The Helligans are from Great Falls, Montana, an airforce town that gets a lot of statewide press for drugs and crime (or, at least, that’s what I always seem to spot in the Billings Gazette). They play hard rocking songs about tough living. Are you a guy/girl who likes outlaw country as much as early punk rock? Or 70’s hard rock as much as Sun Records? Or whiskey as much as beer? Then The Helligans might be right up your alley. Here’s more about them, in their own words:
Your names and what you do in the band:
Harry Pickle - Vocals / Banjo / Guitar
Rob "Super Burrito" Salois - Guitar / Electric Bass
Mike Helligan - Drums
Mickey "Chim" O'Day - Bass
Johnny Walls - Washboard / Spoons / Vocals
Pearl McLanahan - Belly Dancing / Vocals
What’s going on in Great Falls, music-wise right now?
Great Falls is going through a transitional period. The music scene is pretty damn great! We try to help out in any way that we can with touring bands and other MT bands that are looking to book shows in our area. Some of our favorite MT acts to work with would be Tales From Ghost Town, Hell City Kitty and DeadNecks!
What’s going on in Great Falls non-music-wise?
Well, it is summer! Mostly BBQ's and fuckin' around!
Within the last few years, there seems to have been a resurgence of bands interested in bluegrass, folk, country, and skiffle, and incorporating those styles into more current metal, punk, and indie sounds. What do you think of the current wave of roots-influenced music?
Music always comes back to roots. That's the way it should be! The greatest bands in history all were not afraid to blend musical styles to create new styles. It's only natural.
You guys are older than your typical metal/punk-sorta band. Are there advantages to being the older dudes?
Damn, how old do you think we are!!!
Being the older guys, I'm thinking that this can’t be your first musical thing- what other bands have you played in?
Way to many to list! This one is our collective favorite!
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| That's gotta be weird when you take a picture of your granddad or your niece's 8th birthday and the photo comes out with "HELLIGANS" in the corner. |
Truck driving, concrete work, school, you know, all the normal life kinda things.
I’m guessing that it’s common knowledge in GF, but I just found out that The Mariana UFO Incident was one of the first ever captured on video. Any conspiracy theorists in the band? What do you guys think of the video?
That was us landing the mothership! It's a sweet 77' Cadillac Eldorado! (We are an advanced species, we were using a 1977 Caddy in 1950!) Rob was the one that shot the video, right before we abducted him and made him one of us!
One thing people would be surprised to know about you:
We're aliens!
You have some sort of microbrew picture posted on your website. Is that shit real?! If so, how can we get a hold of some of your beer?
Our good friends in Hell City Kitty brew up some Helligan Ale for us on occasion. Usually it doesn't last very long though, it's delicious!
Anything you want to plug or let the readers to know about?
Being that we're aliens n' all. We really just want to plug all of your anuses!! Or is it ani? What would be the plural for anus?
I'm no expert on prose, so I can't rightly answer that question...I'm more of a creative-language, poetic sort of guy. So uh...here's something that was inspired, in part, by the things we just covered:
O object from the sky
sailing so very high
o'er the methy trailers of ole GF
Come down to me like you did to Drey-fuss.
And when they land here, or at Devil's Tower,
whether it be soon or at a later hour,
please remember to watch your hind,
madams and sirs,
unless you'd like to find
a probe in yours.
Last, a message to all, from far east to near west:
Merry Christmas to all and see you at Dreyfest!
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