The Humms

THE HUMMS

Location: Athens, Georgia
Members: Zeke Sayer (Guitar, vocals, organ), Tyler Glenn (Bass, backing vocals), John Bleech (Drums, backing vocals)
Genre: Garage/Surf/Psychedelic/Rock/Punk
Record Label: EP by Oddbox Records, everything else by Gypsy Farm (self label)
The Humms on MySpace

You know how every now and then, you go to a thrift store or mall and find a little treasure that you can afford to have? Well, The Humms are definitely the musical equivalent of that. Upon looking at their MySpace, I instantly heard a genius combination of old-school garage punk, with a very strong modern surfer twist. Yet another unsung band that I have the joy of discovering. :)

Here's a small interview I had with Zeke.

You guys are easily one of the best psychedelic bands I've heard in a long time. What are some of your main musical influences?
We are always listening to different things. The ones we keep coming back to are The Carter Family, The Mummies, Flaming Lips, Dexter Romweber, Flat Duo Jets, Radiohead, and Beatles.

How did you come up with the band name?

I honestly can't remember. Let's say a rock covered in grape jelly came to me one morning in March and said, "You will be The Humms".

How long have you guys known each other?

Tyler and myself have known each other for 2 or 3 years now. I went to high school with his older brother. We've known Bleech for a little over a year. Tyler and I were in a band before The Humms, and after that we found Bleech in Commerce, Georgia, down the road from a gas station.

Any deep background information you'd like to share?

I was kicked out of high school in the 11th grade for shooting a girl with an aerosoft toy gun.

Do you have names for your instruments?

No, but I have a picture of Sharon Tate taped to my guitar.

Who is the main songwriter?

I am, mainly. Sometimes the others come up with things, but I'm usually the one that finishes them up. Bleech has been slowly getting into songwriting. When all is said and done, we've all added in our own thing by choice or mistake.

What are the main inspirations for your songs?

I can't really think of any inspirations besides just wanting to write a song that we like.

Is there any possibility of The Humms doing a cover of "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot?

We've all thought about that. We keep telling ourselves we are going to work on a cover of "Gangster's Paradise", but it keeps getting put on the back burner.

What are your current musical career goals? Any long-term goals?

We don't have any musical goals that could be reached within a suitable amount of time. One long-term goal is to enjoy our time here. We're also making a film called Planets vs. Crocodiles, which will be a documentary about music scenes and touring with us. You can watch a trailer for it now at www.thehumms.com .

Where can I usually find The Humms playing live?

We've played everything from venues, basements, a Nazi hang-out, and a Mormon house party. We like them all. We just got home from doing our first real leg of a tour. We went up through Kentucky and Illinois.

Any big upcoming shows?

In a week we will start out again, going through Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

What do you guys find most challenging about being a band?

Holding things together seems hard sometimes, but it always manages to work out right before we cut each others throats.

I have heard rumors that Zeke is leaving the band to focus on his secret relationship with Demi Moore. Thoughts?

I liked Ghost, but that's as far as it goes.

What do your families and friends think of The Humms?

A lot of our friends respect/like what we're doing, but in Hartwell/Commerce, Georgia (where we were born), no one really understands this type of thing. It's all modern country and classic rock there, which is one reason why we had to move to Athens. Our families like it, but don't always understand either. We're still their "babies" in their eyes. My dad and Tyler's dad understand mostly though because they've both been touring musicians in their younger days. My dad actually still gigs and is approaching his mid 70's. Bleech's father has also been so helpful, helping us lug the stuff around in the early days.

Any hobbies aside from making music?

I honestly don't do much else. I have other bands that keep me busy when The Humms are away: The Ice Creams, Z-Dog and The Travlin Gypsy Band, and other things with my home label Gypsy Farm. Tyler does a lot of painting. He actually just got commissioned to do a mural for a local business. He also spends a lot of time at the Athens Skate Park and "dabbling with things around the house we live in. Bleech usually stays at home, plays video games, collects old country records, and reads.

Any last thoughts?

Many.

I can honestly say that when I visit a band's MySpace, I normally don't spend more than five minutes on it. I read what's interesting, listen to a few songs, and leave. However, today was a first: while typing up the interview, I stayed on The Humms' page long enough to finish their entire music player's worth of songs-AND I was a little sad when it all ended. Their latest EP, Are You Dead?, strongly reminds me of Devendra Banhart meets The Beach Boys meets funk. Each song is more addicting than the last, which makes Are You Dead? an incredible EP.

Here is a little background from Zeke on each song:

"Are You Dead?"--Written one night while I had a smoke on my back deck at my old house. Before I moved to the city of Athens, I lived in the hills of North Georgia by myself and there was a cow pasture behind the woods in my back yard. That night, I listened to the sound of a cow screaming while it was being attacked by wild dogs.

"Do The Graverobber!"--The idea of robbing graves has always fascinated me, not yet to the point of actually doing it...but it was intended to be a dance that I came up with. You shuffle your feet and make digging movements with your hands while shaking your head.

"LSD Is Evil!"-- It was actually about a time when I took shrooms, but LSD rang better in song form.

"No One Wants to Be Alone on Valentine's Day"-- It speaks about how everyone gets lonely from time to time, even if you get over it in a few days. It's half-way kind of mocking the idea.

You can pre-order Are You Dead Yet? here. Hurry, only 120 copies available.