Why
“Harum Cross”?
If you’ve ever heard Tony Joe White strut his
stuff you’ll notice that his swamp rock is so
damn funky. You’ll notice that his voice is
so damn deep that it’s as if he’s packing
15 testicles. You’ll also notice a southern
drawl from deepest Louisiana that’s so damn
difficult to understand…
The boys decided to pay homage to one of their favourite
musicians and name their band after a character from
a song called “High Sheriff of Calhoun Parrish”.
As best they could decipher (and bearing in mind the
language barrier of Aussie vs. American Southerner),
Tony sung of a guy called “Harum Cross”.
Speculation mounted over the years, until finally
Tokic decided to e-mail TJW to confirm or deny the
accuracy of the band name. Tony corrected our heroes
saying that he was in fact singing his heart out about
a guy called “Hiram Cross”, a friend he
knew. Tony said “so, you’re close, just
a little off on the spelling :)”
No one was to know. World’s and cultures were
colliding. If it’s the thought that counts,
a true musical legend is being honoured all the same.
Some things are just lost in translation…