Hum (band)
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1989 in Champaign, Illinois, United States |
| Headquarters | Champaign, Illinois , United States |
| Products | Music albums, singles |
Hum is an alternative rock group originating from Champaign, Illinois, United States, widely recognized for their 1995 radio single "Stars". After disbanding in 2000, the band remained mostly dormant aside from occasional live performances until they reunited in 2015 for brief touring engagements. On June 23, 2020, Hum unveiled Inlet, marking their first release of new music in more than twenty-two years.
Formation and initial recordings
The band came together in 1989, featuring guitarists Andy Switzky and Matt Talbott, bassist Akis Boyatzis, and drummer Jeff Kropp. Switzky and Talbott connected at a café in Urbana, Illinois, where Switzky was employed. Prior to forming Hum, Talbott had been involved with We Ate Plato and Honcho Overload, while Switzky had played in Obvious Man and Designer Mustard Gas.
Their earliest performances took place in Boyatzis' basement. The name Hum was chosen—suggested by Rick Valentin of Poster Children—to represent their indistinct sonic style. After several drummer changes, they enlisted Bryan St. Pere, whom they discovered playing along to Rush from his apartment.
Boyatzis departed for Greece in 1990 and was temporarily replaced by Joe Futrelle, followed by Rod van Huis, who later became part of Steakdaddy Six and the Great Crusades. Alongside Balthazar "Baltie" de Lay from Mother (later Menthol), the group recorded their first demo, Kissing Me Is Like Kissing an Angel, engineered by Steve Albini in Chicago. At this stage, Switzky served as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and principal songwriter.
Their debut album Fillet Show (1991), released through local label 12 Inch Records, showcased a faster and heavier sound that fused punk and metal elements with politically charged and humorous lyrics—distinctly different from Talbott’s subsequent style.
Following De Lay’s departure to pursue other projects, Talbott brought in Jeff Dimpsey from Honcho Overload to play bass. The band issued singles "Hello Kitty" (12 Inch) and "Sundress" (Mud Records). During this era, the Champaign music scene expanded significantly, aided by Parasol Records’ national distribution of regional alternative artists.
Due to creative disagreements, Switzky left the group. Subsequently, they added Tim Lash—a younger local admirer with a background in speed metal through The Grand Vizars—as guitarist.
Commercial breakthrough
With the lineup now solidified, Hum recorded Electra 2000 at Idful Studios, collaborating with producer Brad Wood. Initially released on 12 Inch Records and distributed via Cargo Records, the album embraced more conceptual songwriting and space-themed motifs. Although it did not generate singles, its distribution through Parasol attracted RCA Records, resulting in a contract and partnership with tour manager Ward Gollings. For their major-label debut You'd Prefer an Astronaut (1995), they teamed up with producer Keith Cleversley. The album’s lead track "Stars" became their most successful single, climbing to No. 11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 28 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks. To promote the release, they appeared on Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Howard Stern Show, and 120 Minutes, with the music video featured on Beavis and Butthead.
The record rapidly sold 250,000 copies, enabling larger-scale tours. Later singles "The Pod" and promotional track "I'd Like Your Hair Long" achieved limited success. In late 1997, Hum entered Pogo Studios with Mark Rubel to record their fourth album Downward Is Heavenward.
Released in February 1998 following promotion on Modern Rock Live in January, this album included singles "Green to Me" and "Comin' Home," with the latter reaching No. 37 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. Despite this moderate chart presence, sales plateaued at around 30,000 copies by year-end. A missed chance to record a cover of the Police’s "Invisible Sun" for the soundtrack of The X-Files—due to Sting and Aswad opting for a reggae rendition—inhibited wider exposure. After disappointing sales figures and major label consolidations, Hum was dropped in 2000. Following a minor vehicle accident in Canada that year, they performed their final concerts on December 29 in St. Louis, Missouri, and December 31 in Chicago.
Post-Hum Endeavors
Talbott established Centaur alongside local artists Derek Niedringhaus (previously of Castor and Sarge) and Jim Kelly (associated with Parasol, 16 Tons, Love Cup). Centaur independently released their album In Streams under the Martians Go Home label, which also handled reissues of Hum's Downward Is Heavenward on vinyl and Electra 2000 on CD. Work on a follow-up album is currently underway. Talbott records at Great Western Recorders (now known as Earth Analog Records), has started a family, and serves as an instructor at Millikin University. Additionally, he has contributed to Open Hand and lent his vocals to Neverending White Lights' 2005 release.
Dimpsey revived his side project National Skyline with Jeff Garber from Castor, producing two albums and an EP. Now residing in Texas, he performs with Gazelle alongside Adam Fein (Absinthe Blind).
Lash pursued multiple ventures including the electronic duo Glifted (with T.J. Harrison of Love Cup), releasing Under and In through Martians Go Home before disbanding. He also played in the heavy rock trio Balisong, which never recorded but performed live locally. Currently, Lash is part of Alpha Mile with Joe Ludwinski and Jason Milam; the group made their live debut in 2008 and intends to release an album. Both Gazelle and Alpha Mile appeared at the 2009 Pygmalion Music Festival.
Reunions
Hum reunited briefly in 2003 for a singular show headlining Saturday night at Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama. Although the band was dissatisfied with their performance, this event marked their return to live concerts. Since then, Hum has played occasional club gigs and regional festivals, favoring smaller venues to connect closely with devoted fans. Talbott has suggested that the band will continue performing intermittently.
In 2010, Pop Up Records announced a tribute album honoring Hum featuring various artists. The band came together again for performances in 2011 at A.V. Fest in Chicago and Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin.
Hum toured twice in 2015: opening for Failure on the U.S. East Coast and co-headlining a West Coast tour alongside Mineral. For these tours, drummer Bryan St. Pere was replaced by Jason Gerken from Shiner.
On June 23, 2020, Hum unexpectedly released their fifth studio album, Inlet, marking their first new record in 22 years. The album peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and reached number 30 on the Billboard Current Album Sales chart.
Drummer Bryan St. Pere died on June 29, 2021, at age 53.
In September 2025, Hum announced a comeback performance at Slide Away Festival with Jason Gerken returning on drums.
Influence
Hum has served as an inspiration for numerous musicians and bands such as Chino Moreno of Deftones, Deafheaven, and Stemage.
Members
- Matt Talbott – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1989–2000, 2003, 2011–present)
- Jeff Dimpsey – bass (1992–2000, 2003, 2011–present)
- Tim Lash – lead guitar (1993–2000, 2003, 2011–present)
- Jason Gerken – drums (2015, 2025–present)
Former members
- Andy Switzky – lead guitar, lead vocals (1989–1993)
- Akis Boyatzis – bass (1989–1990)
- Jeff Kropp – drums (1989–1990)
- Joe Futrelle – bass (1990)
- Rod Van Huis – bass (1990–1991)
- Baltie de Lay – bass, backing vocals (1991–1992)
- Bryan St. Pere – drums (1990–2000, 2003, 2011–2015, 2015–2021) (deceased 2021)
Timeline
<timeline> ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:21 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:100 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:mm Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1990 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1989
Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals,_rhythm_guitar id:Backing value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:Lead value:green legend:Lead_guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass_guitar id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95)
BackgroundColors = bars:bars LineData =
layer:back color:lines at:03/01/1991 at:10/19/1993 at:04/11/1995 at:01/27/1998 at:06/23/2020
BarData =
bar:Talbott text:"Matt Talbott" bar:Switzky text:"Andy Switzky" bar:Lash text:"Tim Lash" bar:Akis text:"Akis Boyatzis" bar:Joe text:"Joe Futrelle" bar:Rod text:"Rod Van Huis" bar:Lay text:"Baltie de Lay" bar:Dimpsey text:"Jeff Dimpsey" bar:Kropp text:"Jeff Kropp" bar:Pere text:"Bryan St. Pere" bar:Jason text:"Jason Gerken"
PlotData=
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:talbott from:start till:01/01/2000 color:vocals bar:talbott from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2003 color:vocals bar:talbott from:01/01/2011 till:end color:vocals bar:switzky from:start till:01/01/1993 color:lead bar:lash from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/2000 color:lead bar:lash from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2003 color:lead bar:lash from:01/01/2011 till:end color:lead bar:akis from:start till:01/01/1990 color:bass bar:joe from:01/01/1990 till:06/01/1990 color:bass bar:rod from:06/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 color:bass bar:lay from:01/01/1991 till:03/10/1992 color:bass bar:lay from:01/01/1991 till:03/10/1992 color:backing width:3 bar:dimpsey from:03/10/1992 till:end color:bass bar:kropp from:start till:end color:drums width:none # Adjusted for clarity in timeline display. bar:pere from:start till:end color:drums width:none # Adjusted for clarity in timeline display. bar:jason from:start till:end color:drums width:none # Adjusted for clarity in timeline display.
</timeline>
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Highest chart rankings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Heat. | ||
| Fillet Show |
|
— | — |
| Electra 2000 |
|
— | — |
| You'd Prefer an Astronaut |
|
105 | 1 |
| Downward Is Heavenward |
|
150 | 6 |
| Inlet |
|
111 | 15 |
Demos
- Kissing Me Is Like Kissing an Angel
- It's Gonna Be a Midget X-mas
Singles
| Year | Title | Highest chart rankings | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Alt | US Main | |||
| 1992 | "Hello Kitty" | — | Template:Non-album single | |
| "Sundress" | — | Electra 2000 | ||
| 1995 | "Stars" | 28 | You'd Prefer an Astronaut | |
| "The Pod" | — | |||
| "I'd Like Your Hair Long" | — | |||
| 1998 | "Puppets" / "Aphids" | — | Template:Non-album single | |
| "Comin' Home" | — | Downward Is Heavenward | ||
| "Green to Me" | — | |||
Music videos
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Iron Clad Lou" | 1992 | Electra 2000 |
| "Stars" | 1995 | You'd Prefer an Astronaut |
| "The Pod" | ||
| "Comin' Home" | 1997 | Downward Is Heavenward |
| "Green to Me" |