Geek alert: Hum, a local fave here in the '90s, is reuniting for a New Year's Eve gig in Chicago at the Double Door. KC's the Life and Times is opening. (And playing at the Bluebird next Thursday, October 16, with the Jovian Chorus and others -- and after seeing the LaT open for Swervedriver in June, GO!) Tickets aren't cheap ($65) but they are on sale now and appear to include an open bar.
Contrary to what some might think, this Hum show likely isn't some cynical cash grab; I caught up with Matt Talbott in June, and this was his response to a question about the potential for Hum shows.
"We've gotten asked to do a few things here and there and have not really come to any decisions," he says. "I would say there’s a chance that we’d play another show or two sometime in the next couple years, but it’s hard to say, and not something we labor over very much. [We'd] just [have to] see if the right thing pops up where we're all available with our work and family commitments and all that, and if we’d have the time and enthusiasm to re-learn the material and have fun with it."
Indeed, Talbott is quite a busy man. Open Hand (which is on Kansas City's Anodyne Records) has been at his recording studio, Great Western Record Recorders, with Paul Malinowski (Shiner, Riddle of Steel) producing. The Forms recorded part of its last record there, and So Many Dynamos also traveled up there to finish up its upcoming album, The Loud Wars, with Chris Walla.
Talbott also coaches high school football, cares for his kids and is teaching at Milliken University in Decatur. And then there's his post-Hum band Centaur, which performed at the Pygmalion Festival in Champaign last month.
“Centaur has all the material written for a follow-up record to In Streams, I like the material a lot," Talbott says. "I find life as a grown-up to be pretty overwhelming, so it’s just a matter of finding time to get the money together to get it recorded, because if I was going to do it at my own studio, I’d probably need a little bit of help. Plus I’d have to shut down my studio for some time, and then I wouldn’t be making any money there.
"I think we actually had plans to record it three years ago, and then my wife got pregnant with our last baby, and so we waved that off. I’ve just been waiting for the right time, when I feel like my juices are flowing properly – and then I would look forward to the chance to make another Centaur record, because it’s pretty fun and I’m proud of the first one."
Want to know why all of this is so exciting? Download a bunch of old Hum shows and watch the video below -- and discover for yourself.
"I'd Like Your Hair Long" (MTV's 120 Minutes)
