2 Guys. Sometimes 2 Guys 1 Girl. Also known as 2 Guys 2 Girls, 3 Guys, 5 Guys (very short time), 4 Guys 1 Girl, 4 Guys 2 Girls, and 4 Guys. And that is not EVEN including some of the strange setups involving guest performers! The combinations are ASTRONOMICAL! 1 Guy 2 Girls. Man, they go on and on.
Way back when they were just 3 Guys, they had a plan. A plan that had to fail miserably. And yet, they kinda forced each other into still doing it. A quick bit about my hat, in a rhyme:
It's stinky, I'm gonna have to wash it weekly....
And they did it for a while. And, they failed miserably, while figuring out that they were succeeding in a totally different way. And it was good to be bad. More than that, it was a raw anger that drove them to change and advance. They were having fun, doing really poorly due to their choices of places to start, and it pissed 'em off. And, once they started to move about, it pissed other people off. They were pissed due to the sound of the gong, and serious musicians were pissed off for them making a mockery of what they were doing.
Some say HELLIPHINO was largely responsible in the change in attitude in the open mic scene. When they first started hitting some of the 'better' open mic nights, the people tended to enjoy them. Especially after several drinks. And the performers that were before them would have the entire solemn act going:
"Hi, my name is Steve, and I am going to play a few songs I wrote (about my I-Wish-She-Was-Still-My Girlfriend, my Dog, My boring life, How fucking sad I am, etc.)"
While people could ignore Joe Downer or Andrew Livecover-Singerman, they kind of had to pay attention to the guy telling jokes and humping the mic stand. And Peter McDepressing hated that people didn't pay as much attention to his set of sad songs about turtles and his Beetles cover. But people enjoyed watching the spectacle. Maybe because Fingers is probably as drunk, if not way drunker, than most of the people there. And they get to watch him stumble and freak-out, while big buff Butcher stands in the back, rarely saying anything. Yet always looking dangerous. People had fun, and most of the haters of the early days became some of the biggest supporters of Helliphino. See, it took a few times of seing them before you could understand what they were really all about. They were so far from serious that they were serious about not caring. And serious about having as much fun as possible.
Most of this happened in the early 2 Guys stage. The 2 Guys stage is the longest and most visited, by the way. The 2 Guys stage also saw the first several performances with other acts, in varying roles. Also it gave Helliphino their first real show and first real show of their own. Let us look at some highlights from that period, shall we?
After hitting the open mics, sometimes as much as 5 nights a week, for a short bit of time, Helliphino started getting asked to do some fill in work for really good bands. One of the first was playing during a set a set break or two for Languid . This was really exciting for the Helliphino boys, as they were beginning to learn a few songs, and they had become fans of Languid. And, it was at the Great Grizzly Bear, a bar Fingers had visited often both above and below legal drinking age. Though a bit nervous, they played as well as they could, and it seemed to go off pretty fine. It was the taste of playing in front of a different kind of croud, one that was there only to watch, not just there to ignore the artists or to play themselves. And it was a blast. Looking back, some find it strange that those two acts shared a stage together, but it was the first kind of 'break' Helliphino had, and they will always be greatful for the opportunity that Languid gave to them.
After the Languid incident, the boys were fortunate enough to be able to do a few shows with the now-defunct DiMBy group. The biggest of which was 'Sillyfest'. Sillyfest was done a few times, but the first time was, by far, the best. Nothing like getting on stage at 'The Hard Rock Cafe' in front of a large group of strangers. With other acts including Celia, John Dear, Hotel Faux Pas and Dave Alans, it was a show of mass proportions. And lots of fun for all who were there. Fingers walking off the stage on to the tables of some of the patrons while singing 'Insane In The Brain' was a high point. The following Sillyfests were progressively worse, until the one in Union Station killed the concept for good. Also, the DiMBy had Helliphino playing a Twilight Hayride or two, and a Putt-Putt Pub crawl or two as well. Later, they were seen at some stupid festival on Grand, running a stage in the snow and wind. Ahh, DiMBy, how we will miss and not miss you, at the same time.
One of the positives from the Sillyfest experience was the chance to do a string of shows with Hotel Faux Pas. This was a once fun group of musicians who played poppy-quirky rock. They have a page on here, take a monent to go check it out. Don't worry, I'll be here waiting....Back? Alright. Helliphino played a variety of locations with these funsters including the Tap Room and The Calvin Theater. The Calvin shows were especially interesting, as they were family events. That is why 'The Poopy Song' was written, for one of those shows, even though it was never performed in the grandeur of the Calvin.
TBC
