Aye-Aye Captain

Hard-rockers Helix swab the decks with new Xmas album

For some rock bands, you’d be hard-pressed to point out which member actually steers the ship. But in the case of long-running Canadian rock band Helix, it’s pretty clear who the captain is—lead singer Brian Vollmer. First hint: the band’s MySpace page lists Vollmer himself at the top of their list of influences.

“I never did it! I don’t take credit for that,” laughs Vollmer from Helix headquarters in London, Ontario. “I always tell people there’s only been one captain of this ship and a lot of crews. But the captain is only as good as his crew. I have a really good crew right now; they’re all seasoned performers. Plus, they have really good attitudes—I can’t work with dicks . . . and I just continue on.”

Lots of crews, indeed. Their completely exhausting website (at planethelix.com) details 12 ex-guitarists, five ex-bassists and six ex-drummers over the years. Vollmer even rebuilt the band from scratch in the mid-’90s when it looked pretty certain Helix was going to fold.

But, after 34 years, the band is more popular than ever, a recent tie-in with the Trailer Park Boys exposing a whole new generation of heavy-metal skids to classic Canadian cuts like “Rock You” and “Heavy Metal Love.” And the band recently played a Texas rock festival that drew over 30,000 fans, so their age isn’t catching up to them quite yet.

“The age thing, well, it’s all in your mind, really,” says Vollmer. “When we go out there, energy-wise, we sure don’t act like an old band. And I don’t think we sound like an old band.”

Their latest release is a (get this) Christmas album: a love-it-or-hate-it kind of endeavour that fellow hard-rockers Twisted Sister already embarrassed themselves with last holiday season. And, honestly, Helix’s hilariously named A Heavy Mental Christmas makes Twisted Sister’s previous stab at Xmas music sound like Bing Crosby. Hearing Helix doing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Silent Night” (a Christmas power ballad?) will require a few extra eggnogs.

“I’m sure there will be people who hate it and people who love it, but you have to follow your gut and do what you feel is right,” says Vollmer. “And I don’t really write my own songs for the fans. And I don’t mean that negatively, but if I wrote for the fans I’d be second-guessing myself. I try to write songs I’m happy with, first and foremost.”

Well, he did write one of the most infamous sing-a-longs in Canadian rock history (everyone now, “Gimme an R… O… C… K…” Ahem, sorry), so he must be doing something right.

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Helix
(with Regular People and Archon Legion)
9pm Monday, November 24
Sugar, 858 Yates
Tickets $20 • 250-920-9950