Spyderhuff Interview
Q: Can you talk about your history as an artist?
A: What’s in a name? Being raised in the Detroit area, one gets exposed to automotive history. Ed ‘Spider’ Huff was a friend of Henry Ford when they both worked at the Edison power plant in the 1890s. Ed was a complete genius concerning all things electrical and Henry would later use his talents for the development of the early ignition systems on all Ford cars. Tom Kuhr thought Ed ‘Spider’ Huff had a nice ring to it. He changed it to ‘Spyderhuff.’ For every successful person or idea there is always an Ed ‘Spider’ Huff in the back room somewhere making the wheels go round. So, it’s kind of a tribute to unsung heroes. The ‘Spyderhuff’ name was used for the first version of the band in 1991. The band lasted for about a year and half and then the name was used for Tom Kuhr’s graphic design business for the next 25 years. In 2020, Kuhr retired the business and resurrected the band and called it ‘Spyderhuff’ once again.
The band is led by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tom Kuhr who plays guitar, sax, harmonica, keyboards, and banjo. Don Beyer plays bass, keyboards, and provides compositions and arrangements. He also is the wizard of production and final mixing. Original member, Jim Pauli provides Spyderhuff tasteful and creative drumming. He’s been playing drums for 40 years. ‘Guitar’ Joey Gaydos joined the effort with his big brush stroke guitar tone. Joe is a veteran of the Detroit rock scene since the 1970s. Bands and album credits including Mugsy, Cub Koda and the Points, Weapons, AZ.U.R, Blood Brothers (Rob Tyner of MC5), Guitar Joey and the Best, Send More Cops, The Respectables (Nick Piunti) and The Rockets.
Tony Mitchell is another Detroit music veteran stretching back to the 1970s. Tony is a great drummer and percussionist. He played in the jazz-fusion band Each and rock band Full Nelson with Tom and Don. Then went on to the play with Immunity and Slight Return. Janet Swanson is a brilliant writer with deep insight and razor-sharp wit. Her lyric contributions include ‘I’m in the Middle of a Big Wide World’ on the Tired wrangler EP and ‘Revenge in Heaven’ and ‘I Always Think About What People Think About When They Think About Me’ on the current EP Think About Me. A future release, The Seven Deadly Sins will feature all the lyrics branded with Janet’s unique sensibility.
Q: What is your creative process like? What is your recording process like for Think About Me?
A: Back in 2018 with Don now living in Florida and Tom living in Michigan, both were playing around with their home recording studios trying to figure out the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) technology. They decided to do a little blues project for the purpose of test-driving and developing a process for working together remotely. After some frustrations and setbacks, they managed to glue together something that works good for serious recording and bringing others into the project.
The initial creative process starts with Tom composing the tracks for a song with all instrumentation and vocals (some final and some for reference). Each track is sent to Don where he replaces the bass track and prepares a reference mix for other musicians. For example, to replace the reference drum track, Don will strip the drum track out and insert a click track. Don will then send the reference mix with the click track to Jim and he will record a new drum track. Jim can then try different drumbeats and take time getting a good performance. The real bonus of working this way is Jim can share different versions and explore possibilities without being on-the-clock and pressed for time. This basic approach is used for other contributors and instruments. After Don has all the tracks, the final mix is next. Don’s system is setup specifically for the final mix with all the necessary equipment, plugins, and effects.
Q: Have you started playing shows now that the pandemic is almost over?
A: There are no current plans for performing live. Geography poses some challenges. But, who knows?
Q: Can you talk about your history as an artist?
A: What’s in a name? Being raised in the Detroit area, one gets exposed to automotive history. Ed ‘Spider’ Huff was a friend of Henry Ford when they both worked at the Edison power plant in the 1890s. Ed was a complete genius concerning all things electrical and Henry would later use his talents for the development of the early ignition systems on all Ford cars. Tom Kuhr thought Ed ‘Spider’ Huff had a nice ring to it. He changed it to ‘Spyderhuff.’ For every successful person or idea there is always an Ed ‘Spider’ Huff in the back room somewhere making the wheels go round. So, it’s kind of a tribute to unsung heroes. The ‘Spyderhuff’ name was used for the first version of the band in 1991. The band lasted for about a year and half and then the name was used for Tom Kuhr’s graphic design business for the next 25 years. In 2020, Kuhr retired the business and resurrected the band and called it ‘Spyderhuff’ once again.
The band is led by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tom Kuhr who plays guitar, sax, harmonica, keyboards, and banjo. Don Beyer plays bass, keyboards, and provides compositions and arrangements. He also is the wizard of production and final mixing. Original member, Jim Pauli provides Spyderhuff tasteful and creative drumming. He’s been playing drums for 40 years. ‘Guitar’ Joey Gaydos joined the effort with his big brush stroke guitar tone. Joe is a veteran of the Detroit rock scene since the 1970s. Bands and album credits including Mugsy, Cub Koda and the Points, Weapons, AZ.U.R, Blood Brothers (Rob Tyner of MC5), Guitar Joey and the Best, Send More Cops, The Respectables (Nick Piunti) and The Rockets.
Tony Mitchell is another Detroit music veteran stretching back to the 1970s. Tony is a great drummer and percussionist. He played in the jazz-fusion band Each and rock band Full Nelson with Tom and Don. Then went on to the play with Immunity and Slight Return. Janet Swanson is a brilliant writer with deep insight and razor-sharp wit. Her lyric contributions include ‘I’m in the Middle of a Big Wide World’ on the Tired wrangler EP and ‘Revenge in Heaven’ and ‘I Always Think About What People Think About When They Think About Me’ on the current EP Think About Me. A future release, The Seven Deadly Sins will feature all the lyrics branded with Janet’s unique sensibility.
Q: What is your creative process like? What is your recording process like for Think About Me?
A: Back in 2018 with Don now living in Florida and Tom living in Michigan, both were playing around with their home recording studios trying to figure out the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) technology. They decided to do a little blues project for the purpose of test-driving and developing a process for working together remotely. After some frustrations and setbacks, they managed to glue together something that works good for serious recording and bringing others into the project.
The initial creative process starts with Tom composing the tracks for a song with all instrumentation and vocals (some final and some for reference). Each track is sent to Don where he replaces the bass track and prepares a reference mix for other musicians. For example, to replace the reference drum track, Don will strip the drum track out and insert a click track. Don will then send the reference mix with the click track to Jim and he will record a new drum track. Jim can then try different drumbeats and take time getting a good performance. The real bonus of working this way is Jim can share different versions and explore possibilities without being on-the-clock and pressed for time. This basic approach is used for other contributors and instruments. After Don has all the tracks, the final mix is next. Don’s system is setup specifically for the final mix with all the necessary equipment, plugins, and effects.
Q: Have you started playing shows now that the pandemic is almost over?
A: There are no current plans for performing live. Geography poses some challenges. But, who knows?
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Q: Have you started playing shows now that the pandemic is almost over?
A: There are no current plans for performing live. Geography poses some challenges. But, who knows?
Q: What are some themes that are touched upon in your release Think About Me?
A: Musically, the driving theme is blending genres as part of the Spyderhuff sound. Most of the members grew up in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s when music brought us together, today it seems music divides and separates us into musical tribes with no mingling allowed. It was not unusual to hear an FM rock station play Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath and Sly & The Family Stone programmed in one block. I don’t think you’d find those three tracks together on a playlist anywhere today. We need to a little more musical diversity. The word ‘eclectic’ shouldn’t be the kiss of death.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: Our next release! What could be more fun than music about wrath, gluttony, lust, envy, sloth, pride and greed? The Seven Deadly Sins will be seven songs focusing on each of the sins. The idea came from Janet Swanson looking for inspiration for song lyrics. She hit the jackpot with one song after to other flying in Tom’s direction for musical direction. The lyrics range from dark to humorous with a thread of tongue-in-cheek satire weaving in and out. The music is heavy to light with Spyderhuff blues-rock-country-techno seasoning sprinkled throughout.
A: There are no current plans for performing live. Geography poses some challenges. But, who knows?
Q: What are some themes that are touched upon in your release Think About Me?
A: Musically, the driving theme is blending genres as part of the Spyderhuff sound. Most of the members grew up in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s when music brought us together, today it seems music divides and separates us into musical tribes with no mingling allowed. It was not unusual to hear an FM rock station play Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath and Sly & The Family Stone programmed in one block. I don’t think you’d find those three tracks together on a playlist anywhere today. We need to a little more musical diversity. The word ‘eclectic’ shouldn’t be the kiss of death.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: Our next release! What could be more fun than music about wrath, gluttony, lust, envy, sloth, pride and greed? The Seven Deadly Sins will be seven songs focusing on each of the sins. The idea came from Janet Swanson looking for inspiration for song lyrics. She hit the jackpot with one song after to other flying in Tom’s direction for musical direction. The lyrics range from dark to humorous with a thread of tongue-in-cheek satire weaving in and out. The music is heavy to light with Spyderhuff blues-rock-country-techno seasoning sprinkled throughout.