[Jane R]

Nice to know everyone is alive out there.

I found this very interesting interview on the Time Out Website, read on.

Cheers,
Jane


Hirst & Greene
Freedom Reigns

Together with ex-Olympian singer/songwriter Paul Greene, former Midnight Oil 
powerhouse drummer Rob Hirst has picked up the acoustic to carve a new music 
persona as the aptly named Hirst & Greene.
The duo have just released their first single, ‘Best Impression’, which will 
soon see Hirst return to his great love of touring.
“We’re doing this little run of [shows] in the first 12 days of September, 
which brings us to Brisbane and surrounds first,” Rob Hirst explains. “It’s 
kind of the first tour Paul and I have done, except for the Ani DiFranco 
support we did earlier in the year, which was great – it was quite amazing. 
That was about as much fun as you can have as a support act, I think. We 
were playing in front of full halls with great sound systems. We ended up 
being good friends with Ani and co. and have kept it contact.”

Unfortunately for Hirst & Greene, another prominent support slot that would 
have guaranteed wider audience exposure fell through at the 11th hour.
“We were all set to go on the Counting Crows tour. We were literally driving 
from Adelaide airport to the first gig in Adelaide and they cancelled [due 
to the death of Adam Duritz’s grandmother]. That kind of put us in limbo for 
a while, so we went back and finished the album instead of that tour. We’ll 
do other supports or tours before Christmas and [release the album] directly 
after the Christmas holidays.”

Hirst says the duo’s forthcoming album, In The Stealth Of Summer, benefited 
from a simple recording process that highlights their vocal synergy.
“We started off in a number of studios, just Paul and I facing each other 
singing, so we could get the songs down. It’s kind of a nice melodic album – 
it’s kind of melody-drenched, the whole thing. Paul and I virtually sing 
together the whole time. We just happened to stumble across this vocal 
chemistry, which is kind of hard to come by. We were very lucky to find 
that, I think.”
Alongside Hirst & Greene, Rob plans to continue his work with long-running 
projects The Ghostwriters and The Backsliders. And as Midnight Oil’s 
erstwhile frontman Peter Garrett prepares for public office – a decision 
Hirst says was always expected – Rob and Oils’ founding members Jim Moginie 
and Martin Rotsey are cooking up something fresh in the kitchen. The project 
is still nameless, but will eventually evolve into a recorded release.

For the moment, Hirst says he’s just enjoying his freedom.
“After being in such an all-consuming act for so many years, I like the 
[freedom] to rehearse Hirst & Greene on Monday and The Backsliders on 
Tuesday or say, on a Wednesday, Jim, Martin and I from the Oils will get 
together and do something. It’s great. And to do it for the pure love of 
music without the pressures of the past is fantastic.”
Hirst & Greene play The Troubadour Wednesday Sep 1; The Rails, Byron Bay 
Thursday Sep 2; Troccadero Friday Sep 3 and the Sands Tavern Saturday Sep 4. 
‘Best Impression’ is out on ABC Roots Music/Universal.
MATT CONNORS

_________________________________________________________________
SEEK: Now with over 50,000 dream jobs! Click here:   
http://ninemsn.seek.com.au?hotmail