Harry Howard

Interview By: Ashlee Elfman & Christine Dunleavy

Preface By: Ashlee Elfman

 

Harry Howard doesn't call a lot of attention to himself, but for years you've seen him and heard him, and damn it, you oughta be grateful for it. In Wim Wenders' iconic masterpiece Wings of Desire, he and his brother, Rowland, serve as music mutilating bookends for Simon Bonney's writhing performance. In fact, he pounds tirelessly away at the bass throughout one of the darkest and most seductive albums ever created, Crime and the City Solution's Room of Lights. Those These Immortal Souls records you covet dearly? You can thank Harry Howard for helping to make those rare gems a reality.

Lately he’s been recording delicious lo-fi songs that you will not only fall in love with, but will inspire you to pick up a four-track recorder and try it for yourself. He also plays in a band called Pink Stainless Tail; a teeth rattling, tongue in cheek creation sure to please any punk with a poet’s soul.

Q. First off, how are you doing?

A. I'm feeling quite well. Like a lot of people I know, of my vintage, I have a sore liver. Last year I had a medical procedure that didn't go quite to plan. It left me in a pretty sorry state for a while but I'm ok now.

Q. You've been involved in quite a few influential and under the radar bands over the years playing either bass or guitar. Do you have a particular fondness for one instrument more than the other?

A. Yes, haha, I've been involved in a variety of stuff. I love playing both guitar and bass. Both ask for a particular approach in regard to playing and writing. I think I might just prefer bass playing overall. Guitar is so much easier to write songs with that it has taken over a bit post these Immortal Souls. That's one thing I've been enjoying about solo recording is getting the chance to work on bass parts again.

Q. Looking into your music career and what you've been generating lately with your solo songs and Pink Stainless Tail, it seems that you have a fondness for a more raw sound. What is it that you enjoy so much about a primitive style of music?

A. Primitive, yes I like primitive. In fact I think it's one of the defining characteristics of rock music. Bands who keep pursuing a more sophisticated complex approach always end up sounding jazz or classical. I was attracted to rock by its direct primitive approach. This seems to allow the expression of greater integrity (or greater absurdity). I think all 'the arts' benefit hugely from retaining their primitive core. It's rock's job to constantly re-find that place where it invented itself to begin with, where it sounds a bit experimental and a lot primitive.

Q. You played with Crime and the City Solution for the release of the first album, Room of Lights, which has such a different sound from the rest of Crime and the City Solution's outputs. What is your take on the album?

A. That's surprisingly hard. Um... I'm quite proud of the album. I shed a lot of blood over it personally and made a very big effort to help it be as good as possible, to my understanding, in the writing and production stages. The band, on the whole, were not getting on for all the sessions. I found Mick and Rowland always carried a lot of baggage from the Birthday Party days when it came to work. Simon became increasingly erratic complaining about the 'tone' of Rowland's guitar and other unfathomable problems. I remember it being a difficult time personally for me as well. The group essentially broke-up as we went along. I think the resulting album sounds so different to later Crime LP’s simply because the personalities involved, both then and later, were very much individual and expressed themselves in singular ways. Just taking Rowland out of the picture and slotting Alex in would have obviously made a huge difference on its own. Personally I think while Crime progressed etc post Room of Lights they were never as special again. But then I would haha.

Q. You and your brother Rowland went on to form These Immortal Souls with fellow Crime member Epic Soundtracks. What led to that transition?

A. Rowland initially proposed TIS as a sort of grand side project I suppose. It certainly meant a lot to him to get to sing his own lyrics with his own guitar 'tone' and Epic, Genevieve and I were more than happy to be involved. As things had been problematic recording Room of Lights I think this gave Mick and Simon a grateful 'out' as it wasn't long before Mick happened to mention to me over the phone from Berlin that they were working with Alex and etc. I always thought it was a bit weak that they didn't find themselves able to mention it before they actually went into the studio. So we became two groups, probably a good thing if I recall some of the funereal atmospheres back-stage around then. Things became more fun for everyone afterwards.

Q. There was a time in '80's when there were a lot of Australian musicians in Berlin, or at least it seems that way. I've also heard that the likes of Jeffrey Lee Pierce and Lydia Lunch were around during that time. Was it as much of a hot bed for creativity as it seems?

A. Possibly more hot beds than creativity as such. No, I am more aware of the early 80's when the Birthday Party were living in Berlin, although I wasn't there until a bit later. They were recording with Lydia and Rowland recorded with Einsturzende Neubauten. Nick and Lydia recorded with Die Haut around then and everyone seemed to be making special friends all over the place. Berlin was a fantastic place and was inhabited by a lot of fantastic and interesting, passionate, attractive people.

Q. As a musician, what is your take on the internet as a means of free media?

A. I rather like it. I didn't know that anyone knew I existed until I put up my little Myspace page. Feedback is nearly always encouraging, I find. I'm not at all sure that the Internet is free in any way. It is hard to control though and that has to good.

Q. You've personally promised that your solo album, which you are recording with your girlfriend Edwina Preston, will be lo-fi and recorded at home. Why do you prefer this method?

A. That's girl-fiend Edwina Preston. Look I've had majors knocking on my door Swampland, and yes I could have sold out for big bucks, but you know what, my heart wouldn't be in it (guffaw). What exactly is wrong with massive limitations? I mean that seriously in this case. Someone said you should always be suspicious of anything claiming to be 'high quality' in the arts and I agree wholeheartedly with them. My god when I think of some of the Velvet Underground bootlegs I have played to death and the utter and joyfully-mysterious lack of hi-fi involved in the experience. Some truly inspirational music has been recorded under the most pitiful conditions. After all it either sounds good or it doesn't and there are zero stipulations on how you achieve 'sounds good'. That's why I'm happy to record on cassette at home, especially at this stage as it also happens to be convenient and I can't get exclusive access to my own damn computer because I live with children!

Q. What is Christian High Art Boutique all about? Can you give us some more information about this project?

A. Christian High Art Boutique (Missiles) was a theatrical, musical project based in Melbourne. It was certainly the most certifiably insane project I've ever been involved with and was equal parts joy and agony. The 2 vocal members of the band where so fantastically naive about playing and recording and costume changes, props, spoken word passages, tantrums and power-plays ('you're nothing without me'!) were all the go. Eventually imploded into a seething collective neurosis but was quite frightening, hilarious and inexplicable when it worked. Typically, only ever made a very rough demo of some of the songs.

Q. What are some of your all time favorite albums?

A. Funhouse, the Velvet Underground, The Modern Lovers, Monster Movie, The Madcap Laughs, I'd probably also like to put something in from the Rolling Stones when Brian Jones was in, something Kinks and something electronic - but its too hard to figure out.

Q. Any words of wisdom for our readers?

A. Don't take any wooden nickels.

 

Harry Howard Myspace
Pink Stainless Tail Myspace
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