Split Enz men form new group

Press, 24 August 1988, Page 24

Split Enz men form new group

Noel Crombie knows all the problems of this rock business. He has been there a few times already. But that raises a whole set of other problems for Crombie and the other members of the Melbourne band, Schnell Fenster, as they prepare to launch their first single and album into the world. If the sound of the single; “Whisper,” is a little familiar, then check the band line-up and it all , comes clear. And you can begin to appreciate the problems: three-quarters of the band — Crombie (drums), Nigel Griggs (bass) and Phil Judd (guitar/vocalist) — were members of Split Enz. That raises expectations and, of course, comparisons. Speaking from Melbourne, Crombie says, laconically, there is nothing he can do about that. “I’d hope people would listen to the band on its merits, but there are going to be similarities because we’ve got the rhythm section from Split Enz and Phil is a very distinctive singer,” Crombie says. “So, if people want to say he sounds like he did then, he does. “To me, it feels completely different. It’s more rocky and having two guitars is great,” he says. The other - guitarist, Michael den Elzen, comes to the band through another Split Enz connection. “I’d, sort of been dabbling a bit,” says Crombie, recounting how the group came together in early 1986. “I did a few film clips for other bands and was an art director for an ABC series on the rock industry. I’d also worked for a guy making bodywork for hotrods so Schnell Fenster started as a bit of an ' enthusiasts’ band. “Originally, it was Nigel, Eddie (Rayner) and myself. Eddie had been in London working for Paul McCartney and Phil had been there, too, working on “Big Canoe” (ex-Split Enz singer Tim Finn’s album) and they got together and reminisced and got all enthusiastic. “That brought Phil in and about then Eddie was more interested in production as a career and had jobs on. Through Tim’s tour, we met Michael, who was playing in the band, and he came in as Eddie left,” Crombie says. The then unnamed Schnell Fenster began jamming together, quite deliberately avoiding learning songs because three of them were writers, says Crombie. “Through Nigel’s documenting of it on tape, we ended up with hours of jams, which we took apart and made songs out of,” Crombie says.

“We’d deliberately decided not to learn songs, but to find out what kind of band we were. There was an element of selfindulgence in it, but there had to be a purpose and eventually that was an album,” he says. By getting cheap rates for studio downtime, the group put together a demo tape of 17 songs, which they took to record companies. Initially, EMI Sydney were interested, but their head office in Britain picked up the group and Schnell Fenster now find themselves happily signed to EMI UK. The as-yet unreleased debut album, "Sound of Trees,” includes eight self-produced tracks and four with English team of Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer who produced the Madness albums. “They only had a month because they were doing other things, but they liked what we were doing,” Crombie says. “I don’t know whether there is a typical sound about what we do — there’s a ballad and some slightly jazz-influenced pieces. There’s also some fairly heavy rock-funk stuff. “We cover a few styles,” he says.

Blurring the edges on the music side to keep open a few possibilities also extends to the group’s odd name. “For about a year, we had a

Former Split Enz members make another bid for. stardom with a new band, Schnell Fenster. GRAHAM REID talks to Noel Crombie

different name every week and eventually had a list of a couple of hundred possible names. It was a process of elimination and votes and it. came down to Noel’s Cowards or Schnell Fenster,” Crombie says. “Schnell Fenster represents our obscure nature — to us it says what we are, as opposed to Noel’s Cowards which you laugh about, but after you’ve heard it a couple of times it’s not funny anymore,” he says. If the issue of chosing a name has been resolved, Crombie — who designed the distinctive and bizarre stage outfits for Split Enz, still has ambivalent feelings about the creation of a distinctive visual image for the new band. “I’m in two minds about that because I know we’re all quite happy and comfortable with the approach and it’s probably necessary," Crombie says. “It’s part of performing, but I’m personally worried about comparisons and people seeing you before they hear you,” he says. It is an interesting double-bind for Crombie, Judd and Griggs. If Crombie puts his rag-trade skills to work, they run the risk of inviting comparisons with their earlier band; if they do not, then they become an imageless group in a world where face-and-name recognition is essential.

“We’ll probably go with no one look. It’s not going to be a band that has got ‘A Look’ so we’ll just go with our moods and make everyone feel relaxed with what they’re doing. Nothing over the top probably,” he says. The immediate question for Schnell Fenster is getting the band out on the road. They have not played live yet and Crombie looks forward to touring “in moderation,” but recognises success can dictate its own terms. He cites Crowded House, who have been touring with their album for almost two years, and notes, “None of us are keen to do that.” The old Enz connection of Crowded House brings up another point, the signing to EMI UK who could be expected to demand Schnell Fenster tour Britain when the album is released. Crombie points out how Crowded House toured immediately, but the album did not do anything in Britain until it took off in America. It seems more likely, Crombie says, that British journalists will be flown to Australia to see the band and “Europe is more of a priority because they’re more enthusiastic and there are more TV shows there.” But things are still up in the air as Schnell Fenster wait for the single to make an impression and the album to hit stores. Crombie does not discount the possibility of the band adding another member further down the line, but again it is all speculation.