{"id":31913,"date":"2017-04-23T16:07:49","date_gmt":"2017-04-23T06:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/?p=31913"},"modified":"2017-04-23T16:11:31","modified_gmt":"2017-04-23T06:11:31","slug":"page-hamilton-helmet-talks-betty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maytherockbewithyou.com\/mtrbwy\/2017\/04\/page-hamilton-helmet-talks-betty\/","title":{"rendered":"Page Hamilton of Helmet talks \u2018Betty\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ahead of their upcoming Australian tour, we caught up with Page Hamilton from Helmet to muse on the band\u2019s 1994 game-changing album Betty<\/em>, a record which will be featured in full at shows across the country this April and May.<\/p>\n

If you were a fan of heavy guitar music in the days after Nirvana went stratospheric, there\u2019s a chance that Helmet\u2019s Betty <\/em>album would have most likely featured in heavy rotation on the soundtrack to your awkward teen life.\u00a0 A fusion of jazz derived chordal weirdness and soul crushing heaviness, it sparked a flame in the hearts of riff music lovers across the globe, particularly those in Australia. While it may have underwhelmed the bean counters associated with the band on release, it drew universal critical acclaim and has since stood the test of time as a document of real aural innovation and intensity.<\/p>\n

As it transpires, any album that follows a band\u2019s breakthrough release is destined to be dissected under the commercial microscope, compared and judged against its predecessor. In Helmet\u2019s case, Betty<\/em> followed the band\u2019s massive 1992 breakthrough album Meantime<\/em>, a record which sold in the millions, and justified an unheard of six-figure advance and offered the New York natives total creative freedom by mega hip label of that moment Interscope.<\/p>\n

When discussing Meantime<\/em>, Page is fairly humble when regarding any pre-conceived plans for its success, plainly stating, \u201cwe were just wanting to do something that we dug and thought was cool. I was conscious of doing something different from what everybody else in New York was doing, cos I felt at a certain point everyone wanted to be like Sonic Youth- who we love- but we wanted to do something heavier and kinda more aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it came to following up an album that had matched and even exceeded expectations, one would assume a great amount of pressure and responsibility would fall on the shoulders of the band member whose riffs, arrangements and vocals would define the release; for Page though, the pressure surrounding Betty<\/em> came from outside of the band, rather than from within it. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel any pressure, but I felt the disappointment from everyone when we did Betty<\/em>.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t make Meantime<\/em> to be a hit, or at least we weren\u2019t trying to make a hit record. We had no plan.\u00a0 I think a lot of bands go in, which is fine, I mean some of my favourite albums and songs and things were done by people consciously trying to make a hit, you know Marvin Gaye or the Motown stuff, or whatever. We were just trying to make music that we like.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, those associated with the business of the band, and perhaps even some of the fair-weathered fans (that had jumped on the band via MTV rotation) considered Betty<\/em> to be an exercise in experimentation, whereas Hamilton sees it more as just a logical creative progression. \u201cI don\u2019t really see it as experimental,\u201d he explains. \u201cI think the first 7\u201d Born Annoying<\/em> is more (experimental); it\u2019s like free jazz, or free hardcore, haha! I guess I see what people mean; I was definitely, you know, ready to move on from Meantime<\/em>, but with Meantime<\/em> we were ready to move on from Strap It On<\/em>, so I guess it was just another step forward. It wasn\u2019t trying to shoot myself in the foot commercially or as far as accessibility is concerned, I kind of felt that so many people were on the Helmet bandwagon at that point that it would be kind of fun to throw some curve balls; it was like, you know we\u2019ve sold a million records, we can do what we want (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

While some saw Betty<\/em> as an experimental departure, another key element in shaping the sound of the album was the departure of co-conspirator and rhythm guitar ace Peter Mengede.\u00a0 When quizzed on the impact of Peter\u2019s departure, Page is candid with his response, explaining, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m difficult, or a control freak or a perfectionist, like people have said, but I know how to make records- especially Helmet records- and I\u2019ve played a lot of guitar\u2026like every day. So there were certain things that were more sort of intuitive for me, than for Peter.\u00a0 He had a beautiful guitar style, really cool, that\u2019s why I wanted to have him in the band, but I think we\u2019d gotten to the point where I felt kind of like having another guitarist play is more work than just doing it myself. It\u2019s still like that with Dan now, I love him like a brother and he\u2019s a great guitar player, but Helmet\u2019s been my vision from day one. I want to have two guitar players, I like the way it sounds and feels, so it\u2019s always going to be a little easier not having to worry about somebody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though it was received by critics with open arms and has since been embraced and elevated to classic status among fans, Betty<\/em> was the album that began the slow erosion of the band\u2019s relationship with Interscope, which ultimately saw the band leave the label in 2004 after the Size Matters<\/em> album.\u00a0 Looking back Hamilton explains, \u201cWe didn\u2019t sell enough records for them. Interscope was not the label it was when we signed there. Initially they were so hungry, they were about signing Primus and us and No Doubt, but they got so big so quick that they changed from being a label that was supporting this kind of fringe music that Helmet was. So for whatever reason they didn\u2019t put the same efforts into Betty<\/em> and Aftertaste<\/em>, their focus was putting out singles and MTV videos. Helmet is kind of a hard sell in a way, they put a lot of effort into the Meantime<\/em> stuff, but the band didn\u2019t get worse after that album; like Betty<\/em> and even Aftertaste<\/em> have stood the test of time, so it\u2019s not like were making shitty albums.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tour Dates:<\/strong>
\nMonday 24th April – Perth, Rosemount Hotel
\nThursday 27th April – Adelaide, The Gov
\nFriday 28th April – Melbourne, 170 Russell
\nSaturday 29th April – Sydney, Manning Bar
\nSunday 30th April – Brisbane, Brightside<\/p>\n

Tickets: www.tombowler.com.au\/tours\/helmet\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Essential Information<\/u><\/strong><\/h2>\n

From:<\/strong> New York, USA<\/p>\n

Band members: <\/strong>Page Hamilton – vocals\/ guitar, Dan Beeman \u2013 guitar, Dave Case \u2013 bass, Kyle Stevenson – drums<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> \u00a0http:\/\/www.helmetmusic.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Latest Release:<\/strong> Dead To The World (Out Now)<\/p>\n

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