Five Things With Tom Hume From The Rider

1.Growing Up

I grew up in a household where music was always played, celebrated, appreciated. But my parents weren’t musos and they never learned to play an instrument. My brother got me into learning guitar when I got jealous hearing him playing Oasis and Nirvana songs. I had to do it too.

2.Inspirations

I like musicians whose music I believe, when it sounds organic, unforced and honest. To hear an album – I love albums – and try to step into the songwriter’s mind or the band rehearsal space and tap into that original idea is something that can be special. For me that tends to be a lot of experimental bands, folk singers and sometimes jazz, though I’ll listen to a lot. Just don’t put Lil Jon on when I’m around.

3.Your Band

The Rider has always been three core members; Henry Manuell, myself and Calum Nicholson. We’ve always talked of the drummer we want, the qualities they’ll have and how important their role will be, but somehow we’ve arrived at a Spinal Tap kind of arrangement, switching drummers a few times a year. It’s just poor luck, is all.

4.The Music You Make

The core musical ideas which unite the band really come down to our songwriting style and the vibes we try to evoke. We aim for musically diverse and compelling structural elements and chordal patterns while creating a sound that’s familiar and catchy. Sometimes it works, and that connection is enough to keep us going. We tend to describe our music as psychedelic rock’n’soul – a mix of lively grooves tied in with catchy melodies.

5.Music, Right Here, Right Now

The music scene right now is saturated with bands giving it their best and that’s great, though it makes it hard to shine through when the forest is so dense. We’ve been lucky in that we’ve managed our funds pretty well from the outset and having funds has definitely helped us achieve some of the goals we’ve set for ourselves. We only know a handful of bands in our sort of position who break even – most are subsidising their musical career with cash from other avenues. So yeah, it’s an expensive hobby, and Sydney is an expensive city, but we love it.