{"id":9440,"date":"2014-09-03T06:41:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-03T13:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=9440"},"modified":"2014-09-12T10:09:18","modified_gmt":"2014-09-12T17:09:18","slug":"derriere-redux-the-return-of-victoria-pop-punkers-bum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2014\/09\/03\/derriere-redux-the-return-of-victoria-pop-punkers-bum\/","title":{"rendered":"Derriere redux<\/em>: The return of Victoria pop-punkers Bum"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the story of a \u201990s Victoria pop-punk band that got pretty huge in faraway places like Spain and Japan, and put out records on labels based in places as distant as Australia, but never really got enough respect in their hometown. Now, almost 20 years since they disbanded, Bum are back for at least one show at Rifflandia Festival, Victoria\u2019s biggest music event of the year.<\/p>\n

How this all happened is a bit of a behind-the-scenes, personal story but let\u2019s just say one of Bum guitarist\/vocalist Andrew Molloy\u2019s close friends wanted to surprise him with an offer that he hoped Molloy couldn\u2019t refuse. Get the band back together, play the outdoor stage at Rifflandia, and see what happens from there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been approached various times over the years by various people, but we were never in the place to do it,\u201d says Molloy. \u201cThis time I thought, \u2018Why not?\u2019 so I sent emails to the other three guys and I wasn\u2019t sure if they\u2019d be gung-ho and, lo and behold, they were.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A reformed Bum in 2014 (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instant kool ayd<\/strong><\/p>\n

A\u00a0curious message went out from Rifflandia headquarters during their epic campaign when they announced 100 bands in 100 hours: they were readying the reveal of band number 100 and it was promised to be something special. Amongst the many hip indie rock, electronic, and hip-hop artists, the band that ended up being singled out as number 100 was Bum, something that excited fans of Victoria\u2019s \u201990s music scene. (The band is playing at 2pm on Saturday, September 13, at Royal Athletic Park; see rifflandia.com for more information.)<\/p>\n

But, according to vocalist\/guitarist Rob Nesbitt, when Bum was releasing songs seemingly faster than they could record them in the early to mid-\u201990s, their fan base in Victoria left something to be desired. Strangely, it was places like Spain and Japan where they got the most attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t seem like too many people around here cared back when we were doing it; it seemed like a struggle all of the time,\u201d remembers Nesbitt. \u201cIn Spain, it was different, they were so overt in their love and appreciation of Bum that it was fairly obvious what we meant to kids there, and we still get letters all the time from Spanish people. In the pantheon of bands that they all love, Bum is the commonality, and I still find that pretty astounding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Definitely a time-and-a-place type of band, Bum\u2019s music feels intrinsically linked to being young, growing up and finding that next chapter in your life. Now that the four members (Molloy, Nesbitt, bassist\/vocalist Kevin Lee and drummer Graham Watson) are in their forties, getting the band back together might be considered an act of pure nostalgia, and, conveniently, the guys in Bum are embracing that feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause time has passed and we\u2019re all older, we\u2019re able to appreciate things with a different set of eyes. And maybe people who even thought we sucked back in the day might say we\u2019re pretty good now,\u201d says Nesbitt. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be cool to get together, and hopefully all of our friends are going to show up and say, \u2018Oh, I remember \u2018A Promise Is a Promise\u2019\u2019 or whatever. I think it has huge nostalgia associated with it, and I like sentimentality and nostalgia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nesbitt and Molloy both admit there have been offers for Bum to reform the band over the years, and even as recent as two years ago they were approached to play a festival in Spain, but until now the timing and circumstances haven\u2019t been right.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pushing 50 now and I\u2019m feeling like things are coming full circle in my life,\u201d says Molloy, \u201cand you reach an age where a few years ago you\u2019d say, \u2018Oh, I\u2019d never do that,\u2019 which is what we all said about getting Bum back together, and not because we didn\u2019t love doing it, or weren\u2019t proud of the legacy, but it\u2019s just now that we\u2019re ready to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A promise is a promise\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to explain the feeling Bum\u2019s music gave those who were affected by it. Starting out in the early \u201990s, their aforementioned first single A Promise Is a Promise<\/i> (see sidebar) was the kind of perfect pop-punk song where you\u2019d throw the needle down on the turntable, jump around your room a lot, and then put the needle right back down and start the song again. Once you got bored of that, you\u2019d flip the record and crank the backside, \u201cWedding Day,\u201d once or twice, then right back to repeated listens of \u201cA Promise Is a Promise\u201d and its peppy harmonies. Or at least that\u2019s what this \u201990s-music-obsessed scribe used to do.<\/p>\n

The band followed their debut EP with another knockout single, Debbiespeak,<\/i> and then quickly became one of the most prolific underground bands in Victoria history, putting out a long line of vinyl and CD releases on labels all over the world (they even had a live album recorded in, you guessed it, Spain). Meanwhile, back at home, they played to the same crowds and sometimes felt as though the locals were sick of seeing them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Compare the hair: Bum in 1994 (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe were playing a lot back then, and don\u2019t get me wrong, it was always fun to play in Victoria, but it felt like people were getting burnt out on seeing us, and I totally understand that,\u201d remembers Molloy. \u201cIt often felt like we got a better response in other places. When we came back from Spain, over there we were actually treated like a band of consequence, and then to come back and play a few days later to the usual mediocre live crowd was sobering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which leads us to their upcoming second-stage performance at Rifflandia. Instead of waiting it out for the home run of some Spanish or Japanese music festival, where the band is almost guaranteed a knockout crowd of superfans, Bum chose the very place they started over two decades ago and, at times, struggled to find an audience.<\/p>\n

Bent on being bent\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Something about this whole Bum-playing-Rifflandia scenario feels like redemption time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Victoria, we always felt like people never really cared about us after the first year or so,\u201d says Nesbitt. \u201cWe felt like they were really tired of us and we\u2019d get a lot of slags from people in the punk scene. Some of them thought Bum was lame and it was very hurtful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haters be hating in the \u201990s, but the band\u2019s lovers (and not just the Spaniards) are anxiously hoping that Bum\u2019s Rifflandia performance isn\u2019t just a one-off performance; they\u2019re hoping that it could be a springboard for a full-fledged reunion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re treating it with no boundaries. We\u2019re talking to a lot of people about a lot of different things right now, but I keep saying to everyone who\u2019s contacting us, \u2018Look, we haven\u2019t even played one note on a stage together yet. We don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen,\u2019\u201d says Nesbitt. \u201cWe\u2019re not adverse to trying to do all sorts of things, but we have to see how this show goes first. And we have to give this opportunity the amount of respect it deserves, and that means focusing all of our attention on doing a good job that day. And if it goes well, then we\u2019ll go from there. But right now we need to do a good job for Rifflandia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molloy\u2019s place in the Bum reunion is instrumental, since he and his thoughtful friend were the ones that spurned things on. So Molloy, like Nesbitt, isn\u2019t ruling out the very good chance that Bum could roll on from Rifflandia with inspiration anew. If the band rehearsals so far are any indication, they might just pick up right where they left off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that we\u2019ve talked about, but we\u2019re going to see how this show goes first,\u201d cautions Molloy. \u201cI\u2019m not going to lie to you though, I\u2019d be pretty disappointed if it ended up just being this one show. I really hope we do more, but I can\u2019t say for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A promise is still a promise: the best of Bum<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Bum<\/a><\/div>\n
A Promise Is a Promise<\/i><\/b> <\/i>(Lance Rock Records, 1991)<\/b>Sometimes a 7\u201d is the perfect format for short, fast, sugar-sweet poppy punk. Take this example, a brilliantly short and punchy two-song affair that will go down in Victoria history as one of the best seven inches of black wax documenting homegrown sounds. Ever. B-side \u201cWedding Day\u201d is an almost perfect upbeat-yet-melancholy pop\/punk tune; A-side \u201cA Promise Is a Promise\u201d is <\/i>a perfect upbeat-yet-melancholy pop\/punk tune. And it came from Victoria. And it was their debut.\"Bum<\/a>Debbiespeak <\/i>(Lance Rock Records, 1992)<\/b><\/p>\n

How do you follow up such an amazing debut release? With a song that is beyond perfect: \u201cDebbiespeak\u201d has been stuck in my head for 22 years. Every day I hear this song, even when I haven\u2019t actually listened to it in years. But I have no idea why I bother listening to other music when such a perfect song exists. B-side \u201cBullet\u201d is a fun romp through a Misfits tune that is entertaining but not phenomenal, but I\u2019m not sure anyone could have handled another perfect Bum original anyway.<\/p>\n

\"Bum<\/a><\/p>\n

Wanna Smash Sensation <\/i>(PopLLama Records, 1993)<\/b><\/p>\n

By this time they had put out four great 7\u201d EPs and one great split 7,\u201d and it was clear that they dominated the EP format. On their first full-length, they collect some of their previously released tunes and added new ones, creating a listening experience that was almost like a retrospective with some bonuses. A bit jarring, but we got a bunch of amazing new tunes like \u201cBent on Being Bent\u201d and \u201cWhen She Walked,\u201d plus the most perfect of all perfect Bum songs: \u201cInstant Kool Ayd.\u201d A world where the band that wrote this song is not eternal legends is a cruel world indeed.<\/p>\n

\n

-Greg Pratt, managing editor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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