INTERVIEW: HUMMINGBIRD OF DEATH GET RADICAL

Not quite as hyped as some bands, and nowhere near as hyped as by all rights they should be, Radical Paul Praise of the frankly incomparable Give Praise Records has not only coerced Boise, Idaho Speed Force-channelling fast-pack Hummingbird Of Death into releasing a split 7" with him (stream that sucker here), but coerced drummer/vocalist Mike into talking about it. I KNOW, AWESOME RIGHT?

You have had a radical history of being in six or so other bands and projects. How did HOD become more of a serious project?

"Hummingbird Of Death became a serious band after our demo got such a good response in '05. We don't necessarily devote more time and energy to Hummingbird Of Death than to our other bands. This is just the band that has generated the biggest following. We got really lucky there."

How long does it usually take you to write an album, do you turn the speed generator on and blast 'em out?

"It usually takes months, if not an entire year, give or take. Sometimes we go through periods where we play a lot of local shows or the occasional tour, and we have to spend our practice time on our live set instead of learning new stuff. That just drags it out even longer. I want to make sure every song we write is good and stands on its own. If it takes a while to achieve a whole album's worth of those songs, so be it."

You played the coveted 2009 Speed Trials at 924 Gilman Street. How did that go? What was it like actually being measured on speed alone?

"Actually, the winners are judged on quality of performance, not necessarily speed. SFN won that year because they turned into fucking angry demonic beasts when they played, not because they played ultra-fast. It was an honor to be part of that show, but it was quite the whirlwind too - we drove ten hours from Boise that day to play, then drove right home the next day. I wish we'd had more time to hang out with all our friends that were there."

You have worked with a few record labels: Cowabunga, Sound Pollution, and now Give Praise. How do you get hooked up with these folks? Any other labels you have worked with?

"When we made the demo, I sent copies to my two favorite labels, Sound Pollution and 625. It kinda snowballed from there. I'd also like to acknowledge To Live A Lie, 1332 Records, Unholy Thrash, Sick Thought, Relapse and Deep Six, who have all worked with us too."

How did you feel when Sound Pollution went under? I always looked up to them and loved a lot of their titles - I was bummed!

"I was bummed too, but I was even more bummed when I wrote to Ken some time later and found out he wasn't even doing Hellnation anymore. One of my favorite bands."


You recently released a Floppy Disk, with a Hummingbird Of Death song and some artwork, how has the response been for that? Do you think it is important to up-keep with unusual release medium?

"Well, we haven't really done too much to get the word out about it yet. I think people are intimidated by it a little. Their first thought seems to be, 'I don't have a floppy drive, there's no way I can play it.' Those people aren't being imaginative enough, if you ask me. I don't think it's necessary for bands to do wild packaging or format ideas, but it might make kids more interested in buying physical representations of music instead of just getting formless mp3s off the internet for free."

 You are scheduled to play at New Direction Fest alongside Downsided, Quiver, Dehumanized, Migraine, and more. How did that come about? Are you one of the few "faster" bands on the bill?

"Yes, we will be there August 20! One of the folks involved with New Direction Fest is an old friend of ours from Boise, actually. I don't know much about the other bands aside from Downsided - our friends from Boise - Migraine, and RVIVR - our guitar player Justin is a huge fan of theirs. I kinda like my first exposure to a band to be their live performance, because I'm more likely to enjoy that than a studio recording."

You have a split LP coming up with Titanarum, who have unfortunately disbanded. How did the LP come into play?

"We discovered their EP around '07ish, and we were really impressed with their abilities and approach. We told them, 'Hey, you guys rule', found out the feeling was mutual and kept in touch. We hit them up for the split a couple years ago and they said yes. Then they broke up. Haha. The split was almost canceled because Titanarum didn't want Give Praise to 'waste' resources on a defunct band, but we and Give Praise basically wouldn't let them cancel. We were grateful that they could do one last show when we came through San Diego last year. As I recall, we only made $22 that night but it was absolutely worth it to see them play."

There are so many "fastcore" bands around at any given time, you do a really good job of standing out - such as your new split LP, where you have two songs, each about six minutes each. You have to keep a unique sound in your genre, and do a good job! What is the secret?

"I'm really appreciative of comments like that. Thanks a lot. I'm constantly aware that there are so many super-fast bands out there. We don't want to write boring stuff that no one will remember later. There's no secret. Anyone can do what we do if they keep two things in mind. One is stretching the boundaries of what fastcore can be and trying to find something new. The other is not trying to force anything. When I feel inspired, songs can pop into my head almost instantaneously. When I sit there with one or two riffs and feel like I have to 'work' on a song for an extended period of time, it usually doesn't work out for me."

You have been on about three/four tours, how have they been? Do you find the support system is good when you hit the road?

"We've had some pretty good adventures. Our first weekend trip to Washington state in '07 was kinda shitty, but ever since then we've been able to break even on most of our trips. I think it helps to know that people want you to play their town before you just hop in the van and expect to have a successful tour."


What is your favorite roadside food, and more importantly, where are the cleanest restrooms?

"Oh you know, skunks, the occasional dog. We swooped an armadillo one time in Arizona, that kept us fed for the whole rest of the tour. You can save so much money. If you are worried about finding clean restrooms on tour, you have no business in a punk band."

Any last words?

"Thanks for the questions! Check out our new 'Archaic Technologies 2' floppy disk, our split with Titanarum coming out in September, plus a split with Downsided and new LP coming out after that. Visit hummingbirdofdeath.com for information. Listen to Six Brew Bantha."