Page 6 - ISSUE 24

BRIAN VOLLMER HELIX
PAGE 6 ROCKNATION ISSUE 24

Hello Brian and welcome to Rocknation How is your solo CD
“Get Yer Hands Dirty” coming along?
We just finished recording today, with the exception of Danko Jones
singing opposite to me in the lead track and album title song: GET
YER HANDS DIRTY.

You have some special guest appearing please mention some of
them.
Danko Jones will be singing a duet with me (as mentioned above).
Cheryl Lescom also did some great background vocal tracks. She’s
Canada’s best blues singer as far as I’m concerned. Gavin Brown not
only produced but also played drums. He’s a talented musician with
some great chops. as is Sean Kelly, who played guitar. Sean plays with Lee Aaron, Nelly Furtado, Alan Frew, & Honeymoon Suite and we’ve
been writing partners since the VAGABOND BONES CD. Daryl Gray, who also is in Helix, played bass.

Your producer Gavin Brown is a top producer in Canada. He has did some big bands can you name some of them.
The Trews, Tragically Hip, The Barenaked Ladies, Billy Talent, My Darkest Days, Danko Jones, and many more top flight recording acts.

Helix has some HUGE shows coming up all over the world, please tell us about that.
Over the past couple of years we’ve played the MOR Boat Cruise from Miami to The Bahamas, Ribfest in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
w/Loverboy, April Wine, & Honeymoon Suite (15,000 attendance-smashed records!), Rocklassiker last December in Stockholm, Sweden,
as well as a short 3 date tour of Spain, and a two and a half week stint across Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, & Norway. This
summer our only date outside the country is Sweden Rock, as it’s Canada’s 150th birthday and we’re playing a lot of festivals/casinos at
home. In July we’re in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Lloydminster Alberta, Winnipeg, and possibly Brandon, Manitoba. In August we’re in
Kelowna, British Columbia, which is right in one of the most beautiful spots in Canada-the Okanagan Valley which cuts through the
Canadian Rockies. Most of us are staying out there for the week and partying it up as the next weekend we’re in North Vancouver with
Randy Bachman & Honeymoon Suite. The next morning we fly to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to play with Kenny Shields & Streetheart, as
well as Ian Thomas. Streetheart was the band that spawned LOVERBOY, as Matt Fredette, Paul Dean, and Spider Sineuve were in both.

HELIX IS going back to Sweden Rock festival in June how cool is that?
Very cool. We had a # 1 album in Sweden in 1985 with LONG WAY TO HEAVEN and toured completely around the country, even inside the
Arctic Circle. Helix played Sweden Rock around the year 2006, but the line-up at that time was unrecognizable to what fans, who followed the
80’s line-up, wanted to see. We’re coming back this time with a tighter show and three of the original 80’s members: myself, Daryl Gray, and
Greg “Fritz” Hinz. My friend Danny Hines from WEAPON is coming out to the show with his wife Malim, as they live in Stockholm. They’ve
been friends of mine for years. As well, Geir Arne Dale, from HUMBUCKER, whom we toured with across Europe in 2014 (and who is also on
Perris Records) is coming to catch the show. I’m scheduled to sing a song on Geir’s solo CD which is coming out sometime in the future.

What plans do you have for 2017?
Touring. Organizing the Helix movie, putting together a video for the newest Helix original THE DEVIL IS HAVING A PARTY TONITE, releasing
new material, and working my solo CD. Lots to do.

Thank you for taking time for this interview any last words to the fans?
Producing new music is why I got into this business. I talk to a lot of my peers who have ceased recording and I think it’s a shame really....
I’ll be doing this thing called the music biz until I can’t sing any more. I figure I have a few years left in me yet. My/Helix’s fans are the
greatest, and that’s why we stay after every show signing autographs, taking pictures, and shaking hands. Without them we would cease to
exist. This ride could endtomorrow for I know, so I cherish every minute I can still do it. To all you young musicians out there-follow your
heart, do what you love, and money will eventually follow. Even if you don’t become “rich”, if you can make a living doing this, well then,
that’s an accomplishment in itself. Besides, it’s like Aerosmith says, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

Brian Vollmer Gavin Brown Sean Kelly