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Shai Hulud.
 Matt Fox is a self-professed lazy guy. You are more likely to find him and his collaborator Matt Fletcher searching for Thin Lizzy, Napalm Death and Twilight Zone memorabilia on eBay than actually working on their musical endeavours. Yet his band, Shai Hulud, has been rather prolific in the past year, despite the departure of long-time vocalist Geert Van Der Velde. "After the 'technical' break-up, we would get all these e-mails saying we're more active and more forthcoming with information now than we were when we weren't broken up," he jokes.
The departure of Van Der Velde also prompted the band to change its name from Shai Hulud to The Warmth Of Red Blood. "We had changed singers before," Fox explains. "Chad was actually our second vocalist, Geert our third. After we parted ways with Geert, our initial instincts were to replace him and come back out as Shai Hulud. I've been in the band since day one and always been the primary music and lyric writer and that's always kept the mindset that we can replace anybody, because the sound is going to remain intact. But when we parted ways with Geert, myself and Matt Fletcher talked about it, and as much as it killed us to change the name, it just seemed that Shai Hulud, which has been around so long, couldn't take another serious blow like yet another change in vocalist. It just didn't sit well with us. We really felt it was the wisest choice to change the name."
The band does remain on good terms with both Van Der Velde and his predecessor, Chad Gilbert, now in New Found Glory. Australian fans will be treated to the 're-formed' line-up featuring Van Der Velde on vocals when the band tours in late August. "It's very exciting" says Fox. "We've always wanted to come down [to Australia]. We had an offer to come down once. Somebody promised us to play the Big Day Out with Metallica, which was a dream come true for us. That was a couple of years ago, and it all fell through. Finally, after the band technically breaks up, that's when we get our chance."
Fox is reluctant to admit that it is a true break up, however. "It's been a source of contention whether the band technically broke up. The main parting of ways came between the band and Geert. So technically we're 're-forming with Geert' to do this last tour."
It is not a first for the band to play shows with a former vocalist either. In 2004, on the back of their Japanese tour, the band was joined by Gilbert. "We flew to California and did four shows out there with Chad," recalls Fox. "That was a treat, especially for people who had known the band back then, and California had always been pretty responsive to Shai Hulud. To go back after so many years and have that excitement was fantastic. We had intended to do some more shows with Chad, but he's pretty busy so whether or not more will happen remains to be seen. We hope so, but nothing certain."
As well as the Australian tour - their first and last as Shai Hulud - the band has been working on a DVD, though very casually, Fox admits. "Anyone who's followed our band will tell you that we take a hell of a long time to do anything. Partly it's because we're so picky and very meticulous and try to make things as cool as we can, and partly because we're really lazy. We have been slowly and surely working on the DVD, and so far all the footage looks fantastic. A lot of fun stuff even from back in the Damien [Moyal] era and some cool footage up until the professional shots done with Geert just last year."
And the band also recently published a retrospective work, featuring the demo with Moyal on vocals. Fox cringes at the thought of that work. "None of us, from back then up until now, ever wanted that recording released," he confesses. "When I got that recording back in 1995, my heart dropped, I thought it was the worst thing ever. Before the band's career - if you can call it that - started, I felt that it was over. But for some reason, people have always been interested in it. I wanted to make it very clear that the whole thing is just for fun, hence the title and the goofy artwork, which everybody seemed to misinterpret. We wanted to make it clear that it's not something that should be considered part of our true catalogue."
For a lazy guy, Fox has been keeping pretty busy.
Matt Redmond
 | Shai Hulud say goodbye with an all-ages show at the Enigma Bar on Thurs 25 Aug. |
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