My Summer Lair Chapter #192: Do You Enjoy Country Music?

You first met Andrew Farriss on October 13 1980 with INXS’ self-titled debut album.

By 1987’s freshtastic album Kick Andrew Farriss was the principal songwriter along with magnetic frontman Michael Hutchence. I can’t even put it into words: INXS has been a wild ride: a truly great band with truly great songs.

Unfortunately no matter how fun the roller coaster is…it comes to an end. Thankfully Andrew Farriss has returned with a new ride and it’s a country EP and LP.

Country? Oh yes country: Trains are a coming, arrows flying through the air, horses, outlaws…this is country like Wild West movies not like jukebox country songs about pickup trucks and cheating wives. Oh outlaws: I can do that. This is amazing.

The EP is Love Makes The World released on October 2nd, 2020 while the self-titled LP is out March 19, 2021.

In the media release for the album Andrew says:

“I have always seen myself as a songwriter more than anything. Being the main songwriter in a band as talented as INXS, with a superhuman front man such as Michael, it was a songwriter’s dream. The lessons that I took for writing for INXS into my own career, is that maybe I can do things a little bit differently. I don’t mind not being pigeonholed. I am not interested in that; I appreciate all genres. I don’t think you have to necessarily stay in your little box and behave yourself. I think working with people outside your comfort zone is great for the future of music, that is what makes great change in music.” 

Launching from track 7 the sublime song Apache Pass finds Andrew singing about Geronimo.

And I dunno why but Geronimo is something we yell out when taking a large leap. Based on that I tease him are you ready to yell Geronimo as you take the leap to being a frontman and principle songwriter?

When you look back at those early INXS videos he’s hidden in the corner there; mostly behind keyboards…now there’s no more Michael Hutchence with his simmering heat: Andrew is front and center in the recently released videos and the upcoming shows. Geronimoooo for true!

Welcome Andrew Farris to My Summer Lair.

Andrew Farriss @ W • T • F

Host Sammy Younan

Recorded: Monday March 15, 2021 at 6pm (EST)

My Summer Lair Chapter #139: Who Was Michael Hutchence?

Mystify Michael Hutchence is a solid yet devastating documentary on the INXS front man we lost in 1997.

The doc is called Mystify (outstanding tune on the sublime Kick album) but during many movie moments I keep returning to Don’t Lose Your Head the single released right before Michael perished:

“What must have happened to your soul
Is skinnin’ you alive
The thing that you fear the most is love
And that’s buried deep inside
So deep inside

The heart you’re building out of rock
Is turning into sand
Cause you never took the time to think
What it means to be a man”

That was June 27, 1997…dude’d be dead by November 22, 1997. And suddenly we hadda face Y2K and a whole new millennium with one less band. I did not enjoy this New Sensation.

Prince…Bowie…Michael Hutchence these giants die and as fans we’re left with all these unresolved emotions. Our hearts ache and it’s hard to know what to do now or how to go forward.

Talking to Richard Lowenstein the director of Mystify who grappled with his emotions as Michael’s friend greatly helped.

Thank you Michael Hutchence; thank you INXS. Our time was not long but oh it was great and good.

Mystify @ W • T • F

Host Sammy Younan

Recorded: Tuesday January 7, 2020 at 6pm EST at WeWork

This is just fascinating. On January 7th I interviewed Richard Lowenstein who directed the recent Michael Hutchence doc on the INXS front man: Mystify: Michael Hutchence.

Started 2020 writing about Prince and Bowie and…Mystify: Michael Hutchence a solid documentary on the INXS frontman.

Is this good?
Will this be good?
Every movie trailer answers or challenges those 2 questions. The ham-fisted rebuttal comes swiftly, however: no you don’t need to always see a movie to know it’s tank.

Do you really need to sit through a Michael Bay Transformers movie to know for sure? Tank is Tank. And Fresh…well Fresh is always Fresh. I’m down like I’m Brown for that.