There are some lyrics that stay with you wherever you go, going round in circles in your brain and every now and then returning to the front of your conscience, reminding you of a band you absolutely love.
There are some lyrics that stay with you wherever you go, going round in circles in your brain and every now and then returning to the front of your conscience, reminding you of a band you absolutely love. “Don’t ask me why, some men where just born to die’, are lyrics from the song Cuddle Up The Devil by The Fumes. The kind of song that, were you showing the band to someone for the first time, you’d play first. It embodies everything these gentlemen do best. Dirty lyrics that feel like they’ve been dragged through the mud co-existing with a massive blues sound that emanates from a very limited amount of sources. No one does it better than seminal two piece, The Fumes. Just to reiterate that last point, NO ONE DOES THIS BETTER. Capital letters unnecessary? Potentially. Deal with it.
One EP and two long players in, The Fumers are heading out for their first headline tour of 2011, pretty strange for a band that spends more time on the road than truckies. Joel Battersby, the Goliath behind the kit who makes snare drums and cymbals regret their existence reckons it was all to plan. “We had a whole bunch of supports at the start of the year, I think it was calculated, to tell you the truth,” he nods.
“We did a shit-load of touring last year and I think you have to give everyone a chance to come and see you again,” he explains. “‘Cause if you just keep going round and round, people are a bit skeptical… especially if you haven’t got a new record out or anything.”
The tours at the start of the year were pretty spectacular in themselves, playing alongside American heroes, Clutch and Calexico. The most interesting however was their jaunt with Aussie legends Hoodoo Gurus. “Ah, that was awesome man,” battersby gushes, “the shows were awesome… but I thought it was a bid odd they were doing smaller rooms. Not really what I was expecting, so I didn’t really know how it was going to go down, but we just ended up smashing it, the Hoodoo Guru fans loved us.” And how did tub-thumping elder-statesman Mark Kingsmill hold up on the drums? “Kingsmill on the drums was a beast,” Battersby grins. “It was awesome watching him; he’s like the oldest guy in the band, and he goes hard, man… he’s great to watch.”
The Fumes are also fresh from their second trip to the ‘States in two years and from all accounts, it was once more a successful outing. Not having a physical release there at all, they decided to re-release their 2006 debut, Guns Of Gold, the album that cemented their position in Aussie rock and/or roll. Even committing to a re-release of the same single and video, Automobile. Battersby is in two minds.“I dunno, I kind of have mixed feelings about that; it kind of feels like we’re going back in time,” he laughs, “but at the same time, when we were over there we played a bunch of songs that we haven’t played in a long time off the first record… and it felt really good.
“One of the songs we did, Kingboy, it had been like two years since we had last played it, and we didn’t rehearse, we just kind of let it find its own feet. So yeah,” he grins, “it was a little bit bizarre going over and playing songs we hadn’t played in ages. But, by the end of it, we were tightened up and I think ready to give ‘em another run over here.”
And that’s just what The Fumes lads intend on doing. They want to pay back all the fans that have been there from the start by digging into the archives and playing some of their more rarely played tunes from all their releases. Even songs like the amazing low-fi, rootsy, MysteryBelle, might get another run… that is, of course, if Steve has been practicing. Battersby is quick to point out the lack of drums in the song, removing any kind of responsibility with a big grin.
But, not only will they be playing rarely played songs, they’re taking requests as well. So if there’s a Fumes song you’ve been dying to hear, you’re now able to jump on their Facebook page and harass the shit out of them. This should be a very diverse and entertaining, retrospective look at a band at the forefront of blues in Australia (they’re headlining The Sydney Blues Festival for a reason, after all). Just one more question needed to be asked…
Is there any new material?
“Yeah man, heaps.”
Will they be debuting anything on the tour?
“Nah, it’s nowhere near ready… but the embryo is growing.”
This is some heartening news for the reams of Fumes fans. With a new tour digging into the archives and new stuff on the way, all sounds well in The Fumes camp.
Indeed, if you haven’t seen or heard much about The Fumes, yours truly cannot recommend a band more worth a crack. Bands like The Fumes are national treasures and should be treated as so. They’re amazing at what they do, and even better blokes. Get amongst it, or else. You’ve been warned.
THE FUMES hit the road with the excellent ELLIOT BROOD (Canada) and play Ruby’s Lounge in Belgrave on October 15, The East Brunswick Club in Melbourne on October 16 (tickets from The East box office, 9388 9794 or eastbrunswickclub.com ) and The National Hotel in Geelong on October 17.
