City Beat
Interview with Rob Hamrick
by Mike Breen
If you've been even a casual observer of the Cincinnati music scene over the past 20 years, you've no doubt seen the ebb and flow. There have been numerous highs (like the "Next Seattle" days of the early-to-mid '90s) and inevitable lows (the fallout of the "Next Seattle" stigma).
Local singer/songwriter/guitarist Rob Hamrick has grown through all of those ups and downs. In the '80s, Hamrick's Sleep Theatre was a pivotal part of an interesting Post Punk/New Wave scene that also included bands like Red Math. In the '90s, Hamrick moved briefly to Boston with his Witches' Wah project, returning with the band to the local scene for a brief time towards the end of the decade. Ushering in the new Millennium, Hamrick is now fronting Tonefarmer, who released their debut album, Recreation, this year.
Hamrick says he feels like the local scene is currently in a healthy state, but there are still marked differences from days gone by.
"I think that local bands are making better records than ever," Hamrick says. "And I see that most bands in the scene are very supportive of each other. But I remember a more vital live scene in the late '80s and early '90s. I have talked to other bands, and it seems to be true for whatever reason. Bands that have been around for three to four years are finally starting to have a solid draw while 'back in the day' that same draw took less than a year. There seems to be an ebb and flow like most things in life."
Hamrick was first led into the "band life" while in high school. His friend, keyboardist Itaal Shur (who has since become an in-demand musician/songwriter, working with the likes of Maxwell and Santana), would drop by his house to play his electric guitar.
"When he first started coming around, I was a total beginner and pretty much didn't have a clue," Hamrick says. "About a year or so later he asked me if I wanted to be in a new Rock band he was forming, and ever since then I have been hooked."
After the split of Witches' Wah, Hamrick says he stepped back to re-examine what he wanted to do as a musician. He began to record some new material with the intention of making a solo album, and he also kept his feet wet by test-driving material live at various open mic nights around town.
"I wasn't sure if I wanted to be in a band anymore," Hamrick says. "It just seemed like a pain in the ass in some respects."
Thankfully, a chance run-in with his former Sleep Theatre band-mate John Miracle convinced him to put together a new group. The drummer brought in bassist Chris Mundy immediately and, with a mutual love for British Pop from the last 30 years, Tonefarmer was born.
"Tonefarmer is a more 'get to the point of the song' band," Hamrick says when asked to compare the new band to his previous work. "We are going for a big, beautiful, transcendental sound. Our main goal is for the listener to get a chill down their spine and feel something different and new from our songs."
Mission accomplished. With a graceful, hooky sound inspired by pre-BritPop bands like The Smiths and Echo and the Bunnymen, as well as new breed acts like Travis, Coldplay and Badly Drawn Boy, Tonefarmer's Recreation is one of the best band debuts of the past few years.
Given the influences, it makes sense that Tonefarmer would set its sights to across the pond. Hamrick says the band has been making some business contacts with people in London, and they're hoping to play some shows there in the next six months. The band has also begun to work on new material, which they'll be recording in their own studio for their next release.