Page 41 - Rocknation Issue 28_Neat

ROCKNATION ISSUE 28 PAGE 41
HELLGRIMM

VOODOO MOONSHINE

Hello Hellgrimm, You have so many rocking songs, my favorite is “Sin After Sin.”
What songs get the biggest response live in concert?
Jerry Connor (guitar): Hi, Tom! “The Rock Song” has been getting a great response. The
official name of this song is “Cheesy 80s Rock Anthem” – we recorded this in our Monkeysoop days and we’ve recently
revived it. We get the crowd to help with this one they love the interaction.
“Sin After Sin,” has been around for a while but we hadn’t done much with it until we put it on “Ritual,” which we released in
September 2022. This song also got picked up along with a couple of other Hellgrimm tunes for an upcoming television series,
to be directed by one of Hellgrimm’s own bassists, George Ortiz, called “Lowie Mortem: Chronicles of a Dead Detective,” to
be filmed in Puerto Rico later this year. Hellgrimm will be performing this in a bar scene to be filmed for the show.
Erica Missey (voice and drums): Our first single from “Ritual” is called “Jack of All Blades” – it’s getting a lot of attention at
the shows. We just released a video for it on February 10th and we’re getting a lot of plays on it. The song is about Jack the
Ripper – the second verse of the song is the actual From Hell letter supposedly written by the Ripper himself.

Hellgrimm’s “Rorschach” video features Jonathan Joss. Please tell us how that connection came about.
Jerry: A friend of ours was all set to play the preacher in the video and he called us the night before saying he wouldn’t be
able to make it. But he told us he had a friend that was available and would be interested in playing that part – it was
Jonathan Joss! He came in and knocked out all the scenes within a couple of hours. He was very fun and professional to work
with – we were very honored to have him in our video.

How excited are you to be appearing on the Raven 40th Anniversary tour in the UK.
Erica: We’re overjoyed! When they picked us for the tour we were blown away. We went to Germany and the Netherlands
on a small tour back in 2016 and we have been wanting to hop the pond ever since. And to open for Raven for nine dates! We
can’t wait – wish we were already on the plane lol!

How fun was it, Jerry and Erica, playing in 2 different bands the same night as Hellgrimm and Morbid Tales
(A Tribute to Celtic Frost).
Jerry: It’s great! If I had the chance, I would live every second of my life on stage and in the studio.
Erica: I like playing both bands in the same show. I get to do vocals and drums in Hellgrimm and play bass with periodic
backing vocals in Morbid Tales – it’s fun to switch between the two.

How did Covid affect your shows the last 2 years?
Jerry: When the lockdown came, Erica and I lost all our work events and I had to cancel all our upcoming band shows,
including a two-week tour in the US and Canada. It forced us to promote the band in new ways. Luckily, our friend and
recording engineer Daisun de Rijk was game for us recording a new album during that time and “The Hunger” was born.
We made the best of our time.

Hellgrimm has appeared with many national bands, please name some of them.
Jerry: We’ve shared the stage with Geoff Tate, Christian Death, Powerman 5000, (hed)pe, Dizzy Reed, Micheal Graves,
Tommy Decarlo (Boston), Vicious Rumors, Pissing Razors, and Goatwhore. We played at the Whisky in Hollywood with
Kix in March and Jetboy in December in 2022. It was an honor to open for all these acts and everyone was really cool with us.
Opening for Raven in March will be incredible!

Thank you for taking time for this interview - any last words to the fans?
Jerry: Thank you, Tom, it’s always a pleasure. We also want to also thank EMG, Soultone Cymbals,
My Little Voodoo, and Jorge Munz (author of Lowie Mortem: Chronicles of a Dead Detective).
Erica: And a huge thank you to the fans and everyone that has given our music
a listen or bought some of our merch!