Interviews/Articles -
Carew, Anthony, 1998, "Hoss", Beat Magazine.
Joel Silbersher has been around a long time now. Long enough to know not to hold any credence in the "underrated" tag that seems permanently fixed to Hoss' name. Long enough to take the championing of press with a grain of salt, and the championing of musical contemporaries in his stride. Far removed from the days when Hoss were the next-big-thing on the brink of a breakthrough, Silbersher is now left to simply - heaven forbid  - worry but about making good records. Hoss' latest Do you Leave here Often?, is just that.
    It is with some surprise, at first, the (that) Silbersher takes to the news that a long time ago, back when this writer was just a boy, Hoss posters graved the counters of Brashs.
"Well there were certain times that people were telling us all sorts of certain shit that was going to happen. But then again, I've been told that every year of my musical life."
"This is the breakthrough year', right?
"Yeah,  I can smell it in the wind, it's going to happen this year, baby."
    And given that rock-n-roll astrology is to be left to one side, the most important point (selling point?) is that Do you Leave here Often? is a more tapered (tempered?) recording than it's Everyday Lies predecessor, much more flatly-recorded and reluctant in its songwriting. As it opens with the title track, it is entirely clear that the rock-thunder and shit-in-your-beer days of Silbersher's celebrated past are indeed gone - the process of osmosis no doubt heightened through Tendrils and Melonman. As a blues progression rings through the punctuated tones on a tinny amp, the decidely 'true' quality of space is quite apparent. It sounds simply as if a mic has been left in the corner as Silbersher works on a song. You can, quite literally, imagine yourself there as each member joins in; deftly, quietly. It signifies that much of what will follow on the LP is honest, transient and unformed. Some songs possibly still works-in-progress. It is far removed from the standard bar-room rock.
"Well", Silbersher ponders, "it's not like we have some kind of formula - like AC-DC or the Ramones or John Lee Hooker - something that's so pure and simple and good that we can continue to do the same thing all the time. As we continue to progress, it's becoming more and more different all of the time, much more like a mongrel. We've never attempted to radically change things, and in a way I don't think we have. It's just been the natural process of the band."
Silbersher has also teamed up with Charlie Owen to again record another Tendrils document, this time "for a little  earlier in the evening", and with a contribution from Jim White; who Joel would go onto describe - after the first fawning words came from here - as "a very beautiful drummer. Very emotional."
"The song that he did, we recorded three versions of. And each time he played something that just had a totally, totally different feel. I don't think he ever plays the same thing twice. That's the thing about him, and Mick Turner also, they never seem to play the same thing twice. I like musicians like that - Charlie is like that also. He plays something different each time, even if he's played the song like a million times. I hope that I can bring that to my music."It's that resurfacing vibe of non-uniformity that makes Hoss a rather strange rock-n-roll creation. Silbersher sees this in the reactions of people. "I think every record we do," he elaborates, "there'll be people who say 'oh I liked that record you did, but this new one's too different'.  That's happened for so many years now. But I suppose I'm always hoping that people  will take something new from what we continue to do, that even if they've never liked nothing we've done previously, or just that one thing, that they may hear something in what we're doing at the time. Or maybe they can go back to their copy of You Get Nothing and like nothing else that we do ever again."

Jones, Tamas, 1995, 'A f**kin' rock star', Inpress Magazine.
"It was a great snooze, very deep," explains Joel Silbersher last week. "I made a hot bath last thing last night and that was the end of me and I just work (woke?) up then all freezing cold and I had to get out and talk to you."
Silbersher is explaining the delayed interview time and I can't help but voice my thoughts; isn't falling asleep in the bath dangerous?
"Oh well," replies Silbersher, clearly still not fully awake, "I'm living on the edge. Just because of all the money and drugs and groupies... just because I don't have any of that stuff, that doesn't mean that I can't a fuckin' rock star. I'm like that guy from Deep Purple; "I'm not long for this world so you better fucking get into the music now'."
Silbersher is on the phone to talk about Hoss's new LP titled Everyday Lies as well as some up-coming live gigs. For the duration of the interview he answers questions in the same groggy tone, and for the most part seems not really all that happy about being awaken from his slumber.
    He is however clearly pleased with the result's of the band's recording time and sparks up whenever he talks about the LP.
"I think it's really good," says Silbersher of the LP. "It's been a while since it was finished so I've had to go back and listen to it to retake on it but I find that it stands up. It was recorded in a strange way and so I'm surprised at how cohesive it sounds."
    By recording "in a strange way", I presumed that Silbersher was referring to the quick recording time.
"Well that record Everyday Lies was done basically in three sessions in studios and was basically real quick sessions and it wasn't done all at the same time. It was like we'd write three songs and then rehearse 'em a couple of times and if we had the money we'd go and record 'em... I wasn't being half as precious as I've been with the last records. I've been doing things like this for a little while because I record them and it's not necessary. And besides", adds Silbersher, "I like the freshness."
    Fresh indeed, Everyday Lies captures Hoss in a dynamic range of moods from straight out rock to a simpler blues-like boogie into introspective, slow sonic meanderings. The music is rough but interestingly so; sometimes the uncut stone is more beautiful than the jewel it is turned into. Silbersher's voice has a jagged edge to it which sits well with his caustic lyrics and loose guitar riffs. It seems to me that in certain band situations the chemistry between members is such that musicseems to happen of its own accord.
"Oh absolutely," agrees Silbersher, "and those are the moments I'm interested in these days. You know a lot of the time, whatever you can say for practicing over and over again and playing heaps of gigs before you record, even though you gain something in tightness or whatever, those moments are less likely to happen. It's easier for those moments to happen if the song isn't set in stone."
    Hoss's music is one that is rooted in the tradition of rock-n-roll and yet provides a new view of it. Thus Silbersher hopes that "these records have unique personalities of their own; that's something that I miss in a lot of music today, it all just seems a bit faceless to me.
"Rock-n-roll is old now", finishes Silbersher, and we've had decades of it and the people of this band have really immersed themselves in rock-n-roll for the whole time it's been around. It's the only thing I'm interested in."

McPhee, Natalie, 1998, "Hoss - The Tote", Inpress Magazine.
Hoss seem to be one of those bands that everybody raves about, but only the dedicated turn up to their gigs. Tonight saw a healthy sized crowd fill the Tote in order to watch the much talked about foursome strut their stuff. Although strut might not be quite the word to describe the excellent performance the band put in. It was more a low slung wander through the new album Do you Leave Here Often?
    Dirty sparse songs with elements of blues and straight ahead rock seem to signify a new and improved band since I last witnessed them several years ago. Gone are the days of artful played screeching guitars, thumping drums and seriously scary vocals, the sound of the new album judging from this performance is all about taking time to get to places, using instruments both sparingly and unexpectedly, and having that extra something that made several blokes want to shimmy. Hoss were simply amazingly entertaining tonight, with the highlight being the closing song (before the encore) that went on forever in what seemed like a completely extended version of a classic song. The floor was shaking and the punters all seemed to have that dropped jaw look of awe or ear-to-ear smile. It was just one of those performances where you walk away so satisfied that if you never saw a live gig again it would be OK because you experienced Hoss at The Tote.

Shorland, Holly, 1998, "Hoss, The Exotics. Punter's Club", Beat Magazine.
Hoss were a lot more subdued than I remember, they've changed a lot. Most of the songs were short and varied in style. Hoss are in what appears a transitional stage. Their newer songs are shorter, quieter and more compact, and older songs raunchy, rambling and loud. Side by side  they seemed a bit out of kilter, but taking frontman Joel Silbersher's other work into consideration (such as the mellow and introspective Melonman and the Tendril stuff he did with Charlie Owen) they seemed to make more sense as part of the same set.
    Highlights were Bomb of Joy, a crashing, grinding rock song, Noxious which was like a hard and fast country song and Jack, which was loud and mean. Hoss are different to a lot of bands from their original posse - they aren't really into lead breaks and showing off their macho guitar style, they're more into building a song up with a pulsing, grinding beat - it's different, and shows the change in direction Hoss are taking.

Sutherland, Craig, 199-?, 'Everyday rock? Rock Everyday!', Beat Magazine (Melb.).
It's early afternoon and I'm sitting in a cafe at the non-funky end of Chapel St. Hot Chocolate are playing tag team with The Cranberries on the stereo. A coffee sits before me as well as Joel Silbersher, one of Australia's rock treasures and by far, one of our most prolific producers of quality music. Apart from being 'the man' in Hoss for the past six years, he also has released Tendrills with Charlie Owen and Melonman, his solo project.
    Hoss have just released Everyday Lies, the band's fourth album and have begun work on album number five, Joel is ready to release another Melonman record and has been working through songs with Charlie Owen for another recording with him. Joel Silbersher is 24 and now had at least six albums under his belt, going on nine, something he doesn't find all that amazing.
"There's a lot of hours in the day, I consider myself a musician and..." He leaves the sentence unfinished. We decide to talk about Melonman and why he needed to do a solo project.
"I do need to be making music all the time but I didn't have to do Melonman, like I said, there's a lot of hours in the day. Everyone in Hoss works and it's not the sort of thing you'd be doing, Hoss business 24 hours a day, even if you could."
    A Cranberry wail ends on the speakers and Errol Brown leads Hot Chocolate into You Sexy Thing.
"Yeah, just steps up the mood a little bit," Joel says "I believe in Milko, since you came along... "silence., we both look down at our coffee... "sexy thing."
    The new album Everyday Lies is a part of Joel's life in more ways than one. The title suggest a side of Joel not always apparent and the song titles Clueless and Bullshit Never Ends pretty much makes the point obvious.
"It's a concept album about bullshit," Joel says straight-faced but full with humour, "but it's not a concept album. I was just dwelling on the same depressing shit I guess, I was just trying to make some sense of my own life, the ideas of my versus my actual life and watching everyone else do the same. Watching them conceptualise their lives so that they can handle what fuckin'... what boring fuckin' lives, boring fuckin' pointless activities they I don't know."
    Does he find his own activities futile?
"Not currently, but at the time, I was a real vegie. People who spend too much time sitting around in their own heads, not actually doing anything, things can get pretty twisted and they did for me for a while there. It's just me rejecting certain ways of doing things that  I have developed and rejecting a lot of the bullshit I was hearing from people I know."
    It might be due to this supposed lack of achievement that bought about the recording of Everyday Lies. While Bring on The Juice was recorded after the songs had been well and truly road tested. Everyday Lies was recorded pretty much on the spot, resulting in a more manic, unprepared sound.
"It's a lot rougher, it sounds rougher to me. I've said to a couple of people I've talked to about it, that maybe my idea of it though. I haven't heard Bring on The Juice for so long that I probably have an unrealistic idea of what it even sounds like."
"The sessions were far apart, not overly rehearsed and very fast and not particularly relaxed when we were in there. As a result, the songs just come out however sounding they come out and now that I step back and look at it, I really like it, it sounds really rough and desperate."
    The Cranberries have swapped over for about the third time this afternoon and now start another wall. "This is nice," Joel says lifting an eyebrow, resplendent in faced  Motorhead T-shirt.
    The other noticeable change in the music is its pace. Although there are great differences in the music Joel makes, there is a common thread. Lately it seems as though the pace of the music is slowing. Although Everyday Lies is as rough as it sounds, it too sounds a little more even paced than its predecessor.
"That's the way everything seems to be moving, I don't want to do it so hard anymore. I want to have the energy to fuckin' put in and play the rock and roll as hard and as passionately as it demands me to play. I want to do those songs justice but I don't want to be suppressing,  I want it to be easy and fun."
    Is this the future for Joel Silbersher? Will he be the guy we go to see in a sit down venue while he plays slow acoustic numbers.
"If my throat or ears pack up on me like what happened to Lou Reed, then I suppose there are other things I can do but Hoss is a rock'n'roll band and you've got to have a certain amount of juice to do it. I can do it on auto-pilot but I don't  want to. We can do whatever we want there's new songs and new kinds of songs and in the next few years we will... we won't be fucked up by anyone's expectations."