Anthony Says: In the summer of 1998, a band I was playing in called Humbert started, but never completed, the recording of a follow-up to our 1997 album “The Great White Lunchroom.” Overdub sessions, often spaced months apart, continued piecemeal for close to a year later. However, the final album never materialized, as the band essentially broke up by 2000. About half of the album’s tracks were close to being done, and simply awaited final mixes. Meanwhile, others still featured guide vocal tracks or scratch guitar parts that were slated to be replaced, and some were left absent planned overdubs.
What you have here is an EP composed of several tracks I wrote and sang for the work-in-progress. In the spirit of many recent deluxe re-releases of classic rock albums featuring demos, rehearsals, alternate versions, and outtakes, the members of Humbert (along with our producer Paul Oliveira) tried last year to come to a consensus about how to resurrect the full album, but it proved to be still too tricky a venture. Nonetheless, with the blessing of my former band members and producer, I’m excited to finally share these selected Westcott-centered tracks after so long. Incidentally, the songs my old partner Ari Vais wrote for the record have all found their way to being released over the years, either in the original Humbert versions or recorded by his current band The Campbell Apartment. Only one of Henning’s has, however, so the public may need to wait until 2040 to hear those other two. For now, please enjoy “Swamp of Humiliation.”
Anthony Westcott: vocals & guitars Ari Vais: guitars & backup vocals Henning Ohlenbusch: bass, keyboards & backup vocals Brian Marchese: drums Amy Ward: backup vocals on “Something European” Paul Oliveira: production, engineering & mixing Dave Harman: mastering
