This December, Helmet will be joining long time buddies Melvins in what will surely be one of the most anticipated tours of the year, especially for those in the 30 to 40 year old demographic and who view the ‘90s as the heyday of alternative rock. These two American heavyweights are celebrating 25 and 30 years as a band respectively and this run of shows will mark the first time that they will tour Australia together. It’s the sort of longevity which has become a rare thing in today’s constantly evolving music industry. Helmet guitarist, vocalist and founding member Page Hamilton has recently begun dealing with the fact that the band he formed all those years ago is about to turn 25.
“You know, it feels like a long time ago,” he says candidly on the band’s early days. “Today I just did an invitation to the Helmet Summer Rock Camp we’re doing in New York next year and it occurred to me that 2014 will be 25 years since I formed the band. And 25 years is a fucking long time,” he laughs.
These days it seems that bands come and go more quickly than ever, yet Hamilton has been reflecting on his band’s long career, spending a lot of time pouring over old bits of band memorabilia.
“Somebody sent me something for some reason that I had to approve and I was like, ‘Wow who is this person in that photo you know? It was hilarious. I didn’t recognise the guy,” he says reflecting on an old band picture.
As our attention turns to the upcoming tour with Melvins, it’s obvious that Hamilton can’t wait to again share the stage with a band he first toured with all the way back in 1991. “It definitely will be one the highlights for the year”, he says. After nearly a quarter of a century as a band and seven albums worth of songs, it can’t be easy choosing a set list these days. Hamilton assures me, however, that they will be playing songs from all of their records with maybe even some new ones thrown in.
“We’re going to rehearse before we come down there for a couple of days,” he says. “What I’ve been pushing on the guys is pulling stuff out that we haven’t done before, some songs we did on a tour last year and a few shows in California. Things that are kind of rare.”
Despite Hamilton’s time these days spent working on a number of other musical commitments such as writing film scores, Helmet have managed to find time to put out a brand new release to coincide for the Australian tour in the form of a split vinyl record with Melvins.
“(The record) was suggested to me by a friend of ours in New York who said, ‘What do you think about doing a split seven inch with the Melvins?’ And I’m like, ‘Fuck yeah what a great idea.’ We both have close ties with Tom Hazelmyer at AmRep which is the original label Helmet was on and Buzz (Osborne, guitarist for Melvins) and Tom are like best friends so Buzz said, ‘I don’t want to deal with anyone but Hazelmyer’ and I said, ‘I 100% agree with you.’
“And so we did it. He did some kick ass artwork and coloured vinyl and they’re now on their way to Australia. We’re taking our 100 to Australia but the Melvins are keeping some of theirs here I think because Buzz said, ‘Fuck it, I don’t want to pay the taxes’,” he laughs. “It’s so perfect Melvins. Just like, ‘Yeah we’re going to do a spilt 7” for the Australian tour but we’re not selling them.’”
It’s clear that the upcoming Australian tour, which takes in all major cities as well as an appearance at Meredith, is going to be one hell of a celebration. It will be a celebration of two bands that have a shared history, who have carved out their own musical niche and who have, remarkably, survived the highs and lows and are still here today to tell the tale.
“I love that about those guys, they just march to their own beat,” he says of Melvins. “You know, they’ve been a band for 30 years or more and they just put out great music. Its mind boggling. They just never stop.”
It seems Hamilton and co. don’t have any plans to stop anytime soon either with album number eight already well and truly underway. “I must apologise for not having put out a new album yet but I’ve scored three movies and done a bunch of other shit,” he says honestly. “But I’m writing Helmet stuff now. I hope for it to be recorded by February or March at the latest.”
BY JAMES NICOLI
