Brooklyn sludge rock sensations HULL recently returned from a pillaging month-long tour crumbling stages throughout the U.S. with their sonic wall of triple-guitar led, conceptual enormity.
Bassist Seanbryant Dunn recently posted an extensive tour wrap-up.
HULL Fall Tour 2011 Wrap-up
A lot could be said of this tour; ups and downs, ins and outs. The places we stayed, the people who let us stay, and the countless people who fed us and put up with our silly tour antics. Thus we learned our lesson: Perhaps next time, we should leave more time to appreciate heavenly people in their respective heavenly places and be able to appropriately convey appreciation where it is overdue…
First and foremost, The Fucking Wrath are amazing dudes! Wise are they in entering and sustaining the “Nite Zoo” mentality. Ripping through the states with these boys was truly an honor and meeting them again could come no sooner. Sorry that merch dog Shimer had to deal with that crazy shooting in NOLA on Halloween. If only he had worn the Duke that road dog Hollis had donned for his warrior outfit, there would not have been any random violence. The situation would have been resolved quickly and with less innocent casualties.
Generally every tour, we end our first night at the Stieber’s Mansion in Bucks County. After the Union Pool show, we jumped right on the road and landed there in the early morning hours. I am sure we were quite a commotion but fortunately for everyone, they had left that night on their anniversary in Atlantic City. Congrats!
The next day we headed towards Mojo 13 in Delaware. It has always been a little iffy here, especially since the past two times we’d played, we landed the show a week before we left for tour. However, this time was quite enjoyable due to the operatic doooom theater of Hivelords from Philadelphia, and it wasn’t brutally cold outside.
The following few nights were spent in Virginia with my brothers Peter and Cameron, his wife Danielle, and my nephew Cassian. The unprecedented level of hospitality made us feel at home right away, and was definitely appreciated! Must also thank the Cassars who allowed us to storm their Richmond castle in the wee hours.
The Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta has always been awesome for us. Last we were there we opened for Harvey Milk and Torche. This time it was with the Wrath and more new friends, Lazer/Wulf. If only the crowd that night were as many as the first time we’d played. However sparse it was, those that were here this time were far more energized. I think this was our first pit on tour, and the first night we got to witness the “Nite Zoo” courtesy of whiskey, women, and Craig from the Wrath. This too was the night that Bessie got a pair o’ fresh new tags. We had walked to the tattoo shop next door and had tuning forks put on our middle fingers, you know, bro tatt tour style. At one point I mentioned how our trailer was covered with tags and that fresh ones hit us every tour. Not long after getting our tattoos, I had come out from the club to grab something from the van. When I looked up, the tattoo assistant was throwing up some ATL graffiti. It was certainly a better site than all the random New York Shitty tags we’d accumulated.
Of course we had the Big Easy on Halloween and some crazy ass Bourbon street madness. On top of that, we spent a few hours with Gary Mader from Eyehategod digging through a pond in the backyard looking for his snapping head turtle. Will more then likely ask him if he had found it or not this Sunday at Europa.
We were then to zig zag through Texas for the next three nights. One of which that placed us in the heart of Austin to share the Red 7 stage with Toxic Holocaust. The outside stage was sizable and warm enough through the brisk night. Needless to say, T.H. totally thrashed the hell out of everyone despite only rehearsing that day due to flying in from other areas of the states. Of course now they are ripping up stages in Europe as we speak!
Without the help of Ryan Avery and Ear/Splitters, we’d have played a few less shows, ate a few less burgers, and, well, had less medicine for the road. Not to mention the sweet ass t-shirt design, which is limited, but still available. We will have some at the show on Sunday, Dec. 4 with Eyehategod, Doomriders and Knight Terror at Europa. Get there!!
Go here!!! (http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=4034585)
The biggest thanks would have to go to Billy Anderson and his girlfriend Erica for allowing us to roll in at ungodly hours the two nights we were in L.A. There was also an epic bar-b-que and hot tub session while being interviewed for Billy’s documentary. Kinder words could not have been said from someone who knows a band as little as he. We are truly honored that, at the time you were mixing our record, Beyond the Lightless Sky, you found solace and inspiration at a difficult time with our music, taking it to planes we would never had imagined.
We had played three shows in L.A. Two of which were with Bell Witch, one with T.F.W, Pigeonwing and one with this band Harassor, whose singer, Pete Majors also works at Vacation Vinyl. One early evening we played a show there, where most of our time was spent thumbing through the countless albums while sipping on the beer supplied for the band. That night we played at Mountain Bar in Chinatown and were asked for a follow up interview with the folks working on the Billy Anderson doc. The guy who was asking the questions had also started a new mural on the side of ol’ Bessie. We watched as he finished that and then we commenced with the interview.
(Livviesmalls, thanks for being so patient while we answered questions. Hopefully the Del Taco run at the end of the night made everything that much more enjoyable. I know you were diggin’ on our happy taco dance in the middle of the restaurant! )
Again, I must thank our friends Dylan and Adrian from Bell Witch for checking in on us when we braved the roads in an ailing van. Sorry that Grant’s Pass knocked Charlotte out for the night. Would have been amazing to play that random house party in Eugene, Oregon. We did however watch Carmine kick a sweet version of “the Rooster” at the local pub, where we soon became heroes, and kicked some serious ass at pool. Also, head to Highline, Dylan’s club in Seattle and get their sweet potato tots!! A. MAZING!
Portland had a few highlights. Not only did we get an amazing meal at J.P. and Summer’s house before we played Plan B, we’d also hit up Sizzle Pie for a late night snack. There was another show in the area that should have affected the attendance, but, by the time Atriarch started the show, the place was all ready brimming with Portland royalty.
Idaho! I M N OILSLAVE. R U?
The roads started to get a little colder and more daunting as we headed toward Wyoming. The wind swept large patches of snow along the roads all throughout the canyons. We were heading deeper and deeper into the mountains as the sun began to descend into the night. Drew’s family live in a cabin just outside of Jackson Hole and the road leading up to it is small and, at this early part of the season, covered with snow. The first warning should have been the one lane bridge that traversed the small creek. Right away, after passing the bridge, the road juts up and turns to the right. Of course Charlotte’s questionable state, and the weight that Bessie had put on the back would not allow us to go further then a few yards up the icy road. It soon seemed as if Magneto targeted the area where the trailer hitched to the van and it slowly slid towards the mountain and the safe side of the road. Thankfully it was pulled in that direction, as the other side abruptly dropped off and into the river that wound through the cabin community. This, of course, was not the best way to start off the night. As the traffic began to build, and a small group of long hairs in ill equipped shoes slid around and random trucks tried to help us by popping us in and out of the ditch we’d slid into, we were losing hope. Eventually, after getting everyone together and pushing on the back of the van to turn it around, we’d managed to get the trailer off so that Drew could race Charlotte across the bridge and to safety at the corner gas station where she was left while we went to eat before we had to get to the venue and prepare for HULL’s first appearance in Wyoming.
The following day started a little late for me as I wanted to get into S.L.C. early. Most of my family still lives there, and a good handful of friends were also coming out to the show. Needless to say, I was anxious to spend some time. Mom, Dad’s, Brother’s, and Sisters were all around. I wish I could say I had seen the first band Jesust, as most everyone was quick to tell me how good they were. Sorry dudes, family called. We eventually made it out to my Dad’s house who cooked us up some late ass pasta.
There were still some mountains to charge and Charlotte was showing signs of weakness at every mile. We did manage to make it into Denver with little problems. We played later in the evening as there was another show happening that night. We were being told that people were going to come out after to see us, and that seemed to be the case. There were actually people in attendance that were singing along to Viking Funeral as we ended the night. My old New York roommate, and designer of the HULL logo, Atsuhiro Saisho, stayed up way past his bed time so we could crash on his floor.
Totes preesh brah!
We woke the next day and decided that the van needed to be looked at. We investigated some shops that fit our criteria, i.e. AAA and Napa certified. At every instance, we had to look at what would benefit us the most. We left the van for a few hours and walked around Denver looking for record store, strip clubs, or banks, whatever time allowed. We were soon called back to the shop and told that the transmission was shot. However, and with out consent, we were told that it could manually be shifted. We couldn’t stomach the $2400 rebuild price and decided that we needed to take our chances. We rolled the dice and pushed on to Little Rock as it was going to be a long haul into the night.
Little Rock is always a great place for us. The people are all very supportive and come out in droves for shows. CT from Rwake has always been there and sang in a different band each time we’d played. This night was his current black metal band, Black Orchid, in which the drummer from Rwake, Jeff, also plays guitar. They blasted through their only set of songs, which lasted about 25 minutes and fucking RULED. Always an honor to be in this city, surrounded by close friends and almost the entire line-up of Rwake! Thanks bros and broette with mini-broette to come!
Nashville was going to be cool. Not only does our good friend Diana live there, she was also being visited by the one and only Kim Kelly for a few days and they were coming to our show. Good ol hometown loving for sure!! However, as we were about to pull the trailer up to the front of the club to load in, there was a hidden street sign that had been cut low enough that it couldn’t be seen. As Bessie was slowly rolling over the sharpened obstacle the air rushed out of the tire. This was of course our spare that we had put on only days before. This was yet another jam, but without missing a step, we played an awesome show. John Judkins, who also plays bass for Rwake, had his other band, Laser Flames, rocking out which made it somewhat more relieving despite the current situation. Headlining that night, and always willing to lend a floor to touring bands, was The Ascent of Everest, who were fresh off of their European tour. Get into this ambiance. So much space to listen to!!
We were all very excited for the next night we were to be in Chapel Hill and reunited with our good friends in Caltrop. Chapel Hill Underground used to be a club called HELL. We had played there a few years earlier, and now it was re opened with awesome renovations. The first band, Rushca played to a packed crowd on a Saturday night and it would not relent until the very last note Caltrop had struck! It was then off to Murats house where we stayed up later than needed talking about music, drinking beer, and warming ourselves next to the fire. The following morning we were treated to some organic eggs with mushrooms that Murat had cultivated in the back yard with fresh jalapenos, dill, sorrel, and homemade jam and apple butter. This was, upon digestion, immediately named the best breakfast of tour. Needless to say, none of us wanted to leave, which made it a late departure for our final road show in Philly.
Of course once we got closer to the Brotherly Love, the rain clouds started to accumulate. This would be the first time playing Johnny Brendas and hopefully not the last. In the green room they had all the fixins normally reserved for larger, well known bands, not to mention an awesome stage built for the same. There was another show just down the street with just such bands, but, that didn’t seem to deter too many hellions. The deal was, if one brought in a ticket stub, they would get free entrance, which helped a little with attendance. Sadgiqacea opened the show and many a head swayed to their two piece metal assault. Once we loaded everything on the stage we were more then ready to play. We ran through everything that we had played on the road to screams of delight from the crowd. It wasn’t long before we were back in the van and actually on our way back to NYC and our beds.
The next night we had off and most of us took that time to not leave our beds. The floors and bench seats we’d slept in over the course of the month were soon forgotten and the wonderful feeling of being home swept through our sleeping minds.
The Homecoming show was set to be at the Acheron with Naam, Tournament, and Sanhett. This was, of course the smallest stage we’d played, but it was the best crowd by far. We hadn’t gone on until way later but everyone stuck around on a Tuesday night to help raise funds for the Acheron. We ran through the album with break neck speed. Beer cans were strewn through out the tiny club as we were welcomed back to the home turf. Once again, against many odds, we survived another tour. This one was certainly epic on many levels. Hopefully ol’ Charlotte will be towing Bessie through the night across the U.S.A. again sometime very soon…
One can only hope.
– Seanbryant Dunn
In related news, HULL will be playing with Eyehategod this Sunday at Club Europa in Brooklyn, NY. Show starts at 8:00pm. Don’t miss it! Further info available at THIS LOCATION.
HULL recently unleashed their Beyond The Lightless Sky opus, which continues to earn critical praise from fans and media alike. Released via The End Records last month, Beyond The Lightless Sky, was co-produced by Brett Romnes, mixed by Billy Anderson (Sleep, Neurosis, Melvins, et al).and features guest appearances by vocalist Jarboe, keys/ambiance by Fade Kainer(Batillus/Jarboe/Inswarm ) and cello by Joe Merolla with artwork by Tamara Waite-Santibanez.
WORDS FROM THE CONVERTED:
“a determined and significant release, and one thoroughly deserving of a lot more visibility in the realms of heaving, epic metal.” — Pop Matters
“…immense and nimble; ponderous and powerful…” — Exclaim
“The balance is still there between traditional ebbing post rock builds and hues and epic mountainous crescendos, but when HULL put their foot on the pedal its much more gravel than sludge.” — Teeth Of The Divine/Roadburn.com Album Of The Day
“They do have the sludge/post-metal spine, and that’s important, but their willingness to bloom beyond is what should keep HULL special and relevant well into the future.” — Metal Maniacs
“There is a fantastic amount of riffs you’re going to want to repeatedly hear on this record. Couple that with some guitar solos that come out of nowhere and fit like gloves with the album’s songwriting and its layered vocal approach, and you’ve got a hell of a ride.” — Slug
“…one damn fine record.” — Doomantia
“…the best stoner/psych/doom releases of 2011.” — Holy Grail From Hell
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