The Helio Sequence are a dreamy Portland, Oregon based duo who have just put out their third album, Love and Distance. The album is their first Subpop release. It is on constant loop on my iPod and several of the tracks have made my favorite playlists, including, but not limited to, everything from my daydream playlist to my the shit playlist. The happy marriage of keyboards and guitar create their ethereal sound that is often just as rocking as it is amorphous. It is a truly great album that fans of Modest Mouse, Built to Spill or My Bloody Valentine will appreciate. Benjamin Weikel is the keyboardist/drummer, mad scientist half of the Helio Sequence. Benjamin also spent the last year as the drummer for Modest Mouse.
I should mention that he and I once shared a math class several years ago in a suburb far away far away. In a time when I still had my natural hair color and wore turtlenecks and he donned an LA Dodgers cap and shorts for 236 consecutive days. We caught up for the first time in several years to discuss the new album and life on the road.
MS: How are you doing this morning?
BW: Oh, I stayed out late last night drinking.
MS: Well, I will keep it quick then.
BW: No I have my coffee, Im prepared.
MS: First I want to say, I love the new album!
BW: Thanks!
MS: When did you and Brandon meet and when did you start the band?
BW:I met Brandon, when he was 13, he was friends with my little brother, Brandon is 23 now and I am 27. I remember that he would stay the night at my house on the weekends and we would stay up late and watch this video show called Bohemia Afterdark. Eventually he had this family reunion thing at Oaks Park in Portland, you remember Oaks Park dont you?
MS: Yeah the Octopus and the Mouse rides were the closest we could get to a rollercoaster in Portland.
BW: Yeah it was a silly amusement park, Anyway, his parents wanted him to play music at it and he asked me if I would do something with him. So we started playing together.
MS: How do you think growing up in the burbs influenced you and your music?
BW: Id say that it has been a pretty predominant theme in our music, especially in our second album The Young Effectuals. Its a bummer living in the burbs.
MS: Beaverton wasnt that bad, it was close to Portland
BW: Yeah I can imagine there are worse places to be but we were still working in Beaverton until two and half or three years ago. So it was to us, very miserable and had continued and had gone on so long. We both lived in Portland but just being and working out there. We worked at a music store so you just see all of these hopeless blind kids that come along. Every once in awhile you see that one cool kid that is going to move into the city and so you start trying to make connections with people out there.
MS: Were there any new undiscovered talents out there. Anyone that youd see and think: This guy is going to be great!
BW: Well only one, a band called Menamena. From the Sesame Street song. You remember Sesame Street didnt you carry a Sesame Street lunch box?
MS: I believe that I did, good memory Mister. Everyone notes the My Bloody Valentine influence, how do you feel about that? Where they really the biggest influence on The Helio Sequence or are there others that are more valid?
BW: Well, for me, My Bloody Valentine was a pretty big one. Not as much for Brandon. There was a definite point where I remember I was smoking pot and I remember Loveless was one of the first albums that I ever heard high and that had a pretty profound effect on me at the time. I dont really smoke anymore, it kind of drives me nuts, but when I was 18 it totally rocked my world and I went out and bought Loveless. That was probably my main influence. I hadnt really played any music before that, I mean I had played drums in bands but I hadnt played keyboards and I hadnt written any music. I went out and bought a $2000 keyboard, which at the time was a pretty big deal. It was really crazy. That was how I started writing songs.
MS: You are a duo, Have you ever had a third wheel weasel their way into your happy family?
BW: Well when we first started my little brother played guitar with us.
MS: How did that go?
BW: It was alright but he got busy doing other things and even before we had the name The Helio Sequence we had tried out bass players and other vocalists and all of this other stuff but nothing worked out. At the time there were no other two pieces, no one had ever heard of The White Stripes, so it was kind of a ridiculous idea. Brandon was like Can we do this? and I was like We can totally do this, Two Piece! Two Piece! So at a lot of our first shows people were like What, wheres the bass player? But of course it isnt like that anymore.
MS: Is it easier or harder to get the sound that you want from only two pieces?
BW: I think it is a lot easier because creatively it is a situation where when you have three or more people there is a lot more compromise between band members. The bass player might not like this particular song or the guitarist might not like this part but you just trudge through it. With Brandon and I, If either of us doesnt like it then its out. We dont really have time to deal with either one of being even slightly iffy about anything so with this it is pretty easy for us to both be happy with the music at all times.
MS: Are there any challenges performing live?:
BW: Its never been a problem. Except for maybe at the first Oaks Park show.
MS: Well I dont know if the acoustics are all that great at Oaks Park so that could be it.
BW: Well, we had the keyboard stripped through a tiny, tiny speaker so I had to use brushes to keep in time with him. We have it on tape though it is really great!
MS: I will have to hear that sometime.
BW: When we get our website up I want to put it up because it is actually pretty hilarious.
MS: Did you record it out of a speaker or did you have a hand held mic or something, how did you get the recording?
BW: This was actually a VHS camcorder, so it is not super sound quality but it just shows how artistic it was from the beginning seeing as Brandon was 13 and what not.
MS: This is your first SubPop release how did that connection come about?
BW: Our AR guy is Tony Kay and he is actually the first guy to ever play The Helio Sequence on the radio. He was down at KXLU and he had a demo program on Friday night and my sister Julia sent him our demo. This was back in '98 or '99 I dont think we were even officially the Helio Sequence at that point. He called us when he played the demo and said: This is one of the best demos I have ever gotten. So he would call us every once in awhile and we just kept in contact. Eventually we needed a label and we just started to talk about it and it just happened.
MS: What are the advantages of being on pretty much the biggest indie label in the states?
BW: It is just more exposure, for me the only way to measure it is our last album on the CMJ charts, the highest that it hit was 33 and the new album just hit 8.
MS: Congratualtions!
BW: Thanks!
MS: How did this album come about? What were your influences at the time?
BW: I think the thing about this album was Brandons wife was in the Czech Republic going to school and my girlfriend was in Paris for a year so both our girlfriends were in Europe for a year while we were touring around the country for theYoung Effectuals album. So a lot of the album is about the long distance thing slash feeling the freedom of first starting touring and quitting our jobs.
MS: What is your favorite thing about being on the road?
BW: I love actually sleeping on peoples floors.
MS: Really?!
BW: Yeah, because when I was traveling with Modest Mouse or whatever you sleep in a hotel every night. Which is super convenient and super nice. You get lots of sleep and what not but when I tour with Helio Sequence I just sleep on kids floors and after a month of that it just feels like a whole year has gone by. You have met so many different people and had so many crazy experiences both good and bad and to me that is just totally amazing.
MS: Do you like playing smaller venues rather than festivals like when you play with Modest Mouse?
BW: I dont think that anyone likes playing festivals. Festivals suck but I enjoy playing the big theaters and I love playing the smaller clubs they are both good in their own ways.
MS: You are also the drummer in Modest Mouse right?
BW: Well not anymore I just stopped. When they hired me originally, for me, it was temporary because I didnt want to just bail on Brandon so after a year of it we put out the Helio Sequence album and I felt obligated to dedicate myself full time to The Helio Sequence.
MS: Has being in two bands for the past year influenced your sound on this album?
BW: I think so. At least playing with those kids influenced us. The kids are completely supportive so we definitely felt it was easier to kind of be more open and a little bit more intimate with the new album.
MS: What was the best part of playing with Modest Mouse?
BW:We definitely had some amazing moments on stage but also I just love all of those guys. Isaac has defiantly got to be one of the most interesting persons I have ever met. I could spend a lot of time with Isaac and definitely be thoroughly entertained. He is a crazy guy.
MS:How did you end up hooking up with Modest Mouse and playing with them?
BW:Helio Sequence went on tour with Ugly Cassanova which is Isaacs solo project thing and my girlfriend had known the drummer, Jeremiah. I dont know those two things just connected us one way or another and they called me up to have me play. I was on tour with The Magic Magicians and I think we played a show in Denton with Quasi and Magic Magicians. I think that that was the night that I got a call and they asked me if I would play with them.
Missy Suicide: So I heard The Helio Sequence are going to be making a music video.
Benjamn Weikel: Yeah, all of these different people submitted treatments and what not and we found these two guys that we want to work with. We didnt really like any of the treatments but these two guys, we liked what they had done, their aesthetic, and they seemed talented so I think we are going to work out some sort of treatment with them.
MS: When do you think that it will be hitting the airwaves?
BW: I dont know maybe in a couple of months it will be done.
MS: What are you listening to right now?
BW: I am still really loving the new Destroyer album. I have been listening to an awesome Sonny Rollins CD East Broadway Rundown and another Vancouver band called Frog Eyes That I have been listening to. I really like these Vancouver bands, they have this weird kind of theatrical David Bowie appeal. I think it is pretty awesome.
MS: Well you are so close to Vancouver, being in Portland, you could go up and see them all of the time.
BW: I dont know, they dont like us Americans crossing the border too much. I have had a pretty miserable time crossing the border for shows and what not. It can be pretty bad going over but the worst part is coming back. I remember one time it was just me and Isaac, I dont know where the rest of the band ended up, but me and Isaac ended up partying all night in Vancouver and we were driving back the next day together and they just wouldnt let up back in the U.S. They said we needed to have papers proving that we had actually owned all of our equipment prior to entering Canada, which is just sort of annoying. I dont know if they just make that shit up or if they really have to have it. So we just drove to another border and they let us through.
MS: Well the U.S. is glad that you were able to come home. Thank you for the interview and for the new album, I really love it.
By: Missy
I should mention that he and I once shared a math class several years ago in a suburb far away far away. In a time when I still had my natural hair color and wore turtlenecks and he donned an LA Dodgers cap and shorts for 236 consecutive days. We caught up for the first time in several years to discuss the new album and life on the road.
MS: How are you doing this morning?
BW: Oh, I stayed out late last night drinking.
MS: Well, I will keep it quick then.
BW: No I have my coffee, Im prepared.
MS: First I want to say, I love the new album!
BW: Thanks!
MS: When did you and Brandon meet and when did you start the band?
BW:I met Brandon, when he was 13, he was friends with my little brother, Brandon is 23 now and I am 27. I remember that he would stay the night at my house on the weekends and we would stay up late and watch this video show called Bohemia Afterdark. Eventually he had this family reunion thing at Oaks Park in Portland, you remember Oaks Park dont you?
MS: Yeah the Octopus and the Mouse rides were the closest we could get to a rollercoaster in Portland.
BW: Yeah it was a silly amusement park, Anyway, his parents wanted him to play music at it and he asked me if I would do something with him. So we started playing together.
MS: How do you think growing up in the burbs influenced you and your music?
BW: Id say that it has been a pretty predominant theme in our music, especially in our second album The Young Effectuals. Its a bummer living in the burbs.
MS: Beaverton wasnt that bad, it was close to Portland
BW: Yeah I can imagine there are worse places to be but we were still working in Beaverton until two and half or three years ago. So it was to us, very miserable and had continued and had gone on so long. We both lived in Portland but just being and working out there. We worked at a music store so you just see all of these hopeless blind kids that come along. Every once in awhile you see that one cool kid that is going to move into the city and so you start trying to make connections with people out there.
MS: Were there any new undiscovered talents out there. Anyone that youd see and think: This guy is going to be great!
BW: Well only one, a band called Menamena. From the Sesame Street song. You remember Sesame Street didnt you carry a Sesame Street lunch box?
MS: I believe that I did, good memory Mister. Everyone notes the My Bloody Valentine influence, how do you feel about that? Where they really the biggest influence on The Helio Sequence or are there others that are more valid?
BW: Well, for me, My Bloody Valentine was a pretty big one. Not as much for Brandon. There was a definite point where I remember I was smoking pot and I remember Loveless was one of the first albums that I ever heard high and that had a pretty profound effect on me at the time. I dont really smoke anymore, it kind of drives me nuts, but when I was 18 it totally rocked my world and I went out and bought Loveless. That was probably my main influence. I hadnt really played any music before that, I mean I had played drums in bands but I hadnt played keyboards and I hadnt written any music. I went out and bought a $2000 keyboard, which at the time was a pretty big deal. It was really crazy. That was how I started writing songs.
MS: You are a duo, Have you ever had a third wheel weasel their way into your happy family?
BW: Well when we first started my little brother played guitar with us.
MS: How did that go?
BW: It was alright but he got busy doing other things and even before we had the name The Helio Sequence we had tried out bass players and other vocalists and all of this other stuff but nothing worked out. At the time there were no other two pieces, no one had ever heard of The White Stripes, so it was kind of a ridiculous idea. Brandon was like Can we do this? and I was like We can totally do this, Two Piece! Two Piece! So at a lot of our first shows people were like What, wheres the bass player? But of course it isnt like that anymore.
MS: Is it easier or harder to get the sound that you want from only two pieces?
BW: I think it is a lot easier because creatively it is a situation where when you have three or more people there is a lot more compromise between band members. The bass player might not like this particular song or the guitarist might not like this part but you just trudge through it. With Brandon and I, If either of us doesnt like it then its out. We dont really have time to deal with either one of being even slightly iffy about anything so with this it is pretty easy for us to both be happy with the music at all times.
MS: Are there any challenges performing live?:
BW: Its never been a problem. Except for maybe at the first Oaks Park show.
MS: Well I dont know if the acoustics are all that great at Oaks Park so that could be it.
BW: Well, we had the keyboard stripped through a tiny, tiny speaker so I had to use brushes to keep in time with him. We have it on tape though it is really great!
MS: I will have to hear that sometime.
BW: When we get our website up I want to put it up because it is actually pretty hilarious.
MS: Did you record it out of a speaker or did you have a hand held mic or something, how did you get the recording?
BW: This was actually a VHS camcorder, so it is not super sound quality but it just shows how artistic it was from the beginning seeing as Brandon was 13 and what not.
MS: This is your first SubPop release how did that connection come about?
BW: Our AR guy is Tony Kay and he is actually the first guy to ever play The Helio Sequence on the radio. He was down at KXLU and he had a demo program on Friday night and my sister Julia sent him our demo. This was back in '98 or '99 I dont think we were even officially the Helio Sequence at that point. He called us when he played the demo and said: This is one of the best demos I have ever gotten. So he would call us every once in awhile and we just kept in contact. Eventually we needed a label and we just started to talk about it and it just happened.
MS: What are the advantages of being on pretty much the biggest indie label in the states?
BW: It is just more exposure, for me the only way to measure it is our last album on the CMJ charts, the highest that it hit was 33 and the new album just hit 8.
MS: Congratualtions!
BW: Thanks!
MS: How did this album come about? What were your influences at the time?
BW: I think the thing about this album was Brandons wife was in the Czech Republic going to school and my girlfriend was in Paris for a year so both our girlfriends were in Europe for a year while we were touring around the country for theYoung Effectuals album. So a lot of the album is about the long distance thing slash feeling the freedom of first starting touring and quitting our jobs.
MS: What is your favorite thing about being on the road?
BW: I love actually sleeping on peoples floors.
MS: Really?!
BW: Yeah, because when I was traveling with Modest Mouse or whatever you sleep in a hotel every night. Which is super convenient and super nice. You get lots of sleep and what not but when I tour with Helio Sequence I just sleep on kids floors and after a month of that it just feels like a whole year has gone by. You have met so many different people and had so many crazy experiences both good and bad and to me that is just totally amazing.
MS: Do you like playing smaller venues rather than festivals like when you play with Modest Mouse?
BW: I dont think that anyone likes playing festivals. Festivals suck but I enjoy playing the big theaters and I love playing the smaller clubs they are both good in their own ways.
MS: You are also the drummer in Modest Mouse right?
BW: Well not anymore I just stopped. When they hired me originally, for me, it was temporary because I didnt want to just bail on Brandon so after a year of it we put out the Helio Sequence album and I felt obligated to dedicate myself full time to The Helio Sequence.
MS: Has being in two bands for the past year influenced your sound on this album?
BW: I think so. At least playing with those kids influenced us. The kids are completely supportive so we definitely felt it was easier to kind of be more open and a little bit more intimate with the new album.
MS: What was the best part of playing with Modest Mouse?
BW:We definitely had some amazing moments on stage but also I just love all of those guys. Isaac has defiantly got to be one of the most interesting persons I have ever met. I could spend a lot of time with Isaac and definitely be thoroughly entertained. He is a crazy guy.
MS:How did you end up hooking up with Modest Mouse and playing with them?
BW:Helio Sequence went on tour with Ugly Cassanova which is Isaacs solo project thing and my girlfriend had known the drummer, Jeremiah. I dont know those two things just connected us one way or another and they called me up to have me play. I was on tour with The Magic Magicians and I think we played a show in Denton with Quasi and Magic Magicians. I think that that was the night that I got a call and they asked me if I would play with them.
Missy Suicide: So I heard The Helio Sequence are going to be making a music video.
Benjamn Weikel: Yeah, all of these different people submitted treatments and what not and we found these two guys that we want to work with. We didnt really like any of the treatments but these two guys, we liked what they had done, their aesthetic, and they seemed talented so I think we are going to work out some sort of treatment with them.
MS: When do you think that it will be hitting the airwaves?
BW: I dont know maybe in a couple of months it will be done.
MS: What are you listening to right now?
BW: I am still really loving the new Destroyer album. I have been listening to an awesome Sonny Rollins CD East Broadway Rundown and another Vancouver band called Frog Eyes That I have been listening to. I really like these Vancouver bands, they have this weird kind of theatrical David Bowie appeal. I think it is pretty awesome.
MS: Well you are so close to Vancouver, being in Portland, you could go up and see them all of the time.
BW: I dont know, they dont like us Americans crossing the border too much. I have had a pretty miserable time crossing the border for shows and what not. It can be pretty bad going over but the worst part is coming back. I remember one time it was just me and Isaac, I dont know where the rest of the band ended up, but me and Isaac ended up partying all night in Vancouver and we were driving back the next day together and they just wouldnt let up back in the U.S. They said we needed to have papers proving that we had actually owned all of our equipment prior to entering Canada, which is just sort of annoying. I dont know if they just make that shit up or if they really have to have it. So we just drove to another border and they let us through.
MS: Well the U.S. is glad that you were able to come home. Thank you for the interview and for the new album, I really love it.
By: Missy
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
pupnamedtwat:
Wow, I remember the last time I saw Benji, he was rehearsing behind the music store on Hall... that's so great he has taken his talent this far. That's so great!!!
erin:
aw I think the reverb is fun. This album is great for relaxin'.