There are, at minimum, two special things about Cosmic Angels by Pyramids On Mars:
Pyramids On Mars is one guy – Kevin Estrella – who played or programmed everything.
This one is pretty cool. “All song ideas written in one take, stream of consciousness. No edits.” Wow.
Entirely instrumental, Cosmic Angels is an enjoyable, atmospheric album that passes in no time flat. In the real world, it’s 44 minutes of music, but if you close your eyes it goes by in a flash.
The easiest influence to point out on one listen is Joe Satriani. There’s something here about the tone and chords on “Interstellar” that scream “Satch”, but it’s not all about the playing. There’s a balance to the instruments and an inviting vibe. Kevin Estrella does have his own ideas here, and they are a delight to listen to as the song grows and evolves. Multiple influences abound, and varied ones at that. Estrella thanks a number of them inside: from Rush, Queen, Devin Townsend and Peter Steele, all the way down to Bach and Vivaldi. Some of the Rush influence comes out on the second track, “Phonix From the Ashes”, which you can hear in the arrangement and bass line.
We could go on and on about influences, but it makes more sense to just listen for yourself and let the album unfold. In essence: if you like the kind of progressive instrumental rock that guys like Satriani create, then Pyramids On Mars should appeal to you. Your brain is already wired to get it. There’s also a futuristic, science fiction element to the album. There are songs about aliens and UFOs, and you get this impression even without lyrics. Some melodies are inspired by the violin, others by dolphin song.
Highlights: the cosmic “Interstellar”. The rhythmic and lethal “On Dragon’s Wings”. The complex and challenging “Luftpanzer (Air Tanks)”. The heartfelt tribute “Echoes of Peter Steele”. The spacey and relaxing “Arcturian Sunset”.
Even without the nostalgia, it sure seems like the second summer at the Record Store was an endless string of perfect sunny days. It certainly was that on this occasion when I walked with confidence into the Record Store for my shift. The hottest artists on the charts at the time were TLC, Boyz II Men, and Bryan Adams with “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman”. The source of the mojo in my stroll came from the company I kept that day. I was accompanied by the girl I liked and her kid. My ladyfriend and I were not dating, but to use the parlance of the times, she was smokin’ hot. She was seeing a guy I knew, but she confided in me that had she met me first, she wouldn’t be dating him at all.
File that under “things nobody had ever said to me before”.
We had been hanging out and shopping that afternoon as friends, but the truth was, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I knew it was just a matter of time before she dumped my buddy. Because I’m not a complete backstabber, I tried to talk her up to his positive attributes. In fact at one point she asked me to stop defending him because I was making it really hard for her to dump him. OK! I’d done all I could. Had she met me first, she wouldn’t even be dating him. The words rang in my head! Would this be the summer that I could answer the question “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” in the affirmative?
I was in the midst of my angriest of angry phases: 1994-1996. But that summer was an island of happiness. Still, I had gone absolutely mad for the doom, gloom and aggression of Black Sabbath, and was still in the middle stages of “collecting them all”. I had ordered the rarest ones, Seventh Star and Born Again on CD from Japan (never came). I had a CD copy of Headless Cross coming in and just got Technical Ecstacy on cassette. And they had a brand new album coming too, reuniting the Tyr lineup.
The exact date might have been June 20, the day of release for Black Sabbath’s Forbidden. I remember that our store received no CD copies, although I think we did get some on cassette. What I do know is that we drove up to Waterloo to get it at HMV, and she was with me. But I had a 5 o’clock shift back at the Record Store, and she gave me a ride. Tom was working behind the counter that day. After my ladyfriend departed, I distinctly remember Tom asking me a question that was also filed under “things nobody had ever said to me before”.
“How do you meet such hot chicks, man?”
I laughed and tried to say something cool. The truth was I was tearing up inside because A) I’d never met one like her before, and B) she was going out with someone else!
I saw the ways guys looked at her. I remember walking around uptown Waterloo with her, on our way to the Huether for lunch and a milkshake. She was wearing a bikini top with an unbuttoned shirt loosely around it. A creepy dude glanced and made a comment as we walked. She was definitely the kind of girl that attracted lookers.
But I knew I had a chance. I continued to be the friend. I helped her out when she needed a babysitter and I drove her around when I had the car. As the cool friend who worked in a Record Store, I hooked her up with music for her and the kid.
One weekend at the cottage, the phone rang. A rare occurrence. It was for me; a rarer occurrence. It was my buddy Aaron, who was well aware of the situation with the girl and was in my corner. Aaron always called me “Geddy”. He still does!
“Geddy? She dumped him.”
No way. Finally!
“What’s your next move?” he asked me.
What to do now? I was going to wait.
I got home and there was a message on the machine from my buddy. “Mike, don’t call anybody else. Call me first.”
On the phone, he told me of the Great Dumping. It was hard for me to have sympathy knowing the other side of the story already. If he didn’t mooch so much, if he didn’t hang out doing nothing all day, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. But I couldn’t tell him that. He had a plan to win her back. I told him how sorry I was, but I sure didn’t tell him that I was going to make a move.
Eventually.
I waited a long time. My birthday arrived; I had a murder mystery party and she came over to celebrate with me. A guy hit on her at my house! The birthday passed and I still had not made a move. It was like some kind of emotional paralysis. In fact I’d never asked a girl out before and had no idea what the hell to say. I’m notorious for tripping over my words. Finally, she confronted me. On the phone one night she said “I’m not going to ask. If you don’t, somebody else will.”
I asked her if it was lame to ask somebody out to dinner or a movie. She said no, so I asked her out to dinner or a movie.
She seemed relieved that I finally asked. I think she had everything for the first date pre-planned. She told me instead of just dinner, how about dinner in Toronto after a day on Toronto Island? I had no idea what that entailed but it all sounded great to me. I got her flowers, first time I had ever done that too. I had no idea what I was doing. I bought them too soon and they wilted so I got more. But it was a fun day and one of those magical, youthful memories that only get warmer with years. The funny thing, even though I asked her out, she organised all the details and even drove. Our relationship was a lot like that. She showed me things she liked and hoped I would enjoy. I remember listening to Loreena McKennitt with her. Harp music; very different from metal, but not so different from Blackmore’s Night which was only a few years away. But she didn’t care about my Iron Maiden. And she really disliked my Kim Mitchell. It wasn’t meant to last. I got three months.
“Nothing you can do will hurt me, I am indestructible.” That line from Black Sabbath’s “Kiss of Death” really resonated during the angry years. It wasn’t true though. The island of happiness was over and I was pretty was wrecked afterwards. Took a while to recover.
We had a fun summer, but I needed to be with someone who didn’t want to change me or improve me. Who demanded that I mature. Who liked me as I am, warts and all. Fortunately I have that now, even with the added mileage I’ve clocked since then! That’s real love.
ALICE COOPER ’80 – Flush the Fashion(1980 Warner, Japanese CD)
The early 80s were a tough time for the Coop. His previous record, From the Inside, was written about getting clean in the loony bin. Staying clean wasn’t easy and so we enter the “lost years”: the records Alice doesn’t remember making due to being blackout drunk. Flush the Fashion is a divisive album, with some fans loving its straight-ahead new wave direction, while others despaired Alice’s temporary abandonment of rock. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. It was the 80s and if that wasn’t obvious by the “ALICE COOPER ’80” title at the top, it definitely was clear by the keyboards and programming. Roy Thomas Baker of Queen and The Cars fame produced.
With song titles ripped from the National Enquirer, Flush the Fashion contains a number of short, fast, punky new wave songs beginning with “Talk Talk” at barely two minutes long. You will either love this tough nut of a guitar-driver, or you will be indifferent to it for being light on hooks and brittle in sound.
“Clones (We’re All)”, which was written by outsider David Carron, is the clear album highlight. It was later covered by Smashing Pumpkins on the B-side to “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”, and has seen action in Alice’s live set occasionally over the years. This fun, keyboard-heavy new wave song really nails the 80s sound Alice was going for. Programmed beats, a bouncy keyboard, catchy words and you have a keeper. It went Top 40 and evokes a smile and maybe even a little bit of fist pounding.
The ballad “Pain” is the second in a pair of keepers. A piano-based mourner with a powerful pound, “Pain” possesses tremendous appeal. Alice’s interesting lyrics provide a number of metaphors for your own internal pain. “The loudest one laughing at the saddest wake,” for example, and “the lump on your head when you step on a rake.” Not overly serious, but suiting the character of Alice the masochist. There’s a simply wonderful dual guitar harmony in the middle that is worth rewinding several times on its own.
“Clones” and “Pain” together are seven solid minutes of Alice that you simply cannot help but sing along to. The songs will burrow into your mind until they are a permanent part of your grey matter. They are the proverbial keepers. The same cannot be said for the rest of the album, which defies memorability at almost every turn. Fortunately, all these songs are short.
“Leather Boots” isn’t a great song, but it is at least a fun twangy rocker. Similarly, “Aspirin Damage” is fun if forgettable. Regardless of the music, Alice’s lyrics always offer some interesting twist or perspective. There’s probably something autobiographical happening in the back of his mind here too.
That’s side one in a nutshell, under 14 minutes of music. Side two is over and out in under 15. These are short songs! “Nuclear Infected” has some unremarkable guitar crunch. “Grim Facts” is cooler. This steadfast stomper has a certain Cars-like vibe courtesy of Baker. “Model Citizen” leans a bit more into a punky direction, until the chorus which is kitschy Alice with lush backing vocals while Alice does his sinister speak-sing. For a more traditional Alice song, there’s “Dance Yourself to Death”, which would probably be a third keeper if you were willing to extend it that honour. No new wave trappings here, just traditional rock like the Alice Cooper Band of old. It just…it doesn’t stick. It’s notable for being one of those good second-last tunes though. The final song is “Headlines”, which has a variety of different sections and tempos, and one cool riff.
Another listener could probably make a case for a solid 3.5/5 star album. Others will enjoy isolated moments, but will struggle through. Which are you?
“Hey, what’s with this Rarities 2? You didn’t review Rarities 1!” This is true! Def Leppard Rarities 1 is in the first volume CD Collection box set. For this review series, I opted to go with The Early Years box set to cover a lot of those albums and rarities. Between that set and the Hysteria super deluxe box set that I reviewed in great detail back in 2017, I have written about all the rarities up to this point. Though packaged together in one sleeve in this box set, we will tackle the Rarities series one disc at a time.
We open with the earliest tracks: two demos with Steve Clark on guitar. “Tonight” is brilliant, with the thick opening layered harmonies intact right from the demo stage (would not surprise me if they used the demo intro for the final track). The quieter acoustic arrangement of the opening is very different from the more standard album cut. It kicks in hard during the chorus, which is a cool aspect of this arrangement. The chorus really slams on this version.
Steve’s final Def Leppard appearance was also the final guitar solo he ever recorded (and likely played). It’s the demo for “When Love and Hate Collide”, the overly soft ballad from 1995’s Vault. What a solo, too! He was on to something, with its big Hysteria-esque hooks. The demo overall is much rougher (programmed drums) but also harder edged. Joe’s more screamy, the last vestiges of the old style still hanging on.
The Acoustic Hippies From Hell — yes, that is how Def Leppard & Hothouse Flowers billed themselves on the B-side of the “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad” single — are next with the original track “From the Inside”. This is the original version from the single, slightly different from the one on Retro-Active. Please welcome Vivian Campbell on the second guitar solo slot! With tin whistle, mandolin and grand piano it’s a very different kind of song for the guys in Leppard. Lyrically it’s even darker than their previous work like “White Lightning” or “When the Walls Came Tumbling Down”. This time the subject matter is addition, but with a twist of the perspective. The lyrics are the drug speaking to the user.
You may recall the Acoustic Hippies From Hell cut three songs together, including covers of “Little Wing” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. We used to wonder why they weren’t included here on this CD. Those further two B-sides were held back for a covers disc in the next box set. We’ll get to them when we get to that set!
Def Leppard’s first acoustic song was “Two Steps Behind” from the “Make Love Like A Man” single. Here is the original track from that B-side, unadorned with strings or electric guitars like the ones on Retro-Active. If you recall, Michael Kamen dubbed some strings over this one for the Last Action Hero soundtrack, and “Two Steps Behind” became an A-side hit in its own right.
Joe Elliot’s screamin’ hot 1987 demo of “She’s Too Tough” is up next. Why a 1987 song? Because its first release was on the B-side of “Heaven Is” in 1993. (That single also had live versions of “Women” and “Let’s Get Rocked”. “Elected” is on a live covers disc later on in this series, and “Let’s Get Rocked” will be discussed shortly.) “She’s Too Tough” was covered by Helix on their Wild in the Streets album in 1987. While Brian Vollmer does an admirable job of the lead vocal, Leppard’s recording is hands down the better of the two, even though it is just a demo.
Another demo: Phil Collen’s impeccably arranged “Miss You in a Heartbeat” is all but complete except for the vocals. Phil did the lead on his own demo versions, and not a bad job of it. Paul Rodgers used “Miss You in a Heartbeat” for his 1991 album with Kenney Jones called The Law. It’s cool hearing Phil do his own lesser-known version. “Miss You in a Heartbeat”, once a B-side like “Two Steps Behind”, was eventually released as its own single too. That’s where Phil’s demo was original taken from, though it is mislabelled as “Acoustic, Acoustic Version”. Nope – just Phil’s demo, same as this one here.
Two awesome acoustic versions from the “Tonight” CD single are next in a row. The acoustic version of “Tonight” itself could surpass the album version. It just had vibe. Loads of vibe. Fabulous guitar solo. Then Collen’s “S.M.C.” (named for Steven Maynard Clark) features just he and Vivian on acoustic guitar. It’s a very brief, often forgotten instrumental in a neo-classical style. This is its first re-issue since the original single. Play it for your friends and ask them to guess who it is. (They won’t be able to.)
This CD closes on the four tracks from the rare EP In the Clubs…In Your Face, recording in Bonn Germany. Four solid hits: “Hysteria”, “Photograph”, “Sugar”, and the aforementioned live version of “Let’s Get Rocked”. The club crowd is obviously pumped! “Hysteria” sounds awesome; “Photograph” is as strong as ever. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and “Let’s Get Rocked” are sort of two of a kind live, a little clunkier but the crowd sure loves ’em. The new song is a happily received as the old.
This disc makes for a solid listen. Hits in alternate, lesser heard versions are sure to be pleasers. The tunes that aren’t hits are all solid themselves. Although it’s a little disappointing when you scan the track listing and realize such-and-such a B-side is missing, the folks in Leppard know what they are doing. They’ve re-organized this material to sit next to like material later in the series, and it’ll all be coming up in due time…and perhaps in a more enjoyable track listing too. We’ll just have to hear how it goes disc by disc! Rarities 2 is a lot of fun and a great (almost) hour on its own.
RECORD STORE TALES #985: Do You Know How Quickly a Pair of Glasses Melt in a Fire?
The trip up to the lake was blissful. I picked up my dad, loaded the car, and hit the road to short-sleeve weather and zero traffic. You could see for kilometers ahead with no cars in sight. Blissful. With 2 terabytes of music on the hard drive, I selected a folder called “Tee Bone Tunes” by Tee Bone Erickson. Songs my dad knew from the show. But it was just background noise as we discussed every subject under the sun for a solid two hours. After the Tee Bone songs, I played John Williams’ soundtrack to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which was awesome and brought back lots of good memories.
“The pen, Henry! The pen is mightier than the sword!” I quoted, in my best Denholm Elliott impression.
We discussed Indiana Jones and Back to the Future. “Only the first and third movies,” we said of both series.
We spotted a wild turkey on the way and noticed a few new businesses. Every year is different, I reminded myself. You never knew what new things you would see, or how the beach would change from year to year.
This year, the beach is covered with stones.
“Good,” says my dad. “It’ll keep the Sooners away.” Hopefully, anyway.
We opened up the cottage in record time. No snags, no hitches. Got the water going, the hot water tank a-boiling, and the cable and internet were both running perfectly. I installed four new phones to replace the dying ones that should have been replaced last year. Four new phones…there used to be no phones! Phones used to be considered a hindrance to the relaxation at the cottage. Now you wouldn’t be without one. Landline, cell phone, and laptop computer are now the norm.
After getting the barbecue out of the shed and setting up it, the next step was to burn all the brush that had fallen over the winter. It was a windy winter and this was evident by the amount of fallen branches, needles and bark. My dad got out the leaf blower while I swept. The plan was to burn up all the scrub, so I got out some cardboard and started a fire.
The fire grew large and hot very quickly, gobbling up the now-dry wood and needles.
I can see the next moments in slow motion.
To preface, I will admit that my glasses, which I need to drive and do basically anything, have grown loose. I kept putting off getting them adjusted. “I could live with it for now,” I would reason to myself as an excuse to not go to the mall.
Well I no longer have to live with it. In one smooth, liquid motion, my glasses fell off just as I was throwing an armful of brush into the fire.
I searched the ground frantically, hoping they just hit the dirt. My dad joined me, both sweeping and searching. Giving up hope, I began to dig through the fire. I found nothing there either. I searched the ground again, still nothing. I can’t drive without my glasses. Hell I can’t watch TV without my glasses. I can barely use the computer without them.
We kept looking. I called Jen to see if she could find my spare pair at home. I knew a couple places to look. No luck. I dug through the ashes of the fire, spreading them out on the patio stones. Nothing! And then I saw it. A thin stick that was too undamaged to be wood. I reached down to find one remaining scorched arm to my glasses. The lenses and assorted plastic had melted away. That was all I could find in the detritus of what had been up to this point an awesome day.
I went to go sulk on the couch a while, tired from the search and miserable that I would have to spend the next day or two unable to see clearly. Then I thought, “You know, I haven’t looked inside the glove box in a long time. I don’t remember what’s in there.”
I went out to the car and emptied the glove box, and there it was: an old hardshell glasses case. Joy! I couldn’t even remember my old glasses. But there they were, and they would do for now. I could see!
But I was severely rattled by this near miss, and had to chill out. My dad and I went into town to have lunch and see what was open. I realized that I had not been in downtown Kincardine for two and a half years. In fact there were many things I did this weekend that I have not done in two and a half years.
It was my first time inside a Boston Pizza and the old Fincher’s Leisure World since before the pandemic. I missed Leisure World. For decades it was our main spot for model kits, art supplies, toys, games, books and magazines. On this occasion I bought a Lego Star Wars Dagobah diorama for my sister as a surprise gift. She’s recovering from a severe concussion and I thought she’d enjoy it. Which she did!
It was nice to see Boston Pizza still there, and Fincher’s as reliable as ever. My dad and I had a great lunch and an enjoyable afternoon out. We headed back to the lake to meet up with Dr. Kathryn and my mom who arrived separately.
After a little more organising and relaxing, my dad and I headed back home. We decided to go home a slightly different way, and we saw one of the weirdest sights we’d ever seen in cottage country. And we’ve seen gaggles of wild turkeys. On a stretch of road in the middle of farmtown, we saw a castle. A brand new castle, with two turrets and a full-on stone rampart. The imposing wall of rock could have housed a dozen archers! Somebody had obviously decided to build their home in the shape of a castle and I daresay, they did it. They really did it. The windows may be glass and the driveway may be asphalt, but that there be a castle. I’ll have to stop and take a picture next time.
The drive home was accompanied by the music of Jon Lord, with his Concerto for Group and Orchestra, featuring Bruce Dickinson singing the second movement. That was some cool, lively music. I was dead tired at this point but the music and conversation kept us going. After this, I selected Johnny Cash’s American III: Solitary Man. Another great album, this one with the outstanding Neil Diamond title track, and a cool rendition of “I Won’t Back Down” with Tom Petty.
We made it home safe and sound, and we celebrated with some Chinese food. New glasses this week. I wonder what they’ll look like? We’ll see soon enough — pun intended!
Cottage season starts today! In celebration, we take a look at how packing music for a road trip has changed, even in just the last five years.
RECORD STORE TALES #984: 2 Terabytes of Road Trip
Because music goes so well with the road, I’ve written a hugechunkof storieson the subject. Heck, we even made a list of Top 5 Road Trip Singalong scenes from movies. What I have come to realize now is that the days of painstakingly selecting music for the road are over. For good. Never coming back. And I’m fine with that.
Without music, driving is often a mind-numbing experience. A good soundtrack alleviates a lot of the irritation. As kids, we were fortunate enough to go to the cottage in the summer. All we had to do was make it through a two hour drive in the back seat. For entertainment, that required these three minimal things:
A book/comic book to read.
A Walkman with fresh batteries.
Two hours of music (two cassette tapes).
Today, trying to read a book in the back seat of a car makes me road sick, and I don’t even own a Walkman anymore. Fortunately, now I am also the driver. That gives me access to the car stereo. I don’t know what the rules are where you come from, but around these parts, it’s “driver picks the tunes”. Aside from that one year that the speaker in the driver’s side door of my old Plymouth Sundance died, music has never sounded better in the car than when I’m behind the wheel.
With those years far behind me, I realize now that the biggest change to road tripping today is that I no longer spend hours choosing the music. I just load it all on a 2T hard drive and plug it in. As long as I own it and ripped it to the PC, then it comes with me everywhere. Every song I ever loved (and many that I don’t!) are with me at all times.
Before the advent of this wonderful technology, I would spend many hours packing for trips. Enough clothes plus some extra? Check. All the necessary toiletries? Yes. Reading material? Of course. Phone and charger? Can’t forget that stuff. But then I would spend an hour or more combing through my CD collection, picking all the music that would be with me for the next several days. Albums and mix CDs would be packed in a little portable CD carrier that I had. What you picked was what you had to listen to — no going back, so choose wisely!
The passengers, if any, would have to be considered. I don’t purposely play bands that people hate. But ultimately, I was choosing music to entertain myself, the driver. What the others liked or tolerated was of secondary concern. If Judas Priest had a new album out, damn right I would be packing the new Judas Priest. Point being, I have spent many painstaking hours choosing music to bring on the road with me. The limits were how many would fit in my CD carrier and whatever else I had to travel with. I would have to add an hour to my prep time, just for the music.
The dawn of the USB drive made things a lot easier, but still, storage space was very limited. And no matter how big the drives got, they were never big enough. I was still spending hours copying and pasting albums to the drive. Removing them when I realized I didn’t have room. Having to pick and choose through the Deep Purple live albums so as not to overload the drive with Purple and give some other bands a chance. Hours spent!
I don’t think I have ever properly appreciated the time that the 2T portable hard drive has given back to me. That one huge step that every road trip required — gone completely. More time to actually sit and enjoy my music!
Another in a long line of superb Erica Ehm interviews! Alice Cooper seems like a pretty easy guy to interview, but in the late 80s Alice was on the cutting edge (pun intended) of horror-themed live shows. He was a more controversial figure then, but as usual, Erica had a great rapport with her guests. As a bonus, Alice brought with him Kane Roberts to premiere his new solo album and music video “Rock Doll”.
The two guys banter back and forth like a comedy duo, while Erica peppers them with both fun and topical questions. This interview is a must-see front to back. Topics covered:
The stage show circa 1987, when Alice was going full-on with the blood and gore
Is Kane the Rambo of rock and roll?
Alice on Lemmy
Jokes about snakes
Acting, horror, and John Carpenter using some of Alice’s stage tricks in Prince of Darkness
The script that Alice and Kane wrote called Scarebox
Drinking and drugs
Hilarious “Pepsi ad”
Kane on Alice (Several great moments here.)
Upcoming bands like E-Z-O, Guns N’ Roses, and Faster Pussycat
Tipper Gore!
Can rock and roll go to far?
When I was a kid, I watched this interview over and over again. I even used it in a highschool project on censorship. This is a full Power Hour episode (sans music) and you want to watch the whole show from start to finish.
John Bush and Gonzo Sandoval stopped by the brand new Power 30 in September 1991 to talk about their new album, Symbol of Salvation. Founding guitarist Dave Pritchard passed after a short but impactful battle with leukaemia. The band had to carry on, and they did with a smashing album. There’s a bit of footage from their gig at Rock ‘N’ Roll Heaven. Great if short interview with a couple guys who are now heavy metal legends.
There’s a certain amount of pride that one takes in being a Helix fan. Helix the band are almost as old as I am! They formed in 1974 and put out their first independent album Breaking Loose in 1979. And what a debut it was! With a handful of road-tested songs, the band plied the waters of guitar rock, with a foot in sci-fi prog and another in boogie-woogie. Just check out their first minor hit “Billy Oxygen” if you don’t believe me. They’ve been releasing music steadily ever since, with Capitol Records and others, with only a minor five year gap between It’s a Business Doing Pleasure (1993) and half-ALIVE (1998).
In 2022, Helix are back with a new single called “Not My Circus, Not My Clowns”. They’re getting ready to start gigging again after two years of Covid-induced hibernation. The current lineup consists of founder Brian Vollmer, classic members Daryl Gray and Greg “Fritz” Hinz, and guitarists Chris Julke and Mark Chichkan. Julke has already been in the band eight years, and Chichkan had countless gigs with Helix in the mid-90s. These veterans absolutely know how to give ’em an R. Then we have Sean Kelly helping out in the studio to boot, adding some nitro to the mix. In other words: Helix are still potent.
It’s fair to say we all miss Paul Hackman. I never met Paul though I’ve met most of the others. He sure was a talented writer, and many of his songs like “Heavy Metal Love” are beloved classics today. Fritz Hinz has been through hell and back, making a stunning recovery after a coma-inducing fall from a roof. In recent years we also lost original guitarist Ron Watson, keyboardist Don Simmons, and road warrior Brian Knight. Brian Knight was a kid from our neighborhood, who went to do road work with Helix for many years. We lost him in 2021. Yet Helix keep on going, and going, and going. Even former guitarist Brent “the Doctor” Doerner has a new album coming out called The Ashtray Sonatas.
Speaking of the good Doctor, I first befriended the guitarist in 2006 at a Helix gig. I knew a guy named Shane Schedler, who was in his new solo band, and this led to an interview with Brent at his home. It was the first of several visits. A few months later, with a few gigs under his belt, Brent screened some live footage of the band and had some friends over to celebrate. It was that night that I wrote up the official bios for his band. I remember telling Brent I wanted to write the band member bios for his website and then running around the room getting quotes from all the members. It was a lot of fun. Definitely a personal highlight.
So for the first time since the first time, here are the Brent Doerner’s Decibel bios that I wrote.
Thanks to everyone who’s ever been in Helix for rocking us.
BRENT DOERNER’S DECIBEL
Band Bios and Fascinating Factoids
BRENT DOERNER (Lead Vocals, Lead & Rhythm Guitars)
“What’s right is what’s left after you’ve done everything else wrong.”
Not just every guitar slinger out there can claim to be a part of a Canadian rock institution. Brent Doerner can: He spent over 15 years in Helix playing guitar, writing, singing, blowing minds and winning fans the world over. He has the battle scars and the gold records to prove it, but that’s not the end of the story. A new chapter has just begun with Decibel, a new rock band of good-time tunes and unique lyrics that continues his legacy with pride and vision for the future.
CHICK (Rhythm Guitars)
“If you don’t have rhythm, stay at home.”
Ralph “Chick” Schumilas has been around the block once or thrice. He has 40 years experience as a musician. In the beginning, he was a drummer which gives him a rhythmic edge that’s tough to beat. Formerly, he was the co-owner of Buzz Marshall studios, and has played and written with such luminaries as Cheryl Lescom, Rob Juneau, and Keith Gallagher among others. He brings his immense songwriting experience to Decibel’s solid live repertoire.
HILLS WALTER (Bass, Lead & Backing Vocals)
“I’m not working for road rash.”
Hilliard Walter’s résumé is impressive in its diversity and scope. He’s been paying his dues in the clubs across Ontario for the better part of 30 years. Rock, however, is only one part of Hills’ musical makeup: He’s done punk, new wave, funk, soul, and every combination and isotope of those styles that is currently known to modern science. He’s played with Soul Circus, Sthil, Dezmanhall, Ed Bertoli, and lots more. He saw Helix make their big break and said, “I can do that too.” Now, Decibel is the main focus of this talented bass player with the soulful voice. When he sings, you listen.
SHANE SCHEDLER (Lead guitars, Lead & Backing Vocals)
“They tried to bury the double lead, but we’re going to rectify that.”
Shane’s history as a recording artist goes back to the mid-90’s when he was a member of the guitar-driven trio Martyrs of Melody. With the Martyrs, he released two independent CDs and began honing his songwriting craft. He’s been grinding his axe for “seven point something Olympic years” (you do the math). He now writes, sings and plays for Decibel, a band that makes him beam with pride. Shane is also proud that he hasn’t cut his hair since grade nine.
BRIAN DOERNER (Drums, Vocals)
“Some drummers think ‘time’ is a magazine, but they don’t have a subscription!”
Brent’s twin brother Brian Doerner is legend on the skins. His discography reads like a “who’s-who” of rock: Helix, Saga, Brian Vollmer, Ray Lyell, Refugee, Myles Hunter, and more. He first picked up the sticks after seeing the Beatles on TV in ’65, and it’s been a love affair with music ever since. A respected session man and teacher, Brian has inspired the others to new levels in their playing. Now that the twins are back together, the chemistry onstage is infectious.
PYRAMIDS ON MARS – Cosmic Angels (2022)
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