Helmet's original drummer on melding hardcore with drum corps, how producer T-Ray shaped the distinctive sound of the band's third LP and what he really thinks of the record's various oddball detours
I honestly cannot believe you got Stanier to talk about Helmet in any capacity…but to go this deep on the drum parts is just unbelievable. Betty is my favorite record of all time. I’ve played along to it more than any record and you brought up subtitles in the drum parts that I thought I was the only person who had examined the songs like this. He’s so psyched that someone truly got the magic of Betty and his enthusiasm really comes through. This interview is such an incredible gem and I can never thank you enough for it.
Like the Andy who commented before me, I’m another Andy who has totally geeked out, alone, over John Stanier’s drumming for decades and never imagined someone would get the drummer himself to indulge us. This was absolutely top notch.
Dude, thank you so much. Feels great to know there’s somebody else who acknowledges the essence of what Stanier accomplished on Betty the very same way. AND you also managed to talk about it with the man himself. Great job! Gun to my head - I would pick Betty as the pinnacle of rock music.
Betty and John’s drumming on it were also influential to me (in the 90s). I saw them on the Betty tour and a bunch of us talked to the band after the showing. I told him I loved his grooves and he said nothing, looked right at me, and blew smoke in my face!
Right after a set here in San Francisco, I went up to John and asked him when's the new record gonna come out. This was roughly around 91 before they signed to a major. He just looked at me and walked away but immediately came back and said he didn't know lol. Page will talk your ears off though.
Oh, man....Helmet (and Betty specifically) changed my life and my drumming for sure! I was so excited when I saw this come up in my inbox this morning. Even after following articles and interviews with John Stanier for 30 years I've never seen such an in-depth look at Betty. This is incredible.
Like you, I still occasionally put on the headphones and play along to Betty. Still trying to nail some of the weird fills and odd timings. On many occasions I just play the intro to "I Know" as a warm-up because it's just so tattooed in my brain at this point.
Betty is just an incredible record that Helmet / Page Hamilton never came close to achieving again. Everything from the incredible songs to the bonkers left-turns and the in-your-face production (especially the drums) are beyond reproach. The pinnacle of 90s alt-rock in my opinion.
As an aside I saw Helmet open for Faith No More in 1992 when they played at Western Illinois University. Both bands brought their A-game that night. Bands like that rarely played in that tiny college town so it was even covered in the school yearbook! In it a student hilariously tries to explain the concert. Here it is: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch9luhrurFj/?img_index=2
On the page with the photos on the top left you can easily see my brother and I in the crowd. Also the bottom left photo caption incorrectly identifies Page Hamilton as a member of Faith No More. Hahahaha.
I listened to this album OBSESSIVELY -- literally EVERY. SINGLE. DAY for 18 months straight. It's been in a neck-a-neck pole position with 2 other albums (Ritual De Lo Habitual and Badmotorfinger) for my all-time favorite for 30 years.
i LOVE the way the band expanded on its sound, and I find the production utterly mesmerizing. Those guitars to me sound like waterfalls of distortion -- like when you look at a waterfall and there's all this mist and color just kind of glimmering in the air. It's heavy as hell but there's so much TEXTURE and grain in those guitars.
Of course it doesn't hurt that I was high as a kite at that time in my life but this record is permanently etched into my brain grooves. And I'm all the better for it. I was listening to Miles Davis and The Meters and Phish and all kinds of other stuff too. What an exciting, wonderful time that was to be alive and in your early 20s just soaking it all in like a sponge.
Thank you so much for this interview and you are correct that John Stanier's drum are such an integral part of the early Helmet sound! The tidbit about layering of the 808s and 909s feels like a mystery being solved! Also, he needs to be paid for the I Know drums because that to me is iconically-Helmet.
This was fantastic to read, thank you for this!! I took my soon-to-be 14 year old to see them tonight in Charleston. He wasn’t familiar with Helmet but has been playing guitar for about a year now. He’s the same age I was when I first heard them. Of course, I’ve seen them a bunch over the years and knew what was in store for him. We were lucky enough to watch the show from the very front and, needless to say, his mind was absolutely blown. They handed him the set list, a drum stick and I took him back and got him a Betty shirt. He’s never shown interest in playing drums but on the way home he asked if I would start teaching him tomorrow. Anyways - reading your interview with Stanier just now absolutely capped an epic night that I and especially my son, will never forget.
I honestly did not dig Betty when it first dropped. After Meantime, it just didn't meet my expectations although the bar was set pretty high with the last 2 records. Over time it grew on me and I began to notice the really awesome production and the crispness of the recording. The guitars and drums foremost. I noticed John went back to his Strap It On snare sound which was cool but it was the kick sound that really blew me away. Now I know why lol. Great interview.
I honestly cannot believe you got Stanier to talk about Helmet in any capacity…but to go this deep on the drum parts is just unbelievable. Betty is my favorite record of all time. I’ve played along to it more than any record and you brought up subtitles in the drum parts that I thought I was the only person who had examined the songs like this. He’s so psyched that someone truly got the magic of Betty and his enthusiasm really comes through. This interview is such an incredible gem and I can never thank you enough for it.
Like the Andy who commented before me, I’m another Andy who has totally geeked out, alone, over John Stanier’s drumming for decades and never imagined someone would get the drummer himself to indulge us. This was absolutely top notch.
Dude, thank you so much. Feels great to know there’s somebody else who acknowledges the essence of what Stanier accomplished on Betty the very same way. AND you also managed to talk about it with the man himself. Great job! Gun to my head - I would pick Betty as the pinnacle of rock music.
Betty and John’s drumming on it were also influential to me (in the 90s). I saw them on the Betty tour and a bunch of us talked to the band after the showing. I told him I loved his grooves and he said nothing, looked right at me, and blew smoke in my face!
Right after a set here in San Francisco, I went up to John and asked him when's the new record gonna come out. This was roughly around 91 before they signed to a major. He just looked at me and walked away but immediately came back and said he didn't know lol. Page will talk your ears off though.
Oh, man....Helmet (and Betty specifically) changed my life and my drumming for sure! I was so excited when I saw this come up in my inbox this morning. Even after following articles and interviews with John Stanier for 30 years I've never seen such an in-depth look at Betty. This is incredible.
Like you, I still occasionally put on the headphones and play along to Betty. Still trying to nail some of the weird fills and odd timings. On many occasions I just play the intro to "I Know" as a warm-up because it's just so tattooed in my brain at this point.
Betty is just an incredible record that Helmet / Page Hamilton never came close to achieving again. Everything from the incredible songs to the bonkers left-turns and the in-your-face production (especially the drums) are beyond reproach. The pinnacle of 90s alt-rock in my opinion.
As an aside I saw Helmet open for Faith No More in 1992 when they played at Western Illinois University. Both bands brought their A-game that night. Bands like that rarely played in that tiny college town so it was even covered in the school yearbook! In it a student hilariously tries to explain the concert. Here it is: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch9luhrurFj/?img_index=2
On the page with the photos on the top left you can easily see my brother and I in the crowd. Also the bottom left photo caption incorrectly identifies Page Hamilton as a member of Faith No More. Hahahaha.
I listened to this album OBSESSIVELY -- literally EVERY. SINGLE. DAY for 18 months straight. It's been in a neck-a-neck pole position with 2 other albums (Ritual De Lo Habitual and Badmotorfinger) for my all-time favorite for 30 years.
i LOVE the way the band expanded on its sound, and I find the production utterly mesmerizing. Those guitars to me sound like waterfalls of distortion -- like when you look at a waterfall and there's all this mist and color just kind of glimmering in the air. It's heavy as hell but there's so much TEXTURE and grain in those guitars.
Of course it doesn't hurt that I was high as a kite at that time in my life but this record is permanently etched into my brain grooves. And I'm all the better for it. I was listening to Miles Davis and The Meters and Phish and all kinds of other stuff too. What an exciting, wonderful time that was to be alive and in your early 20s just soaking it all in like a sponge.
Thank you so much for this interview and you are correct that John Stanier's drum are such an integral part of the early Helmet sound! The tidbit about layering of the 808s and 909s feels like a mystery being solved! Also, he needs to be paid for the I Know drums because that to me is iconically-Helmet.
This was fantastic to read, thank you for this!! I took my soon-to-be 14 year old to see them tonight in Charleston. He wasn’t familiar with Helmet but has been playing guitar for about a year now. He’s the same age I was when I first heard them. Of course, I’ve seen them a bunch over the years and knew what was in store for him. We were lucky enough to watch the show from the very front and, needless to say, his mind was absolutely blown. They handed him the set list, a drum stick and I took him back and got him a Betty shirt. He’s never shown interest in playing drums but on the way home he asked if I would start teaching him tomorrow. Anyways - reading your interview with Stanier just now absolutely capped an epic night that I and especially my son, will never forget.
I honestly did not dig Betty when it first dropped. After Meantime, it just didn't meet my expectations although the bar was set pretty high with the last 2 records. Over time it grew on me and I began to notice the really awesome production and the crispness of the recording. The guitars and drums foremost. I noticed John went back to his Strap It On snare sound which was cool but it was the kick sound that really blew me away. Now I know why lol. Great interview.
Great interview! It would've been really cool if you talked about the bonus tracks, which are really awesome as well!
Haven't really listened to Helmet, but now I will