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“Do What You Love, Take What You Earn, and Make it Work”:
The Hush Sound discuss hiatus, decompression, and their reunion tour.
Indie pop-rock band The Hush Sound formed in 2004 in Chicago, by female vocalist and pianist Greta Salpeter, guitarist and male vocalist Bob Morris, drummer Darren Wilson and former bassist Mike Leblanc, who was quickly replaced by current bassist Chris Faller. The band released their first studio album So Sudden in 2005, and garnered attention for their eclectic blend of piano and rock, beautiful lyrics, and the complement of Salpeter’s ethereal vocals with Morris’ driving vocals.
After the release of their first album, the band toured relentlessly, pausing only briefly to release two consecutive albums, 2006’s Like Vines and 2007’s Goodbye, Blues. The band was pummeled by success and burnt out from incessant touring. After Chris Faller quit in the middle of 2008’s Dance Across the Country tour, The Hush Sound finished the tour only to ultimately decide to go on hiatus—much to the overwhelming disappointment of their cult following.
Following four years of dabbling in other projects and fans’ dwindling hopes of a reunion, the Internet exploded when, in August 2012, the band announced a fall tour. I was lucky enough to catch the band for a chat in between their two Boston shows at TT the Bear’s on November 17. My ninth grade dream was realized when I strolled into the band’s dressing room and they invited me to pull up a chair. The interview kicked off perfectly, with Bob and Greta serenading me with Michelle Branch’s “Everywhere.”
Is this my preview for the concert?
GS: You should be recording already! [Bob continues to belt out some Michelle Branch.]
Oh, I am recording!
GS: Oh no! She is recording! [Bob holds the final note while Greta and Chris laugh.]
Okay, let’s get started. The Hush Sound has been on a hiatus for four years now, hence the reunion tour. What compelled you guys to call a hiatus in the first place?
CF: Sometimes…stuff stinks.
BM: You weren’t even in the band anymore at the time!
CF: Well, I initiated the hiatus by quitting the band.
BM: You made us bummed out!
CF: Well, I was bummed! They [Bob, Greta, and Darren] made me bummed out, so I had to leave, and then—
GS: Long story short: Too much, too fast, got tired, needed a break.
CF: It was like super college! Because we were all college-going age and we were on tour all of the time, and living a crazy life. Not that it was that crazy—but compared to the world we knew before we went on tour, it was a sharp contrast. So, I think there was some time we needed to take off to decompress and digest everything we had learned over that course of time and to become adults.
BM: [joking] The road had pummeled us with loneliness.
CF: Yes, certainly loneliness.
GS: Yeah, oddly enough.
And how did decompressing go?
GS: Decompressing was great!
BM: It was good!
GS: We’re now much healthier, happier people.
So, what were you guys up to over the years?
GS: A whole lot of stuff…I’ve been playing a bunch of music. I started another band called Gold Motel and went on tour for a while.
BM: I’ve been doing a little side project called Debate Team and we did an album real quick. And you know, I was recording and playing music as well.
CF: You moved to LA!
BM: Oh, yeah, I moved to LA. Greta and I both moved to Los Angeles.
DW: And you were in another band too…[in reference to Bob’s short-lived stint with the group Stamps]
BM: No, I wasn’t. That’s stricken from the record. I’m rewriting history, bro!
DW: I went to school. I’m going to Loyola University in Chicago and I am studying political science and history, and that’s been really sweet.
CF: I played some music and hung out for a number of years.
DW: Not in any particular band. He just—
CF: No, just a number—well, a number of bands!
GS: Yeah, you did Mutts, Company of Thieves, Family Order…
BM: You should namedrop a few of them.
CF: The Sleep Talkers, Field Auxiliary…
BM: The air conditioning repairmen…
CF: Uh huh! I did a little air conditioning repair with my dad’s guitar player from his band—my dad’s a drummer…
BM: In the band Zip Tang—check it out.
CF: You know, just a bunch of stuff. Grew some hair. [Chris waves halfheartedly at his long hair and beard, while the rest of the band laughs.]
How was it coming back together after playing in so many different groups? Is it hard to rework your signature sound again?
CF: It seems like everything is just falling into place now.
BM: It is what it is to the most unbelievably strong degree. We have these individual personalities that come together and then form this thing that is The Hush Sound.
GS: It’s like any relationship, you know, or any friendship: You have you, you have the other person, and you have the relationship. The relationship really is a separate entity than what the two people are when they’re alone. Kind of like ingredients, when you put two flavors together and it will taste unlike either of them separately. That’s kind of what the band is. Did you like my artistic metaphor?
If you’re all different ingredients, together, what dish are you?
CF: A bowl of cumin!
GS: We could be a Moroccan rub!
CF: I think so, I think so!
GS: Darren can be the coriander; Chris can be the cumin—
BM: I’m the thyme, baby.
GS: You can be the thyme and I’ll be the cinnamon.
BM: Mmm.
GS: We need a little sugar, we need a little brown sugar!
BM: Oh, some brown sugar!
GS: We need some cayenne pepper!
BM: Brown sugar, if you’re out there, come find us.
Is it weird to go back and play all of your old songs after not having played them for so long? Is it hard to play them and make them feel authentic?
BM: Kinda, yeah.
GS: You have to find something new about them. You know, it’s the same thing as with any job—if you do the same job all of the time, it can get really redundant, unless everyday you try to approach it differently.
BM: Plus, I think, at the end of the first version of The Hush Sound, we were all just really played out because we had been so relentlessly on the road. In a way, the songs feel much more fresh now than ever.
DW: I think since we’ve done a few shows and everyone has settled in, we’ve started to find new things about the songs that we didn’t really have before—logistically.
CF: The thing is, that what used to be hard isn’t so hard anymore; things that used to not sound so good, all of a sudden sound a little better. Also, we’re a little more forgiving on ourselves with what music is and what it can be. It’s okay if it is what it is because what else is it going to be…?
We’re getting philosophical!
BM: It’s like we were all in the army and we all got shipped off to different mercenary schools where it was all taught a little differently, and you kind of picked up some [skills], some French kickboxing, all of that cool stuff. Then we came back together and all of a sudden we’re showing each other cool moves.
How has your sound evolved since your last album Goodbye, Blues? Are you writing new material?
DW: Uhm, better?
GS: We are writing new music.
CF: Well, I guess we haven’t really done it yet.
BM: Yeah. We’re still in the very beginning stages of putting together new pieces, so it’s kind of hard to say.
CF: Right now, Bob and Greta are trying to come up with song ideas. We’re at that stage where there are song ideas but we have yet to really come together and do the band thing.
GS: Other than the one we played on this tour.
CF: Other than that one, yeah, which might still change.
So, what are you listening to now?
GS: My favorite records this year so far have been The Orwells’ Remember When and Margo Gruyan 25 Demos.
BM: I’m a big Dr. Dog fan.
DW: I just recently got into Ryan Adams, who Chris and Greta look down on me for…
GS: Oh my God! I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were a big fan of his!
CF: [laughter] I’m not sorry.
CF: I’ve been listening to a lot of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks—their album Mirror Traffic.
BM: Pavement? [Stephen Malkmus’ former band]
CF: I like some Pavement. I get off on that, man. Bach is awesome, as it turns out—as in Johann Sebastian.
GS: As it turns out?!
CF: Well, I didn’t realize how awesome he was!
BM: Curtis Mayfield. That’s always a good van-pleaser.
GS: Our van gets all excited when we play him.
You guys have a lot of varied influences, and not just musical influences. The last time I saw The Hush Sound perform was during 2008’s Dance Across the Country Tour, and you played a little song called “We Believe in Barack Obama.” Have you written any political jams lately?
[Greta, Bob, Darren, and Chris break out into laughter.]DW: Yeah, we just have chosen not to share them.
BM: No, we’ve chosen not to express our politics anymore.
DW: Right.
BM: It’s just all bullshit. The whole thing. So, why should we get vocal about liking someone? I want good things to happen, I just—
CF: He’s just not willing to vote for them.
BM: I just don’t want to go out. It’s expensive to vote.
I’ll use this as a cheesy segue: Speaking of change, what are you hoping to get out of this tour?
BM: This tour is more about shaking off the rust and sort of reconnecting with some people. We always did the same one Chicago show every year to kind of hang out, [but] to get over here to the East Coast, it’s been like woah! Last night in Philly, I was like, “Holy shit! People are pumped! This is awesome!”
Did you have any fears starting up again, wondering what the fan base would be?
GS: I have no fears ever.
BM: No…I don’t think we are that concerned about it. We are very fortunate that everybody is coming back, but I don’t know if we necessarily had any expectations.
CF: I think we had the expectation that people would come to the shows, because if we didn’t have that expectation, maybe we just wouldn’t do them.
GS: Right.
BM: I guess that’s true.
GS: Really, this tour is an experiment to see what it feels like to play again.
CF: It’s crazy to see everyone so excited!
DW: Yeah, it’s cool to see that people are being so enthusiastic as they are, because we’ve kind of all lived in different worlds for a little while and haven’t been in The Hush Sound land. When we come back to it, it’s cool to see people who are far away [from Chicago] still care.
BM: You kind of forget the feeling of incredible enthusiasm until you just hear people yelling at you.
So, I guess having fans yell at you is something that you never get used to, but is it something that you kind of secretly enjoy?
GS: It’s nice to feel like what you’re doing is making a difference. It’s so absurd that in this crazy world where there are so many people making so much music and putting it out in this huge cloud, it’s amazing that you can actually reach people on the other side. And then the fact that people respond to it—that they are making a connection—it’s incredible. So, while sometimes I’m incredibly awkward receiving any kind of compliment, deep down it’s like, “How great is this!” Deep down, I feel really lucky to be using, what I guess you would call “a talent”—something that I’ve been working on for a really long time—to connect with people.
DW: It’s cool when you go out after a show and you meet people and somebody gives you a compliment. It’s hard to take it all in, but then upon reflection, like later that night when you’re driving or the next day or whatever, you’re thinking about it and you’re like, “Wow. It’s crazy that people care so much and are so enthusiastic about something I’m a part of—that we’ve spent four years of our lives dedicated to.” To see that people are still as enthusiastic as they were is really cool. It’s hard to appreciate it in the moment because you just had, like, ten people tell you that [they like your music] and you kind of have to become numb to it after a while, but then later upon reflection, it’s a really big deal.
BM: Either people are lying to us, or we’ve changed people’s lives. [Joking:] I remember a steelworker in Pittsburgh who was laid off and didn’t know how he was going to put food on the table and I said to him, “Listen to my band. Buy our merchandise—spend the last of your money on our merchandise.” And he did. And my music saved him.
[Everyone breaks out in laughter]GS: The nice thing about music, at least for me personally, is that I feel like I’m just getting started. We’re constantly learning, and it’s always good to have a beginner’s attitude. So, when people talk about, “Oh, we like everything you’ve done so far,” it’s funny. But, it’s a good reminder. Sometimes it’s easy to just look at the distant star—where you want to be—whereas some people are saying, “By the way, you’ve already kind of accomplished some of that.” It’s cool.
This may be a difficult question to answer, since you started out professionally so young, but did you always plan on going into a career in music? Or is it something that you kind of fell into and it just worked?
GS: I think everybody who experiences joy from playing music has a dream of being able to do that and only that, but whether or not you would admit it or whether or not you think it’s possible is a different story. I always kind of felt that way. Music was a big dream—I just never thought that it could be possible as a career. I’m so glad that it worked out the way it did.
CF: There are a lot of people who will tell you that you can’t have a career in music. Or it’s really hard to put your all into it because you’ve got the nagging, “Oooh, you’re not going to make it!”
I’m studying film, so I’m getting that too. I understand!
CF: Yeah, right! Even though it’s something that you enjoy so much, there are still the voices from the culture—from society—that say, “Do something else.” So, you kind of have to ignore them.
BM: You just have to love what you do, and try to take what you earn and make it work.
GS: Also, you just do what comes naturally, and if you can make a living doing that, that’s great! There’s that great Alan Watts’ quote about career; he says that if there’s something that you love and you want to do, work on it until you are the best, and you will create a job for yourself. There is an audience for everything, so if you can just keep working and working, you can make it. The problem is that a lot of people give up too easily.
That’s true. They want that instant gratification.
GS: Yeah!
BM: It’s also our society telling you that if you don’t have a career right now, you’re kind of fucked. That’s not a good message to be sending out. You can continue to strive and strive and you do whatever you need to do to make ends meet. But yeah, people do give up really early and that’s a bad mentality. It’s like you’re not allowed to have dreams anymore.
GS: I teach some music lessons and a few people, who are in their early twenties, have said, “Oh, I’m 23, so I don’t know if it will ever happen.” And I’m thinking, like, my favorite songwriters—well, other than, I guess, Neil Young and The Beatles (BM: Michael Jackson, Steven Wonder…); there are a few people who did amazing stuff at their age—but a lot of the songwriters that I really respect were like fine wine and they wrote more complex and more interesting songs the older they were.
BM: Are you talking about the Lou Reed and Metallica album [Lulu]? [The album was a bizarre collaboration of Lou Reed’s spoken word over the music of Metallica, based on two plays by German playwright Frank Wedekind; it received terrible reviews upon its release in 2011]
GS: Sarcasm, in parentheses—put that in. This should be a rule—no joking about other artists in interviews.
When you’re writing music, do you usually start with the music itself or with the lyrics?
GS: I usually start kind of separately. I’ll be working on poems or writing short stories or whatever and then simultaneously be working on music, and then there’s just this happy synchronization that will happen.
BM: I think I write down in my phone a lot of stuff that I hear or come up with, and then I go to that and come up with something. If you have a good lyric, I feel like music forms around it more easily. But everybody writes music differently—I do it differently sometimes, too. It depends.
CF: You truly just need one direction to go in.
Thanks so much for talking with me.
CF: No problem!
BM: You’re welcome.
DW: Thank you.
GS: Don’t give up on film!
When Greta, Bob, Darren, and Chris took the stage later that night at 7:30, The Hush Sound didn’t sound like they were “shaking the rust off”—they sounded even better than they did four years. They treated fans to a jam-packed set of sixteen songs, sampling favorites from all three albums, including, “The Artist,” “Carry Me Home,” “Sweet Tangerine,” “We Intertwined,” “Medicine Man,” and “As You Cry.”
However, the best part of the show was that The Hush Sound seemed to be genuinely enjoying every moment in front of the audience: There was plenty of back and forth banter between the band and the crowd, and goofy smiles were fixed on the band members’ faces throughout the night. Judging by the band’s enthusiasm and the crowd’s reciprocal excitement, I think we don’t have to worry
By: Anneliese Scheck
Photos By: Natalie Landau