Tumbleweed take a trip back to ‘92
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Tumbleweed take a trip back to ‘92

In ’92 Tumbleweed were at the top of the heap following the runaway success of their back to back Eps, direct signing to Atlantic records in America, and a string of successful tours and supports with acts such as Mudhoney, Nirvana, Rollins and Iggy Pop. The train was rolling at full steam by the time they released their debut album which entered the national charts at number 12 and spawned hit singles such as ‘Sundial’ and ‘Acid Rain’, which have remained pivotal songs in the Tumbleweed story to this day.
Earlier this year, they released their self-titled debut album on vinyl and embarked on a national tour through July to celebrate, playing the album in its entirety, live for the first time ever. That tour went so well, they’ve now added some more dates, including a stop at Geelong’s Barwon Club. We chat to drummer Richard Lewis ahead of the show.
Hey guys thanks for chatting to Forte again! It’s been a busy year for you – and it’s not looking to slow down any time soon. How are you and what have you been up to?
In between touring we return to Wollongong, it’s our home and sanctuary, the buzz and hum of everyday life takes over, we practice on weekends (if I can make it) and the band has been trying out a whole new bunch of great 60’s psych songs to add to the set.
You’ve got some select regional shows of your hits and misses coming up, appearing with the likes of Hockey Dad, The Pretty Things, The Hard Ons and The Vanns. What’s the idea behind getting out on the road again?
We wanted to do a run of capital cities first and then follow it with a run of regional and satellite cities, we chucked Hobart in there too because we missed it first time around. We are very excited about the Pretty Things show in Sydney, we are big fans, it will be a real treat and the last opportunity anyone has of seeing them live – this is their final tour. If you don’t know about the Pretty things, listen to SF Sorrow or Parachute, both absolute classics!
The fun doesn’t stop there. You’ve also got Yours & Owls festival at the end of September which adds even more variety to your year of performances. Do you find your sound lends you guys to perform on any stage?
We tend to go OK on big festival stages, we did the Day on The Green earlier this year and it was great, I always liked doing festivals, different atmosphere, new faces, we used to do them all the time, now not so often so it’s a rare treat. We kind of adapt to whatever stage we are playing.
Yours and Owls is a great festival and it’s a privilege to be asked to close the festival this year.
You toured your debut album earlier this year, performing the album live for the first time. How was the tour? Any particular highlights from that?
It was great playing the first album from start to finish. It was a different dynamic; where our usual live set is constructed around building the intensity as we go, with the album set, it was a kind of peppered in light and shade. It took a while to get used to it, it worked best at bigger shows like the Triffid in Brisbane or Croxton Bandroom in Melbourne, we could let the songs breath and have the space they needed. We recorded the Triffid show and hope to release it as a live album.
Did that tour inspire anything for you guys in terms of new music, or even an album for the Weed fans?
I’m not sure about albums any more; the cost of recording them, the intensity of producing a collection of songs at the same time, in the same manner and releasing this collection as a unified piece, I don’t think it works for us. You put all this effort into song number nine and then it just sits on an album somewhere that no one ever hears; they hear the singles, you play the singles. We were talking a lot about what we should do, I mean, part of being in a band is creating, writing new songs, releasing new stuff, we never really wanted to be a nostalgia band playing the same old tunes forever. We are keen to do new stuff and have been writing new songs and I am excited about where they could go, but we think the best way to do it is to record a couple of songs at a time and release limited edition vinyl singles, available via subscription, then at the end of 12 months or so make a compilation album of the best recordings available in the usual way. This is what we would like to do. Also doing singles gives us the freedom to make it more experimental and cover more angles without having to make it fit a certain sound or feel.
We saw you teamed up with Valhalla Brewing to put out the limited brew ‘Galactaphonic Tonic’ which is awesome!! How did this collab occur, and how did it go? What input did you get to have?
A Weed fan contacted Steve about something else entirely, turns out this guy brews beer and does a fine job of it too. He suggested we collaborate on a brew, a fruity juicy pale Ale and we came up with the name “Galactaphonic Tonic” as a nod to the Sonic rendezvous band song “Electraphonic Tonic” as well as the obvious Tumbleweed Galactaphonic reference. Steve laid out the artwork from Lenny’s original Galactaphonic cover art, it’s a quality product and delicious too!
The last time we spoke was in April last year ahead of your support tour with fellow Aussie rockers Spiderbait – a tour which you explained as ‘spawning a new vitality in the band’. Is that what it has been like for you guys since then?
Kram was the one who twisted our arm to get back together to support Spiderbait on their Ivy shows at the Corner hotel in Melbourne. We were in limbo at the time, we didn’t want to go through the process of trying to find a replacement for Jay, it was too hard and it was not something that we really wanted to do. But, when we started jamming with Jamie, things just seemed very natural, very right. We have known Jamie since our very early days, his band Dawn Patrol used to play with us and Jay and Jamie became good friends; I think if there was one guy on this planet that Jay would approve of being in the band, it would be Jamie. Jamie’s humility and positivity is infectious and we are pretty happy these days; he is a fantastic bass player and he has helped us to move on. These days, with all the other life commitments, work and family etc. getting together as a band is a nice distraction from the everyday, it’s a chance to get back together with friends and lose yourself in the timeless dimension of rock n roll.
Thanks for chatting guys. To finish up, what can punters expect from this Geelong show?
We have a long connection with The Barwon Club, it helped form us back in the day. It’s always wild and something unexpected always happens, I have learned to expect the unexpected.
When & Where: The Barwon Club, Geelong – October 12. Tickets available at oztix.com.au or direct from The BC bar.