Interview: Helen 55

Helen 55 Questions Answered By Shon Kornfeld (Guitars / Vocals). Interviewed by wookubus

Related Links: Official Website

PRP: Let's start with the basic question, how did you guys get started?
Shon: Me and D have been friends since high school. I got him playing bass and stuff. I met Ronnie at a RATM show at the Whisky in LA back in the day. We had all been doin shit but in 97 we got together and said lets do this.

PRP: Not long ago you guys got a new drummer, Ford who I believe is formerly from Mygrain, if this is true did he try to wear makeup when he joined? and do you feel this is a more solid line-up?
Shon: He never wore make up in h55, and I don't think he did in Mygrain either, but I could be wrong. That was never his vibe. The other guys in Mygrain, that's their vibe, but I guess Ford didn't really fit. He's fuckin nuts, man...all he wants to do is rock it.

PRP: You guys have had a somewhat close bond with former MTV Vj, current Farmclub host Matt Pinfield, and even taped a segment for Farmclub, how did all this come about and what was it like?
Shon: Well, a friend of the band was an intern on the Farmclub TV show, and before it ever aired she called us and gave us the skinny on Farmclub. We uploaded 1 song and I guess we got a ton of votes. One day, she picked up Matt Pinfield from the airport and she was telling him all about us. When they got to the studio, he took her and said "lets go check out their site". I guess he downloaded a couple songs, fell in love with the band, and even promoted her! So when we played with Videodrone in LA, they came down and filmed our set, and afterwards we all hung with Matt and did an interview. It was wild, cause we've all spent hours and hours watching him on 120 Minutes (MTV), and to sit there with him and have him talk about our songs in detail...it was wild. That night was a blast.

PRP: Who the better cook, chef boyardee or the swedish chef?
Shon: Ronnie will school them both, hands down. That dude can cook.

PRP: You guys hail from the L.A. scene, do you find it pretty cutthroat getting shows or noticed?
Shon: Yeah, totally. There's a million bands out here, its brutal. But we try not to worry about that shit. Its always about how we can be the best band we can be and let everyone else do their own thing.

PRP: Although you guys are westcoast, the music suggests some influence from former east coast outfit Helmet, would you say there's anyone in the band who is a fan of the group?
Shon: Hell yeah, all of us. Helmet was the shit.

PRP: Was fusing your melodic vocals with Ronnie's more scream based vocals a goal from the start or something that evolved?
Shon: A lot of people who have our CD and have never seen us live assume that I'm the one singing all the melodic and stuff and Ronnie does the screams. I only sing the harmonies, and occasionally I'll double what Ronnie's doin, but the vocals are all mostly him. Our whole thing is that we definitely want to rock, but were really into melody and good songs, its all about having both. I'm constantly trying to find the perfect balance between the two.

PRP: Do you wish you were an Oscar Meyer wiener?
Shon: No way. Yuck.

PRP: Rumor has it you guys have are friends with Troy Van Leeuwen formerly of Failure now in A Perfect Circle/E N E M Y, how did this come about?
Shon: Yeah, we all are huge Failure fans, and a couple of those guys are friends. Troy was originally going to produce our CD, but he got offered to work on the new Orgy record at the same time, so he took that. He's just a buddy of ours, great guy, great guitarist.

PRP: The track "Hey Mom" off your guys debut album "Amped" is a fairly pop based track in contrast to the other material, were you guys trying to branch out and experiment or was this just something that came about?
Shon: Like I said, were just trying to find the perfect balance between the heavy and the melodic. I think we have songs that could totally be radio hits, and I think we have songs radio wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

PRP: You play a fairly large part in the writing of the bands music, would you say you're the backbone of the group?
Shon: Yeah, h55 has up to this point been pretty much my vision. Everyone does their thing, and I don't walk around like its MY band or anything, but yeah, I write most of the stuff, and it seems like I take charge of most things band related.

PRP: Who's your favorite Backstreet Boy?
Shon: I don't even know any of their names, and Id be concerned if I did hahaha...

PRP: You guys have worked with Al Mc Avoy seemingly alot, what is his role with you guys?
Shon: Al is an old friend of Ron's from his hometown of Grand Rapids, MI. He has a studio back there, and me and Ronnie have spent lots of time recording with him. He did some pre-h55 demos, including the track "Hollow" which appears on the Godmoney Soundtrack under the name Chance 22.

PRP: You did most of the production and mixing on the album, was this by your choice or perhaps something like budget concerns?
Shon: Well, for once, "Amped" was not done in a big fancy studio. It was recorded on my digital 8 track recorder, at our studio. Al came out from Michigan and helped us record drums, but everything else was done by myself or D. But yeah, I wrote most of the material, so I had lots of ideas of what I wanted to do.

PRP: A few of the songs seem to refer to alcohol and drugs, any reason behind this?
Shon: You'd have to ask Ronnie. Were not like some "drug band" or anything... we like to smoke a little weed, and maybe have some drinks, but that's about it. No heavy drugs.

PRP: Will Alf ever make a comeback?
Shon: I hope so. Alf ruled. I saw the guy who played the dad a couple weeks ago and I totally wanted to go "Alf, get in the kitchen, its Mrs Ogmonick!" hahahaha.

PRP: Why the number 55?
Shon: The meaning of helen 55 is a band secret, sorry!

PRP: Do you find people confusing your name often with Primer 55?
Shon: No, but were kinda waiting to see how big they get. If they blow up, were totally changing our name. But well see what happens with them. Its kind of a drag, when we heard about them we were like "ah, god dammit" but hey, whatever. I heard about an unsigned from Texas I believe called Annabell 55. Whatever...hahaha.

PRP: Do you think Macgyver could make an explosive that rivals C4 from a can of spam and a corkscrew?
Shon: What? CB4? I love that movie.

PRP: Do you and Ronnie ever fight for vocal time?
Shon: Actually, its the opposite. He's always tryin to get me to sing more and I'm like "fuck that, I just wanna rock" hahaha.

PRP: Alot of your guys exposure has come through the Internet as well as your embracing of mp3's how do you feel about their part in promotion in general?
Shon: I cant say enough amazing things about the internet. The fact that we have fans in Egypt and people in Finland and Brazil have our CD is wild. Its great.

PRP: Do you consider answering your email and updating the website and important thing or concentrate more on promotion in the local scene?
Shon: Its all important. I mean, we spend more money on in-town promotion, like for shows or whatever, but communicating online with fans through e-mail or discussion groups and message boards...its all important.

PRP: Starsky or Hutch?
Shon: Which guy was the one who always jumped and slid off the hood of the car? He was cool. Him.

PRP: Someone stole my ten speed, have you seen it?
Shon: Naw, maybe its chillin with my mountain bike that got ripped off last year.

PRP: The lyrics seem to be derived from personal appearances and very open to interpretation, would you say they come from personal experiences or more from a lyrical writing stand point?
Shon: That's Ronnie's department. I go to him with titles, and maybe a melody, and he goes from there.

PRP: What's in the near future for the band?
Shon: We want to tour really bad, but without label support, its nearly impossible. Were gonna be on Farmclub soon ...that should be dope. Were just gonna be writing more and hopefully playing a lot of shows this summer.

PRP: That's about it, any shoutout's or shameless promotion you'd like to throw out?
Shon: Yeah... please go to our site and buy our CD so the bank doesn't come and take all my shit! www.helen55.com