The music of Humbert has been defined by angelic vocal harmonious reminiscent of the Beach Boys and a playful, driving organ, guitar and drums sound akin to Weezer at their perkiest and the Flaming Lips at its most somber. Whenever a band loses a key member, one has to wonder what the move will do to the group’s sound. But if the members of this quirky stalwart South Florida band are concerned about saying farewell to Rimsky Pons, their guitarist of nearly 20 years, they aren’t showing it.
“Rimsky is taking his life by the balls and reclaiming it,” says guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Fernando Coipel. “It’s a great thing, man.”
“I am not happy about Rim leaving,” admits bassist Tony Landa, “but I am optimistic about what the three of us will do,” he adds, referencing drummer Izo Besares. The quartet has been a part of the Hialeah music scene for nearly two decades. Now, this January and maybe into February, guitarist Rimsky Pons will play his final gigs with the band he co-founded.
Despite the big change, these now mature musicians, whose ages all hover around the early 40s, express only love for their soon-to-be former guitarist above any regrets. “We’ve had some awful defeats and some amazing victories as a band,” notes Pons trying to reflect on memories with Humbert, “and they’re all sorta melded in my mind with versions of Humbert that include Izo and Cesar [Lavin, Besares’ replacement for some time]. I really will miss making music with people who understand performance and art. It’s not every day you get to be part of something like that.”
The shock of this departure comes after Humbert’s recent release of long-overdue new material, a rather sweet, melancholy three-song EP entitled “Se Reparan Todos.” The music includes some of the prettiest, restrained work of Humbert’s career. It’s fitting that the lyrics resonate with nostalgia and regret. Listen on Bandcamp.
As for Pons’ next move, who also leaves Low Visibility without his guitar stylings, he says, “I just want to pursue other non-musical avenues with my life. I’ve given a lot of good years to the pursuit of music and owe it to myself to try something new. For the immediate future, I basically plan to go back to school keep working at a beautiful relationship I’ve got going on with a pretty special lady and trying to commute a lot more to the left coast and spend more time with my family.”
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Humbert play The Bubble on January 10 with King Switch, Dooms de Pop, The Holstered, & The Bell Ringers.
Visit www.humbert.net for up-dates.
~Hans Morgenstern | The Independent Ethos
