Episode 115: Ron Hitler-Barassi & Humphrey B. Flaubert – TISM

<p>I&#39;m going to preface things this week by saying this is going to be far from anything close to a normal podcast.</p><p><br></p><p>Why? Well, it&#39;s because this week&#39;s guests are TISM co-founders Ron Hitler-Barassi and Humphrey B. Flaubert.</p><p><br></p><p>Formed in Melbourne back in 1982, TISM have had a long and storied career. Known for hiding their identities behind masks and pseudonyms, high-energy live performances gave way to music which is as sharp, literate, and satirical as it is catchy and driven by a keen sense of melody.</p><p><br></p><p>TISM would quietly split in 2004 but after 18 years, they reformed in 2022 and have been playing shows with relative consistency ever since.</p><p><br></p><p>Now, they&#39;re getting ready to launch their No Mistakes Tour, their first national trek in 30 years, though they&#39;re aptly labelling themselves TSIM for the run and making it hard for editors all across the country.</p><p><br></p><p>Ever since they reformed, I&#39;ve jumped at the chance to interview TISM every time the opportunity has come my way, and every time has been something of a shambolic mess. That&#39;s nothing against my skills as an interviewer, rather, it&#39;s a testament to how anyone attempting to have a chat with TISM might as well be bringing a knife to a proverbial gunfight.</p><p><br></p><p>This time around, I was brave enough (maybe foolish is a more accurate term) to say yes to having them on the Trusty Chords podcast.</p><p><br></p><p>However, remember when I said this episode is far from normal? Well, that&#39;s because trying to get TISM to do anything is like herding cats – masked cats who know their Jean-Paul Sartre from their John Paul Jones. </p><p><br></p><p>As such, I knew that from the get go to the let go, I was going to have no luck asking any of my normal questions, and woe betide me if I was to try and run through the standard Trusty Chords segment near the end.</p><p><br></p><p>I will say, however, I did speak to someone once before on this podcast who knows a lot about TISM. I don&#39;t recall his name, but that&#39;s available way back in episode 47 if you find yourself eager to go further.</p><p><br></p><p>Anyway this is where I&#39;ll say, buy a ticket to their upcoming tour, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping and… I don&#39;t know… penance.</p>