Tumbleweed Return to Earth

Tumbleweed broke up after being in the thick of the Australian grunge movement of the early '90s, leaving behind them a string of revered albums. The Homebake festival has enticed them back into being - we get the 'Armchair Ride' from Richie Lewis to find out about getting the band back together.

yourGigs (yG): What was the band's initial response to the Homebake offer to play? Had there been any other previous offers to reform and, if so, what appealed about Homebake?

Richie Lewis (RL): The initial response was, sure we'll think about it. We had had offers to put the classic line-up of Tumbleweed together in the past but never thought we would ever do it. The fact that it was a 15-year anniversary and that we were closely involved with the first Homebake and its guinea pig predecessor, Weedstock, gave us a little more reason, along with the fact that, now, the time was right for us to let go of our demons.

yG: Were there any reservations in getting the band back together?

RL: Yeah, it had been a long time since we had talked, let alone played together. We had all learned to live our lives without Tumbleweed and had pretty much relegated it to our past. So we were apprehensive about dredging up the past, and also we didn't want to be just old boring try-hards trying to relive past glories.

yG: What was the first meeting and rehearsal with everyone like?

RL: Practice was in Lenny and Jay's mum's garage, the same place we used to practice all those years ago; it was like stepping back in time. There were remnants of old set lists and posters and stickers on the wall from the early '90s. Everyone still had their original gear, Paul still used his original tuner, Steve still used the drum kit I sold him when he first joined the band, old big muff pedals and wah-wah pedals that needed a kick to get going. Everybody set up and it was like "what now?" I suggested 'Sundial' and it sounded better than ever. It blew our minds and the fear disappeared the moment the monster was unleashed.

yG: Do you think you will have to revisit a certain headspace you were in at the time to play Tumbleweed's music, or do you think you will be just presenting a contemporary take on it with the people/musicians you are today?

RL: I don't know, that's kind of putting the cart before the horse. It has never been an act. The music is the thing that puts us in the headspace, not the other way around. We will be approaching the music in the same way we always did, if it's different to how it was, that's something beyond our control.

yG: Where do you see the band fitting in the current music climate - and how do you think things have changed since your initial incarnation?

RL: I think there's room for everyone, I don't think there is another band like us, so variation in the current music climate has got to be a good thing.

yG: What do you think it is about that era of music, and your band's music, that people still hold dear, and what do you think of the current interest in it (with recent reformations including yourselves and Custard, Underground Lovers, etc)?

RL: Music becomes a soundtrack to your life, all the young people that were discovering the bright, beautiful world around them in the early '90s - going to shows, buying records, getting drunk and taking drugs with friends - they are now in their late 30s; they lived through it and the music they listened to is a connection to the sunny memories of their youth.

yG: Are you worried at all about the effect that reforming will have on the existing legacy of the band?

RL: I think that we were pretty much swept under the carpet, gone and forgotten, and I had gotten used to that. I hope that this reunion will realise the contribution we made to Australian music. If there is an existing legacy and we ruin it by playing again, but now as fat, old, boring dudes, so be it. It's never done much for me.

yG: Do you think there is any unfinished business or unrealised ambitions for the band that the reformation can hope to address?

RL: No, not really. There is so much more to life.

yG: Have you left the door open to extending the reformation past the festival and current series of shows - and even recording new Tumbleweed music?

RL: We are concentrating on making these shows the best they can possibly be. Recording or anything beyond that is too much to think about. At this stage, no. But the door is always open.

Andy Ryan
21 Oct 2009

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