chest of many unreleased Hummingbirds songs that are waiting to see the light of day?
Yes, there are plenty of unreleased recordings in the can at various levels of completion – whether they’ll ever be released is another question. We actually did release a large amount of material in the time we were together, and some of the releases are so obscure as to be effectively non-existent. I have in my cupboard reels of multitracks of recordings, which I will one day take another look at. I generally feel that unreleased recordings are unreleased for good reason, and our stuff is probably no exception.
++ Is there any chance of the band ever reforming like that of The Go-Betweens after a long hiatus?
There is no chance of The Hummingbirds reforming with me in them, I can tell you that much.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Listen
The Hummingbirds – Blush
