Chances are if you’ve seen or heard The Vernons you’ll already be a fan of the curly haired bassist helping to keep the band grounded with feel, groove and some serious style.
But aside from being one half of The Vernons’ backbone, Hugh Tait aka Huey Blue had dreams of pursuing production and has been constructing his own solo material over the past two years, which he’s finally ready to share with us.
Huey Blue has lived the share house life and feels your pain. Friday Anxiety is a collection of ballads for the tight-living roommate, something we’re all too familiar with.
Inspired by the sounds of 70s pop rock, hip hop, dub and surf, and artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Toots and the Maytals, Sly and the Family Stone and D’Angelo, Huey began to write and record his debut album. With the help of some mates, Friday Anxiety was forming.
With dreamy instrumentation, eclectic rhythms, and melodious vocal harmonies, debut single Outside is dripping with good vibrations, and even better musicianship.
“Outside was written and recorded between three share houses over a year or two – under a staircase, in a shared living space and a garage… the drums have Benjamin Brown’s stamp, and there are vocals from HOOCH. The rest I recorded at home on a 2-track.”
“There’s a large amount of give and take when living with six others. Every decision a house member makes, or wants to make, will undergo a group litmus test. In more positive ways than negative. You become accustomed to having such a solid group of people to lean on when times get tough or when things seem unattainable. Outside kind of captured those dynamics.”
With the desire to keep the record’s theme close to those heard in Outside, Huey says that the album’s story meanders through personal adventures and experiences he’s witnessed his friends live through.
”It’s two years and many episodes wrapped up into 45 minutes. Keeping the concept throughout has been challenging but fun.”
Having moved back to Northern NSW to complete the remainder of the LP with the addition of new, upgraded equipment and some “incredible friends”, Huey says we can expect stacks of new music from him in the near future.
“There’s an abundance of material to come, hopefully a few albums this year!”
