Hum (band)
Encyclopedia
Hum is a post-hardcore
band from Champaign
, Illinois
. They are best known for their 1995 radio hit "Stars
." Hum has not been consistently active as a recording or touring group since 2000.
, Illinois
, where Andy worked. Discussions about music led to the two forming the nucleus of 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 Hum (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 (later Menthol), 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 record stores in Champaign, Illinois.
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.
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 Cleversley 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 Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, and The Howard Stern Show.
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 in 2000 on December 29 in St. Louis, Missouri
and December 31 in Chicago, Illinois.
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. He also teaches at a private university in central Illinois. Matt is also currently contributing to Open Hand, on Trustkill Records
, and contributed vocals to First Days of Spring from the Neverending White Lights
album Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies
released in 2005.
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. Jeff is currently playing with Adam Fein (Absinthe Blind) in a new band called Gazelle. Their debut album, 'Sunblown', is available via Parasol Records
.
Tim has played in four groups after Hum, the electronic duo Glifted
with T. J. Harrison of Love Cup, Balisong, a heavy rock trio with local musicians Eric Steckler and Joe Ludwinski, as well as a mysterious unnamed sports rock trio with the legendary Johnny Chancellor and Mr. Franklin Wahler. To date, Glifted have released Under and In on Martians Go Home. A followup album was reported to be in production by Lash, but in 2008 he confirmed that Glifted was no more. Balisong never recorded anything, but played a few live shows in Champaign. Tim is currently working with Joe Ludwinski (Scurvine, The Grand Vizars), and Jason Milam (Scurvine, Lovecup) on a new project called Alpha Mile. Alpha Mile played their first show in December 2008 at the Highdive in Champaign. Alpha Mile has been recording off and on, and hope to have an album out in 2010. The 2009 Pygmalion Music Festival
featured sets from both Gazelle and Alpha Mile. This was Gazelle's debut live show.
Bryan has largely quit music, and is rumored to have taken up residence in Indiana
in the pharmaceutical industry. He also has a family today.
, Alabama
at the historic Sloss Furnace. Furnacefest, held August 15–17, 2003, was 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.
Though declining to reform on a permanent basis, Hum has continued to perform occasional club shows and regional festival appearances. In an interview with the AV Club, for whom Hum headlined a show in 2011, Matt Talbot affirmed that Hum was likely to continue on an informal, sporadic basis.
In May 2010, Miami-based record label Pop Up Records, announced a Hum tribute album in the works entitled "Songs of Farewell and Departure: A Tribute to HUM
" featuring Funeral For a Friend
, The Esoteric, Anakin, (Damn) This Desert Air, Constants, Junius
, City of Ships, and more.
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band from Champaign
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. They are best known for their 1995 radio hit "Stars
Stars (Hum song)
"Stars" is the second single from Hum's 1995 album You'd Prefer an Astronaut. The single was modestly successful in the United States, peaking at number eleven on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, and at number twenty-eight on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The single was instrumental in helping You'd...
." Hum has not been consistently active as a recording or touring group since 2000.
Founding and early recordings
The initial line-up of the band formed in 1989, with guitarist Andy Switzky, guitarist Matt Talbott, bass guitarist Akis Boyatzis, and drummer Jeff Kropp. Matt and Andy met at a cafe named Treno's, in UrbanaUrbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where Andy worked. Discussions about music led to the two forming the nucleus of 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
Poster Children
Poster Children are an indie rock band formed at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1987. They have issued eleven studio albums. Known for their strong DIY ethic, the band members continue to drive their own tour bus, create their own artwork and T-shirt designs, and operate their...
, the band chose the name Hum (over contenders like Grendel
Grendel
Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf . Grendel is usually depicted as a monster, though this is the subject of scholarly debate. In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.-Story:The poem Beowulf is contained in...
'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
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
record out of his apartment window and recruiting him.
This line-up was not to last long, though, as Akis left home for Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
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 (later Menthol), the band recorded their first demo in famous engineer Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
'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
Parasol Records
Parasol Records is an American independent record label based out of Urbana, Illinois. The label was founded by Geoff Merritt as an outgrowth of the catalogue Parasol Mail Order ....
distribution company helped promote local acts nationally and brought in alternative music to record stores in Champaign, Illinois.
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
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
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.
Mainstream success
The classic lineup of the band was in place, and the quartet headed to Idful Studios with Brad WoodBrad Wood
Brad Wood is a record producer from Rockford, Illinois. He served as a drummer for the band Shrimp Boat. Brad records, mixes and produces records and is based in Los Angeles, California. He began his career in earnest in 1988 with the construction of Idful Music Corporation- a recording studio in...
producing Electra 2000
Electra 2000
Electra 2000 is the second studio album by the Champaign, Illinois post-hardcore band Hum. Originally released in 1993 by 12 Inch Records, the first run was limited to 1,000 copies had the band's name printed in black lettering. The album also included "Monty Python Organ Grinder", an instrumental...
. 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
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
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 Cleversley for their major-label debut You'd Prefer an Astronaut
You'd Prefer an Astronaut
You'd Prefer an Astronaut is the third studio album by the Champaign, Illinois post-hardcore band Hum. It was released in 1995 by RCA Records as their major label debut....
in 1995. The album would produce their biggest hit, the single "Stars
Stars (Hum song)
"Stars" is the second single from Hum's 1995 album You'd Prefer an Astronaut. The single was modestly successful in the United States, peaking at number eleven on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, and at number twenty-eight on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The single was instrumental in helping You'd...
", with promotional appearances on Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, and The Howard Stern Show.
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
Downward Is Heavenward
Downward Is Heavenward is the fourth and last studio album by the Champaign, Illinois post-hardcore band Hum. It was released in 1998 by RCA Records.-Reception:...
.
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
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
's "Invisible Sun" for the X-Files: Fight the Future
The X Files (film)
The X-Files is a 1998 American science fiction-thriller film written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Rob Bowman. It is the first feature film based on The X-Files series created by Carter that revolves around a fictional FBI paranormal investigation unit called the X-Files...
film soundtrack. At the last minute, Sting and Aswad decided to record a reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
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
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the band's van got into a minor accident, signaling the last straw. They played their final shows in 2000 on December 29 in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and December 31 in Chicago, Illinois.
Post-Hum Projects
Matt went on to form CentaurCentaur (band)
Centaur is a band formed in 2000 by Hum founder Matt Talbott, with Jim Kelly of Sixteen Tons on drums and Derek Niedrignhaus of Castor on bass. Their debut album, In Streams was released on Hum's label, Martian Go Home Records in late 2001....
with local musicians Derek Niedringhaus and Jim Kelly. The former had been in Castor
Castor (band)
Castor was an American indie rock/emo band from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Formed in 1994, they were known for their "fluid" sound, often changing time signatures several times in a song while maintaining the flow of the music. They released two albums, the first self titled in 1995, the second...
and Sarge
Sarge (band)
Sarge was an indie rock band from Champaign, Illinois, in the United States. They released three albums on Mud Records.-History:The band was formed in 1996. Led by singer/songwriter Elizabeth Elmore, the band did some touring and released their debut album Charcoal on Mud Records...
, 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
In Streams
In Streams is the 2001 debut album by the band Centaur, released by Martian Go Home Records.-Track list:#"Life Begins" – 4:52#"Wait for the Sun" – 4:56#"The Same Place" – 7:35#"Strangers On 5" – 8:44#"Placencia" – 5:12...
, 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
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. A second is being produced. Matt produces in his studio Great Western Recorders and has started a family. He also teaches at a private university in central Illinois. Matt is also currently contributing to Open Hand, on Trustkill Records
Trustkill Records
Trustkill Records was an American record label that started as a hardcore punk fanzine in April 1993. It started releasing hardcore, metal and rock records and merchandise in 1994...
, and contributed vocals to First Days of Spring from the Neverending White Lights
Neverending White Lights
Neverending White Lights is a Canadian music collaboration project fronted by Daniel Victor from Windsor, Ontario, and featuring several artists mainly from Canada and the United States. Daniel Victor performs all musical instruments, with most of his songs featuring guest singers...
album Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies
Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies
Act 1: Goodbye Friends of the Heavenly Bodies is a 2005 multi-artist collaborative album by Neverending White Lights. Conceived by Daniel Victor, it features lead vocal performances by members of different bands, including several well known Canadian acts, such as Our Lady Peace, Finger Eleven,...
released in 2005.
Jeff resurrected a side-project from 1997, National Skyline
National Skyline
National Skyline is a rock band formed in late 1996 by Jeff Dimpsey of Hum. Dimpsey originally formed the band in order to perform a 45-minute long song that he had written. They were initially an indie rock supergroup of sorts, with a rotating cast of prominent Champaign/Chicago area musicians...
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
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
to pursue his career. Jeff is currently playing with Adam Fein (Absinthe Blind) in a new band called Gazelle. Their debut album, 'Sunblown', is available via Parasol Records
Parasol Records
Parasol Records is an American independent record label based out of Urbana, Illinois. The label was founded by Geoff Merritt as an outgrowth of the catalogue Parasol Mail Order ....
.
Tim has played in four groups after Hum, the electronic duo Glifted
Glifted
Glifted was formed in 2001 by former Hum guitarist Tim Lash and Lovecup member T. J. Harrison. They released one album, Under and In on Hum's Martians Go Home label in 2003. It received generally positive reviews from critics...
with T. J. Harrison of Love Cup, Balisong, a heavy rock trio with local musicians Eric Steckler and Joe Ludwinski, as well as a mysterious unnamed sports rock trio with the legendary Johnny Chancellor and Mr. Franklin Wahler. To date, Glifted have released Under and In on Martians Go Home. A followup album was reported to be in production by Lash, but in 2008 he confirmed that Glifted was no more. Balisong never recorded anything, but played a few live shows in Champaign. Tim is currently working with Joe Ludwinski (Scurvine, The Grand Vizars), and Jason Milam (Scurvine, Lovecup) on a new project called Alpha Mile. Alpha Mile played their first show in December 2008 at the Highdive in Champaign. Alpha Mile has been recording off and on, and hope to have an album out in 2010. The 2009 Pygmalion Music Festival
Pygmalion Music Festival
Pygmalion Music Festival is a multi-day music festival named for the Slowdive album of the same name, which takes place in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, United States every September. Shows run concurrently at multiple venues, in the style of SXSW...
featured sets from both Gazelle and Alpha Mile. This was Gazelle's debut live show.
Bryan has largely quit music, and is rumored to have taken up residence in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in the pharmaceutical industry. He also has a family today.
Reunion
In 2003, the band reunited for a one-off appearance at Furnacefest near downtown BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
at the historic Sloss Furnace. Furnacefest, held August 15–17, 2003, was a festival of hard
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, alternative, indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
, and emo
Emo (music)
Emo is a style of rock music characterized by melodic musicianship and expressive, often confessional lyrics. It originated in the mid-1980s hardcore punk movement of Washington, D.C., where it was known as "emotional hardcore" or "emocore" and pioneered by bands such as Rites of Spring and Embrace...
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.
Though declining to reform on a permanent basis, Hum has continued to perform occasional club shows and regional festival appearances. In an interview with the AV Club, for whom Hum headlined a show in 2011, Matt Talbot affirmed that Hum was likely to continue on an informal, sporadic basis.
In May 2010, Miami-based record label Pop Up Records, announced a Hum tribute album in the works entitled "Songs of Farewell and Departure: A Tribute to HUM
Songs of Farewell and Departure: A Tribute to Hum
Songs of Farewell and Departure is a tribute album to Hum, released in September 6, 2011 via Pop Up Records. A promo video for the tribute was released on August 9, 2011...
" featuring Funeral For a Friend
Funeral for a Friend
Funeral for a Friend are a Welsh post-hardcore band, from Bridgend. Formed 2001, they have released five studio albums, seven EPs, sixteen singles, one DVD, and one compilation album.-Formation and Early Years:...
, The Esoteric, Anakin, (Damn) This Desert Air, Constants, Junius
Junius (band)
Junius is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. The bands name is taken after Junius, the pseudonym of a political writer who lived during the late 1700's.-History:...
, City of Ships, and more.
Members
- Matt Talbott – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Tim Lash – guitar
- Jeff Dimpsey – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Bryan St. Pere – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Previous members
- Andy Switzky – guitar, vocals (1989–1993)
- Akis Boyatzis – bass guitar (1989–1990)
- Jeff Kropp – drums (1989–1990)
- Joe Futrelle – bass guitar (1990)
- Rod Van Huis – bass guitar (1990–1991)
- Baltie de Lay – bass guitar (1991–1993)
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
||
| Fillet Show |
|
— |
| Electra 2000 Electra 2000 Electra 2000 is the second studio album by the Champaign, Illinois post-hardcore band Hum. Originally released in 1993 by 12 Inch Records, the first run was limited to 1,000 copies had the band's name printed in black lettering. The album also included "Monty Python Organ Grinder", an instrumental... |
Compact Cassette The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel... |
— |
| You'd Prefer an Astronaut You'd Prefer an Astronaut You'd Prefer an Astronaut is the third studio album by the Champaign, Illinois post-hardcore band Hum. It was released in 1995 by RCA Records as their major label debut.... |
RCA RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor... |
105 |
| Downward Is Heavenward Downward Is Heavenward Downward Is Heavenward is the fourth and last studio album by the Champaign, Illinois post-hardcore band Hum. It was released in 1998 by RCA Records.-Reception:... |
|
150 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Mod |
U.S. Main |
|||||
| 1992 | "Hello Kitty" / "Roar, I'm a Tiger" | — | — | Non-album release | ||
| "Sundress" / "Time Is Melting" | — | — | ||||
| 1995 | "I'd Like Your Hair Long" | — | — | You'd Prefer an Astronaut | ||
| "Stars Stars (Hum song) "Stars" is the second single from Hum's 1995 album You'd Prefer an Astronaut. The single was modestly successful in the United States, peaking at number eleven on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, and at number twenty-eight on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. The single was instrumental in helping You'd... " |
11 | 28 | ||||
| "The Pod" | — | — | ||||
| 1998 | "Puppets" / "Aphids" | — | — | Downward Is Heavenward | ||
| "Green to Me" | — | — | ||||
| "Comin' Home" | 37 | — | ||||
| "—" denotes singles that did not chart. | ||||||