HOUSE VS HURRICANE // Just Can’t Give It Up

So House Vs Hurricane are back, but not completely back. Their upcoming appearance at Unify Gathering this weekend is one of the most anticipated sets of the festival. However, it’s the fact that a new single Give It Up dropped out of nowhere yesterday that’s had news feeds melting. Who would’ve thought a beloved band would have such a reaction? Initially not the band’s lead guitarist Chris Shaw, who had doubts about how well received they would be on the festival’s lineup. Crazy, we know.

“We were reading the comments when we got announced for Unify and we were asking ‘man where were these people hiding?’ I don’t know whether we took it for granted how popular House was or where they were before we broke up…  You know how it is when bands break up, people always ‘say’ they’re sad. But it was those people commenting [on the Unify post] and who enjoyed the band that kind of spurred it on. A few years back, when we were in that sort of breakup environment, we felt like we were done and House had run its course. So getting that kind of external life from fans is pretty cool.”

The decision to add a new song to a classic setlist was an easy one for Shaw, who currently spends his time as bassist for Dream On Dreamer. “I thought why not chuck a song together? I’ve got a home studio and I’m always writing for Dream On Dreamer and for fun, and the song just kind of sounded like it belonged to House. So I called the guys and everyone was on board.” Although he makes it sound easy, gathering band members who have all spun off in different directions can’t have been the easiest task. The motivation came from the aforementioned gathering that sticks out as one of the premium festivals in the country.

“We’re not back together. If people complain that we brought something out even though we’re not back together, then let them whinge [laughs].”
[ Chris Shaw ]

“Unify probably spurred it on. I played with Dream On Dreamer last year and it was such an awesome festival. One way or another I discussed it with Luke [Logemann, former HVH manager] because House got asked to play but we were all too busy at the time.” Well in that case, there must’ve been long discussions and confirmations. We all know how the industry goes. “I pretty much confirmed it before I even talked with any of the other guys” laughs Shaw. “None of the other guys that were in House play music anymore, so it’d been a few years and we’re happy to channel it into a one-off thing. It’s not like a full-time commitment but the fact we can play shows when we want to is cool.”

The big question is obviously on the band’s potential reformation. Unfortunately, Shaw all but confirms that the band have no future plans. “We’re not back together. If people complain that we brought something out even though we’re not back together, then let them whinge [laughs]. Could you imagine walking into Myer and telling them ‘fuck you’ for selling a certain brand? It’s the same thing, it’s our business. We’ve spent 10 years on this and if we want to release a song, then we can do whatever we want!” Hysteria aren’t ones to take no for an answer though, and we manage to squeeze out a “we’ve got nothing else planned; we’ll just see what happens.” from the guitarist. If that doesn’t scream a reunion tour along with 10 year anniversary mugs, mouse pads and a deluxe re-release of the entire back catalogue then we don’t know what does.

Give It Up is out now on all streaming platforms, and House Vs. Hurricane are appearing at Unify Gathering this weekend with limited tickets still available.