You Am I: The Hi Fi Way
Legendary rockers You Am I are doing a lap of Australia to mark the 30th anniversary of their iconic sophomore album, Hi Fi Way. Drummer Russell 'Rusty' Hopkinson speaks with The Note about recording the LP alongside Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo in New York and what to expect from their upcoming tour.
Interview Tobias Handke
Image supplied
The year was 1993. Emerging rockers You Am I were making a name for themselves in the Sydney scene and had just released their debut studio album, Sound as Ever. What should have been the band’s crowning achievement hit a sour note with the sacking of drummer Mark Tunaley. The volatile relationship between Tunaley and You Am I’s captivating vocalist and songwriter, Tim Rogers, which often played out live on stage, had reached breaking point. Contemplating ending the band, Rogers had second thoughts and asked good friend and drummer Russell 'Rusty' Hopkinson to join the fold. The rest, as they say, is history.
“I was surprised they didn't ask anybody else,” Hopkinson says with a wry laugh over the phone from Sydney. “Tim called me and said, ‘You want to have a jam?’ So, I went down and after [jamming] I told them to let me know if [they] wanted me. And Tim went, ‘No, you are already in the band’.”
Sound as Ever took You Am I across Australia. In January 1994, the band played alongside Soundgarden at Big Day Out and even opened for the Seattle grunge pioneers at Brisbane venue The Roxy. These opportunities proved to be a sliding doors moment for You Am I. Backstage, both bands hit it off and the Chris Cornell-led outfit promised they'd find a way to bring four-piece to the US. “We were like, 'Sure, that's really gonna happen',” Hopkinson recalls of that fateful meeting.
But sure enough, You Am I was tapped as an opener for a six-week, state-side tour in support of Soundgarden's Superunknown. Hopkinson says the international opportunity meant the band had to, “hock everything [they] had and put [themselves] into debt with [their] publishing company to get the money together.” But the gamble paid off. America was some of the biggest crowds You Am I had ever played to. And, in between the chaos, Rogers felt inspired to write and record some acoustic demos on a portable four-track.
When You Am I arrived in New York for the tour's conclusion, they rolled the dice once more and decided to stay and record their second album. An eight-day timeline was set; fumes and adrenaline fuelled the pressure cooker environment; Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo (who worked with the band on their first LP) came onboard as a producer.
“We just felt like [it was] the right time so we went in and did it,” Hopkinson recalls. “After we'd done it, we all had various misgivings about it, but the band was on such a high and had such an energy to it that if we had gone home, it would have been a different record.”
The result was Hi Fi Way, the 1995-released record that changed You Am I's trajectory forever. It was the first of three back-to-back LPs from the band to debut at No.1 on the Australian Album Charts (the band were also the first Aussie act to achieve this). Three decades later, it is still recognised as one of the greatest Australian albums ever released – 14 tracks that are timeless in their pedestrian observations and pioneering in how they defined ‘90s alt-rock.
READ MORE: Grinspoon: Whatever, Whenever, Wherever
Although Hopkinson doesn't spin Hi Fi Way often, he understands why the album hit such a cultural nerve when he hears one of its songs played. “There's a pretty high percentage of bangers on the record,” he says. “It's got great lyrics. Tim's a peerless writer. I'm incredibly proud of it.”
Hi Fi Way thrust You Am I into the Australian spotlight, but the band didn’t rest on their laurels. A year later, in July of 1996, they released their third long-play, Hourly, Daily.
Unlike their sophomore release, the band gave themselves a little longer than a week to work out the contents of their third LP. Recording at Sydney's Q Studios (later used by Powderfinger, Spiderbait and The Cruel Sea) meant You Am I could hit the breaks a little, retreat home at the end of the day and digest the direction of the album. “We didn't want to go anywhere – we wanted to be in our element; somewhere we felt comfortable,” Hopkinson recalls. “It was completely different, just hanging out in the studio and having a very creative, productive experience.”
This year marks 30 years since the release of Hi Fi Way and the return of You Am I’s famed Hi Fi Daily Double Down Tour. First presented in 2013, the tour sees the band performing album number two and three in their entirety (with a few extra surprises). Currently rehearsing for the tour, Hopkinson is quick to point out that although they are reviving the show, things won’t be the same.
“There’s a little bit of different instrumentation going on. It’s going to be good,” Hopkinson reveals. “Last time we had a cello, a keyboard player and a horn section, which was great. But this time, we just [want] to strip it back. We have our friend James Fleming, who’s a brilliant keyboard player, and [bassist] Andy [Kent] will play some bowed bass in a couple of ballads and the glockenspiel. Then, in the middle of it all, there’s the rock ‘n’ roll music, which is what everyone loves.”
As our conversation winds down, the discussion turns to the Australian music scene in the ‘90s and what a special time it was for all involved: “I’m not one for nostalgia, but I think it’s nice people have a connection to it,” Hopkinson reflects. “It was short-lived – all these musical movements – but it was a lovely time. It was vindication for a lot of people getting rewards for their work, which doesn’t happen very often in the entertainment industry. It’s nice that people look back on those times with fondness.”
Catch You Am I at Hindley Street Music Hall on Friday, May 2. Tickets are on sale now via Moshtix.
