The highly anticipated reissue of the iconic 1995 album – the 20th Anniversary SuperGalactaphonic Edition – features the13 original songs, as well as five cassette demos (including alternate versions of Hang Around, Gyroscope and Round The Bend, alongside two never-before-released songs, Salamander Sam and Paddy The Pram Man), nine B-sides and EP tracks, and seven previously unreleased live recordings from triple j’s Live At the Wireless.
“It was amazing to rediscover Galactaphonic again, because honestly, since we recorded it all those years ago, we hadn’t listened to it much – so listening to it with fresh ears was fantastic,” says Lewis. “One thing I was surprised by was how much distortion was used on the vocals, but I love how short, sweet, vibrant, fast and punchy that album is.”
Not only does this release have Tumbleweed fans around the world reminiscing about the golden era of ‘90s rock, it’s led the Wollongong band on a welcome trip down memory lane. “We’ve had to relearn a lot of the songs and spend time together rehearsing them. Of course songs like Hang Around and Nothin’ To Do With The Weather have always been part of our set, but others like This’ll Be The End Of Me, Medicine, Feed The River and Jupiter we had to get together and learn again.”
Lewis says the process of unearthing old live recordings, demos, B-sides and rarities was a unique form of therapy in the wake of the unexpected passing of founding bassist Jason ‘Jay’ Curley in August last year.
“While it was cool going through all the old tapes that Steve [O’Brien, drums] had collected over the years, it was something we had to ease into, because after Jay died we weren’t really sure what we wanted to do next, as far as the band goes. But it was something we’d talked about since the reissue of The Waterfront Years [a compilation album released in 2010], so we spoke to Universal Records about the possibility of putting something together and they were all for it – so from there the idea grew wings and started to fly.
“It was definitely a nice way to dip our toes back into the water, so now we’re really looking forward to getting out on the road again – and I think the fact that we aren’t simply doing a ‘best of Tumbleweed’ tour, like we’ve done before, we’re doing something that’s really direct, and it’ll be purely Galactaphonic from beginning to end.”
In the days following Curley’s death, with the resolve that something good should come from the tragedy, Tumbleweed released the single Drop In The Ocean. Along with honouring the memory of their departed band mate, they packaged their tribute with a clip to raise awareness for the non-profit conservation organisation Sea Shepherd Australia.
“One thing that has been on my mind a lot since Jay died is that life is short,” says Lewis. “You’re on this planet for a finite amount of time and you’ve got the choice of how you’re going to spend your time. So together we made a conscious decision that if we’re going to do something, give it a reason and use whatever platform we’ve built to do it.
“Sea Shepherd do great work in our oceans, protecting and conserving it – it’s for the future of the planet, the future of humanity, you know? I support everything they do. You’ve got to do what you can to try and make the world a better place.”
BY NATALIE ROGERS
