July 7 1998

It’s Tuesday night and the World Cup semi final is on the TV. I’m working on this issue. Printing some YAZ 5’s. Decided to go web surfing for a few minutes. Checked Laura’s HWP page. Hidden away, discreetly, is a message. it’s taken me I don’t know how many attempts to read. I understand the words, but don’t want to. Human Waste Project are no more. The football is irrelevant. So is YAZ 7 for now. There’s an empty feeling inside. I’m checking all the sources that I know that may possibly have news about this. Nothing.

It’s difficult to believe, but this is Laura’s page. It’s as official as anything you’re ever going to get when it comes to HWP.

I’ve spent the evening not knowing what to do. I’ve paced the room. Tried to ring some people. I need to talk. Next best thing is to type. So that’s what I’m doing. This is a bolt from the blue. There have been so many problems for them, but they’ve just triumphed at the Ozzfest, and I thought and hoped, that everything was about to resolve itself. Evidently it hasn’t. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to try and get some more details.

July 8 1998.

Just had confirmation from Laura. It’s over. The final gig is tonight in LA supporting the Troops of Doom (ie Sepultura).

Still can’t believe it. It seems that the fucked up industry has effectively claimed another victim. Plans are afoot for all the members of the band, but still, it can’t be over!

I feel sick as well because there’s a bit of me wants to work in the music industry, maybe journalism. However, I see more and more what a backstabbing, fucked up, selfish egotistical industry it is, and I don’t know that I want to be a part of that. Maybe the real reasons for this are never going to be made public.

What happened to supporting bands because of the music? What happened to honesty. To integrity. It’s just a short term, commodified leach of an industry. What happened to trying to treat people as people, not icons. Respect. I’m angry as well. Angry that maybe I in a small way am also a part of the cause.

How can a band, and a group of people with such positive attitudes and personalities, have been screwed over so many times as to make even them believe there was no point in carrying on with this venture.

I feel even more shocked than when Faith No More split up.

But they’ll bounce back individually. It’s a bit stranger for me than I expected, because I was fortunate enough to meet them and talk to them a few times through the course of interviews for YAZ. And the enthusiasm and enjoyment in what they were doing partly rubbed off on me. At a time for me when everything going on in my life seemed negative, people being positive suddenly started to rub off.

You have to respect them for the decision. But it’s a decision they should never have been put in the position of having to make.

Mid July onwards ....

Boy has it been fun to watch Kerrang! bring us the FULL STORY. So some facts for you.

Record labels were interested. Offers were made. Don’t be fooled by what you have read in the press about not being able to get a deal. There’s more to it than that.

See, like, they are so uninformed. Aimee and Tarrie B working together? Rumour? I think the only place that was a rumour was inside K!s offices. The band won’t talk to them at the moment “incredibly hard to track down”. Do you think that should tell K! something???? And if they HAD tracked down THE BAND, then they’d have been able to tell you what Jeff and Mike were doing a while before they eventually did. News of Jeffs new band was public knowledge from under a week after the split. Aimee’s new band admittedly has been a bit more secretive. Did you know Scott was quitting music? No, neither did he.

Well, by the time you read this, you should know about the new projects. Jeff is pushing forward with Professional Murder Music, the side band he’s had for a few years now. They’ve got a 5 track CD which you can get by mail order for $9. See the review for more details.

As for Mike, well, he’s now joined Powerman 5000.

And Aimee and Scott are continuing together in Hero, along with Jamie, ex-drummer with Snot and Mike Smith .

They should be recording demos soon, and something is due to emerge in September. Course I’ll try and find out more of the details and include them here.