Front page	From the Event Guide archive! This article refers to an event which took place on, or until, 03 March 2005 Music Interview - Hem A-Hem  Hem auditioned their singer on an answering machine, and then went straight into the studio to record the acclaimed ‘Rabbit Songs’. They’ve returned with a new record, ‘Eveningland’, which is receiving equal praise. Una Mullally caught up with singer Sally Ellyson.  Where are you at the moment? In a hotel. We’re starting off tomorrow, playing the Bristol Arts Club. I have no idea where we’re going after that. Our tour manager sent us an email of the dates, but I can’t remember where we’re going. I’m kind of out of the loop! Until tomorrow when we get a grad copy of the schedule, it’s the blind leading the blind.  How did Hem begin? Dan and Gary have been friends for twelve years. The both have a love for the pristine creation of original music without Pro-Tools or anything like that. I guess they had a dream of recording the music they both love. Their influences are across the board and they always talked about ideas of sitting down and creating the music. Dan sang, but apparently it sounded like Kermit the frog! So, they decided they needed another route because they weren’t getting the sound they wanted. They stuck an ad in the Village Voice and basically, around that time, my friends were bugging me about singing, so I answered the ad two weeks after it went in. Dan had gotten calls from about 200 singers with embarrassing demos. I called his answering machine with lullabies, and that was it. We did a show and it sold out, and that kept happening. We hadn’t got signed, but then Setanta got interested and we got successful in the UK first. I don’t know if we intended to be a band but Dan was looking for another outlet, because in his other band, his creativity was thwarted.  Were you surprised at finding success far from home initially? I do believe that Europe has a much more wide appreciation for music. The States has the same 100 pop songs that are rotated on radio. England and Ireland are really trend-setting in the music that is listened to.  What was recording the first album, ‘Rabbit Songs’, like for you? The most frightening experience of my life. I sang by a piano first and Dan said it was perfect and I got excited about hearing this beautiful music. Then we went in to rehearsals. The rehearsal space was an 18-piece orchestra and me. I remember apologising a lot! Getting into the studio was equally painful. I had no understanding of the language of music. Gary apparently didn’t speak to me for a week and I didn’t notice. He was so frustrated at the inability to communicate. He was used to working with Fountains of Wayne and John Spencer Blues Explosion, and suddenly he gets Sally off the boat. Now it’s still a long process, but we’re more in tune with each other.  What have been the highlights for you in Hem? Honestly, I think what makes this a continuous highlight is that I think it was fated, or a miracle or something, for us to be together. I love the music and the band and the people. We are family and we are doing something we really believe in, which is such a gift. Music makes changes, so that’s a real gift. I just have an overall sense of joy! I feel very lucky.  What is the philosophy of Hem? I’m tempted to say something inappropriate, like a David Chapelle episode, "I’m Rick James, bitch!". Dan, what’s our philosophy? (Dan mutters in the background). Make the music and have it be uncompromising. If we don’t make you cry, we’re doing something wrong. Maybe if you asked me what my favourite cake was I’d be able to answer it better.  What’s your favourite cake? Em, coconut, I think, at the moment. Dan likes Hostess Apple Pies and cup cakes. He’s a big fan of the whole Hostess family of confectionery. I tried to offer him Ding Dongs once, and he laughed in my face.  Hem play The Sugar Club, on Dublin's Lower Leeson Street on Thursday 3rd March. Doors 8pm, admission €16. www.rabbitsongs.com / www.thesugarclub.com / www.mcd.ie / www.ticketmaster.ie