Gear |
Fender Mustang Bass & Hartke VX Series 3500 Amp |
| My generation's Dr Who was... | Tom Baker |
| Musical Influences ... | The Cramps, The Mission, The Alarm |
| Heroes... | Lux and Ivy, Wayne Hussey, Mike Peters, Larry Norman, Richard O'Brien |
| Can't be doing with... | Rap, sampling of classic rock songs by dance 'musicians', shit cover versions, slap bass (sorry but it gets on my nerves!) |
| Best gig ever... | Cramps - London Astoria 1998 - or any other Cramps gig really |
| Favourite Movies | Rocky Horror Picture Show, Leningrad Cowboys go America |
| Favourite Song(s) in Set | Fever, Zombie |
| Best gig I played at... | Double header at the Duchess with Dark Season - brilliant posters (which I designed) and top 'soundie' Walter... where is he now?! |
Helen's musical roots took the typical classical path - a variety of recorders, the cello (twice), the guitar (folk lessons on a classical guitar (Mull of Kintyre anyone?) - you try getting an 'F'!) and the flute. Having been brought up on the treble clef she is completely bemused by bass notation and very grateful for the invention of tab - 'quote: only a bloke could devise a muiscal notation system that has an A on the line in one clef and off the line in another - honestly!'
Having met Dave T in 1987 and married the bugger sometime later (Lux and Ivy II) and having then been talked into playing bass for The Hiding Place in 1995, Helen managed to get over her inferiority complex about trying to play a guitar around Dave by getting herself a bigger set of complexes since it now seems that everyone she meets at gigs is also a bassist!
Being too feek and weeble to cart about a Fender Precision or a Rickenbacker she spent a bit of time with a silver Steinberger copy before a few happy years with her Bass Collection - she's never been able to explain what it was about this BROWN guitar hanging in Big Deal that caught her eye. Last year Dave talked her into buying the pink Mustang despite her typical girly misgivings about it being the wrong colour (she wanted a 'nice black gothy git')- she soon had to grudgingly swallow her pride and admit it was a good move although getting a case for it has been a pain. She is now looking forward to playing a venue large enough to turn the volume on the Hartke past 3.5!
Helen is the keeper of Animal, the band mascot and Dave T, the other muppet in the band! Graeme is her bigger little brother.
One day she plans to learn how to play the bass.....