Tag: Brian Vollmer

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Cool Chitz Flashbacks History Listen Music Top Stories

Helix’s Brian Vollmer on the Time Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, and Rip Taylor Showed Up to the “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'” Video Shoot – Traci Lords

Brian Vollmer: 1984 was a good year for us. Helix had just released Walking the Razor’s Edge and were touring the U.S. with Whitesnake and Quiet Riot and living the life. Rock You had become a smash hit all over the world. The second single from the album was Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’, the old Crazy Elephant song, and the antithesis of metal. That’s why we picked the song to record. Anyway, E.M.I. picked a video company in L.A. to shoot the video at Francis Ford Coppola’s old film studio in Hollywood. The video concept was pretty simple: “Many women dancing around the band, naked from the waist up” (as the Much Music blacklist would say). It featured girls from Playboy, Oui, and Hustler magazines, and also the budding porn star Traci Lords (who, unbeknownst to us, as we didn’t handle the casting) was only 16 years old at the time. At the studio next door, “Prior’s Place” was being filmed. There were so many scantily clad women at our video shoot that Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, and Rip Taylor all came over to have a look.

Check out Brian’s autobiography, “Gimme an R!” at planethelix.com.

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Farewells Music Top Stories

Original Helix Guitarist Ron Watson Dies @ 62

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Mitch Lafon: “Original Helix guitarist, Ron Watson, has passed away. My sincerest condolences. May he R.I.P.” – (Ron is on the far left)

On January 17, 2019, after 21 years of Sisyphean battles with Multiple Myeloma, Ron Watson passed away without pain. He was 62 years old.

A true Renaissance man, Ron loved and celebrated the arts. His Gibson SG gave him great joy and had been a companion to him since the 1970s. He was a founding member of the band Helix, and played guitar in Verticle and Room of Fools in the 80s. In the last decade of his life he reunited with some former band members to form The Heinz Peper Band and the Rockervilles.

Helix was formed in 1974 in Kitchener, Ontario. The original members were: Bruce Arnold (drums & band leader), Brian Vollmer (vocals), Ron Watson & Rick Trembley (guitars), Keith Zurbrigg (bass), and Don Simmons (keyboards).

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Listen Music New Releases Top Stories

Helix’s Brian Vollmer “If You Need Me” Official Video NEW Song/Album

A brand new official video for the song, “If You Need Me,” can be viewed below. The track, originally written and performed by Wilson Pickett, is taken from Helix vocalist Brian Vollmer’s latest solo release – featuring 7 covers and 2 originals – called Get Yer Hands Dirty.  The video was filmed, edited, and produced by former Helix lead guitarist Brent Doerner.  Watch the video below.

PURCHASE

Tracklisting:
Buff’s Bar Blues (Alex Harvey)
Rock n Roll Outlaw (Rose Tattoo)
If You Need Me (Wilson Pickett)
When the Bitter’s Got the Better of You (original: Kelly/Vollmer)]
Rock n’ Roll /Don’t Try to Lay No Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock and Roll: Velvet Underground/Long John Baldry
Gudbye t’ Jane (Slade)
Oh Well (Fleetwood Mac & Peter Greene)
Get Yer Hands Dirty (original: Brown/Kelly/Vollmer)

On Get Yer Hands Dirty, Vollmer worked with producer / engineer Gavin Brown (Three Days Grace, Skillet, the Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies) who also handled drum duties on the record.  About the album, Vollmer said: “This album was a joy to make. Although I spent the whole winter of 2016/17 learning the cover songs (some of them, like “If You Need Me” were very difficult to sing) we only spent a little over four days recording the tracks, so as to get a very “live” feel.”

Vollmer continued: “Most of the cover songs on this disc I have a personal connection to; hence the reason I picked them. I also picked songs that were a little under the radar, ie. “Superlungs.” “Superlungs” was a huge hit in England back in the day. Terry Reid, who sang and played the original version, was at one time considered for the Led Zepplin front man job.”

The two original songs on the album, “When the Bitter’s Got the Better of You” and the title track were written by Vollmer and guitarist Sean Kelly.

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Interviews Listen Music Top Stories

Helix Vocalist Brian Vollmer – The full in bloom Interview – Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge, Long Way to Heaven

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Interview with HELIX Vocalist
Brian Vollmer

full in bloom: What’s new, what have you been up to lately and what’s in the future?

Brian Vollmer: Last year we released 3 CDs and 2 DVDS. One of the CDs (30 Years of Helix) was on E.M.I. as was the “30th Helix Anniversary Concert” DVD. We also released our own anniversary CD entitled “NEVER TRUST ANYONE OVER 30” and our first full studio CD in 10 years: “Rockin’ In My Outer Space.” In December I also put together a Christmas CD to help raise money for my church. That CD was called “Raisin’ the Roof on Mary Immaculate” and sold out in a few weeks, raising over $8,000. It’s now out of print. This fall I’m going to be recording a cover album of Canadian songs called “Many are Cold but few are Frozen” and another classical CD under my own name. As well as that I’m looking forward to releasing my autobiography “Gimme an R!” and starting to write the next studio CD.

full in bloom: You guys recently played the Sweden Rock Festival. Who else was on the bill and what are some of the highlights?

Brian: What a great festival! Over 26,000 people a day. Some of the bands included Motley Crue, Accept, Motorhead, Status Quo, Sammy Hagar, Motorhead, Sebastian Bach, Kansas, Styx, etc. etc. etc. I think there were 30 bands in all. The highlight of the weekend was of course our show. Other than that I would say riding back from Ronneby, Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark at 5A.M. with Sebastian Bach sitting beside me was an experience I’ll never forget. Especially seeing as he hadn’t gone to bed the night before.

full in bloom: What kind of reaction did you receive from the crowd? Did you have an encore? What was the set list?

Brian: Swedish fans have been waiting a long time for us to come back. We had a number one album there in 1985 with “Long Way to Heaven,” but we really established ourselves there right from our first E.M.I. album No Rest, when we toured in support of Kiss on the Lick it Up Tour. The set was a combination of our hits plus a few songs we haven’t played in awhile with a couple of new tunes thrown in for good measure. For our encore we played “Bend Over Kiss Your Ass Goodbye.”

full in bloom: On your way to the festival, you traveled by way of London. How soon after you guys left, did the bombings occur? Did you use the Aldgate Station, or the King’s Cross Station, where the bombs went off?

Brian: We stayed in England before and after Sweden Rock Festival. We used both King’s Cross and Aldgate. We actually stayed with friends who live very close (a couple of blocks) from Aldgate Station. I think we had only been home for two weeks when the bombings occurred.

full in bloom: How close are you to having your autobiography published? What is the current news behind that?

Brian: My autobiography is now done. (at least my part is). I’ll be taking it to a publisher sometime in the near future.

full in bloom: Did you write it yourself, or did you have some assistance?

Brian: Myself

full in bloom: What are some memories of the recording sessions for Walkin’ the Razor’s Edge?

Brian: One of the many memories I have from that session is driving overnight to Atlanta, Georgia to do the mixes with Rodney Mills. He made a big difference in the overall sound of that CD.

full in bloom: How many copies of that were sold worldwide?

Brian: I dunno. The album is certified platinum in Canada but worldwide I have no clue.

full in bloom: Who were some of the bands you toured with on that album?

Brian: We toured Europe with Motorhead, Girlschool, and Mercyful Fate. In the States we played on the Whitesnake / Quiet Riot tour, and in Canada with Triumph.

full in bloom: How excited was the label about the song “Rock You?” I still have a memory of seeing the video and buying the album the next day. That was quite an infectious song.

Brian: The Canadian part of the company was very excited. It’s hard to know what the American part thought because they fired most of the guys at the top of the company just as the song was getting airplay.

full in bloom: Why did it take so long to get No Rest for the Wicked re-released? How does the licensing process work? Tell us about your deal with Rock Candy Records.

Brian: Licensing is a process whereby anyone can “rent” or “license” the masters from the owners of the masters (in our case E.M.I.) and print and sell them. I don’t know what Rock Candy’s deal with E.M.I. is. We get paid through publishing money which is paid by Rock Candy on the # of units pressed.

full in bloom: What is the benefit of signing with a record label, or having another label license your product? Since Helix has name recognition, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to have licensed your earlier releases yourself?

Brian: The benefit of signing to a label is money. Big record labels have the thousands of dollars needed for studio time, top producers & engineers, etc. Most bands do not own their own masters in the beginning.

full in bloom: How do bands like Motley Crue and W.A.S.P. obtain all the rights to their music?

Brian: You’ll have to ask them.

full in bloom: Is your royalty rate better now than it was with EMI? What was the rate when you were signed with EMI?

Brian: I don’t disclose personal business info ie. what my royalty rate was with E.M.I. I will tell you what I make nowadays though. My normal budget on my CDs is around $10,000. It takes about 1,000 units to break even. After that I make about $18.00/unit.

full in bloom: I still remember reading an interview long ago and you saying that you listened to Bon Jovi albums over and over while writing your album. What release were you working on and why Bon Jovi?

Brian: I don’t remember ever saying that.

full in bloom: What are some memories from the Long Way to Heaven recording session? What was your reaction, after hearing the final mix of “Deep Cuts the Knife?”

Brian: Can’t remember, but we all thought the song was a hit.

full in bloom: How many copies of Long Way to Heaven were sold?

Brian: Dunno once again. It was certified platinum in Canada however and went to number one in Sweden.

full in bloom: Did you guys ever receive payments for royalties, or were you always recouping?

Brian: Recouping.

full in bloom: I have heard that bands don’t make money from touring, only hoping to break even. If bands never make money on sales, then how is it that they make anything at all?

Brian: Easy-most bands don’t make money. Nowadays I do, because I run things myself. I know where every penny goes.

full in bloom: Was anything left over after the Long Way from Heaven tour?

Brian: Any money we made at that stage of our career went straight back into the band. We each took a very moderate wage of $200/week. Re-investing in ourselves helped us survive the lean years which were to follow.

full in bloom: Collectively, how many Helix albums have been sold?

Brian: We’ve probably sold around 2 million albums total.

full in bloom: What year did you part ways with EMI?

Brian: Our relationship with E.M.I./Capitol ended in 1993. It was a low point for the band and one of the hardest periods in my life.

full in bloom: What year did Helix tour with Ian Gillan?

Brian: 1990

full in bloom: Did he play any songs from the Black Sabbath, Born Again album? Or did he only play songs from Gillan?

Brian: Gillan & Purple

full in bloom: What was he like to tour with?

Brian: He was the greatest. Very accessible and friendly. I watched him almost every night front the side of the stage. Our show together at the Moulin Rouge in Paris and also our show in Luxembourg stick out in my mind.

full in bloom: In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

Brian: I would have learned to play an instrument earlier in life.

THE FAST 5

full in bloom:What is your most disgusting habit?

Brian: Talking too much.

full in bloom:What is the most feminine thing you do?

Brian: Sometimes put on make-up

full in bloom:If there is a God, what is the first question you would ask God when you arrive?

Brian: Why he loves me so much

full in bloom:Greatest Rock band of all time?

Brian: AC/DC

full in bloom:What were you doing 40 minutes before you sat down to do this interview?

Brian: Practicing on my new piano