In 1992, Australian band Tumbleweed released their self-titled debut record, granting them access to the gravy train of the nascent grunge movement.
Twenty-six years later and Tumbleweed are back on track, playing the record live and in full for the first time.
For vocalist Richie Lewis, it's always been a labour of love. “We love playing and that's why we're still doing it all these years later,” Richie says.
“There's something addictive about it and something that keeps drawing us back.
“In regards to touring this album it's exciting because there was a certain amount of creative challenges along the way with how to replicate some of those songs on that album in a live context.
“So that's been fun figuring out how to make that work in the practice room and I'm looking forward to taking some of that out and bringing it on to a stage where we can expand those ideas.”
To prepare for the tour, Richie went back and listened to the album for the first time in over 25 years and found a new appreciation for a record that, at the time of production, he felt had been taken over by their producer.
“We'd just signed to Atlantic Records in America… it was a time when the whole grunge explosion was about to happen and everybody wanted the next hit,” he explains.
“So Atlantic Records hooked us up with an American producer called Doug Olson, who was working out of Smart Studios in Wisconsin, and his claim to fame was he was an engineer on Butch Vig's recordings, so he had a connection to 'Nevermind' [Nirvana, 1990], which is what every record label wanted at the time.
“As a result of that he came in and really grabbed the reins of the recording and a lot of it became his own production.
“When it came to listen to it for the first time we felt a little bit disappointed that it didn't represent the kind of band we were live at the time, the kind of band we thought we were: 21-year-old dudes who think they know everything.”
With a fresh perspective on the album and the recent addition of a new bass player, Richie says audiences can look forward to seeing Tumbleweed back at their best. “It's been a long road to get to this point but we're really loving it at the moment in the practice room,” he says.
“We've got a new bass player, Jamie [Cleaves] who has organically fit in so easily. He's been in the band a year now, but he's brought a new spark of life to it and he's allowed us to move on a little it.
“It's just easier, so we're really enjoying it and when we do get together it's our moment to escape from reality, enjoy each other's company and play some music.”
Tumbleweed Tour Dates
Fri 6 Jul – Badlands Bar (Perth)Sat 7 Jul - Prince Of Wales (Bunbury)
Fri 13 Jul - Miami Shark Bar (Gold Coast)
Sat 14 Jul - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Sat 21 Jul - Marrickville Bowling Club (Sydney)
Fri 27 Jul - The Gov (Adelaide)
Sat 28 Jul - Croxton Band Room (Melbourne)
