Helms tomorrow at the Middle East

"With all the lame revivals flinging past my head like so many turds from so many slingshots, it's easy to forget that there are still highly innovative bands around-which is to say, I just heard Secret Doors, the new Helms album." Michael Brodeur, The Weekly Dig

Helms will be playing tomorrow, Tuesday, 9-25 at the Middle East Upstairs. I've been told it's a CD release for the always interesting Tulsa (and I don't think I'm being lied to.)



(Also, I agree with the YouTube commenter who was calling for more Helms videos to get put online. Someone do this! I'll give you free stuff.)

HMR dominance of the mainstream media continues

Adam Arrigo---who somehow finds time to make really good music when he's not holding Boston's rock scene together with his bare hands---put together a feature about History Major Records for the magazine he edits, Northeast Performer.

























It's a great, content-heavy publication geared towards indie musician types. Plus, it's free, so you really have no rationale for not grabbing it every month.

Here's a slightly diagonal scan of the thing about us:



Thank to the good people at Performer Mag for including us.

An even better reason to buy from us

Helms is playing two benefit shows in the near future. One is for Mona Elliott, who is probably best known from Victory at Sea, and who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. The other is for Callum Robbins, the son of Jawbox legend J. Robbins, who was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a truly horrible disease.



History Major Records is attempting to help in our small way by donating 100% of sales from HMRstore.com in the month of June to these two causes. Again, every cent of every purchase on any item in the store will be donated.

--

Both shows will be at P.A.'s Lounge in Somerville, Massachusetts.

The benefit for Mona Elliott will be on Saturday, June 16 and will feature Helms, Black Helicopter, Seana Carmody, and Vox Humana (Vic Lazar of Knife Crazy.) 18+, 8:30PM, $10.

The benefit for Cal Robbins will be on Friday, July 13 and will feature Helms, Neptune, Thalia Zedek Band, and Chris Brokaw and Geoff Farina. 18+, 8:30PM, $10.

Attend a show, buy something from us: either way you can enjoy great music and help two incredibly deserving individuals. Thanks in advance.
-----------HMR

Helms Metro Boston Tour 2007

If you're like me, you're probably thinking: I live in greater Boston, and I want to see Helms play, but I don't like to leave my neighborhood.

Well, you're in luck: the (unofficial) Helms Metro Boston Tour 2007 is upon us.

On Saturday, May 5th, Helms will be in Cambridge at the Middle East Upstairs with Viva Viva, Tulsa, and Wonderful Spells. On June 8th they'll be close to home in Jamaica Plain at the Milky Way with Major Stars and UV Protection. In June 16th they'll be in Somerville for a benefit concert at PA's Lounge with Black Helicopter and Seana Carmody. Finally, on July 13th, it'll end where it all began--in Cambridge, with a show at T.T.'s with Neptune.

(Did I go overboard with the hyperlinks?)



I should get some (unofficial) tour shirts made.

Go see Helms, they're incredible live. And you can buy their latest album on vinyl at HMRstore.com.

Upcoming shows! Yeah!

ReCaaLL:
May 15: Bulfinch Yacht Club, Boston MA--with X-product and B.O.S., also featuring Twan Beautiful, J.D.O., Supreme 1, Shivaa, The Mandarin--Doors @ 830, 21+, $6
FLYER HERE.

Helms:
May 5: Middle East, Cambridge MA--with Viva Viva, Tulsa, Wonderful Spells
June 8: Milky Way, Jamaica Plain, MA--with Major Stars and UV Protection
Jun 16: A benefit for Mona Elliott at PA's Lounge, Somerville, MA--with Black Helicopter and Seana Carmody
July 13: A benefit for Callum Robbins at TT the Bear's, Cambridge, MA: with Neptune

Bedford Academy:
May 5: Club Aurora, Taunton, MA
May 18: Bridge Street Station, Fairhaven, MA

This Flood Covers the Earth:
May 27: Superhausen!, Albuquerque, NM
May 28: Absolute Zero, Clovis, NM
May 30: Blue Seven, Oklahoma City, OK
June 5: the Casbah, Ottumwa, IA
June 6: the Chatterbox, Lincoln, NE
June 7: Three Kings Tavern, Denver, CO
June 12: Ground Kontrol, Portland, OR
July 4: Casa De La Nueve, Tijuana, Baja California
July 5: the Che Cafe, San Diego, CA
July 7: Fest Fest!, Albuquerque, NM
July 9: Red Seven, Austin, TX
July 10: Super Happy Fun Land, Houston, TX
July 11: Green Project Art Space, New Orleans, LA
July 12: the Cell Block, Mobile, AL
July 14: Tampa Punk House, Tampa, FL
July 16: I Can Fly House, Atlanta, GA
July 17: the Spazzatorium, Greenville, NC
Aug 1: the Tree House, Auburn Hills, MI
Aug 19: The Che Cafe, San Diego, CA
(Make friends with the band... help Flood book the rest of this tour)

We love you all.

Watch ReCaaLL from the safety of your computer

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Helms show in Allston. People seemed to really like the vinyl (an extra special thank you to the guy who bought three copies.) We're now completely out of the ultra-limited edition hand-numbered long players.

We do still have copies of "Secret Doors" on blue vinyl at the store for $12 (U.S. shipping included.) If you want the album on CD, you can buy it at Plants and Brains.


In other news, our homey Ryan at Rojhelio Productions made a music video for ReCaaLL. Enjoy:

Helms LP out now!

This format was built for Helms.

There's no need to rehash every vinyl junkie's ten thousand reasons why an album sounds better on wax, but "Secret Doors" is even warmer and bigger here.

Plus, Dan McCarthy's cover artwork finally has a chance to explore twelve by twelve inches of space. Like Raymond Pettibon with Black Flag, it's hard to imagine Helms without Dan's aesthetics--and this LP makes that clearer than ever. (In his spare time, he's also quite the drummer.)

It's really cool that Boston's best band is also its friendliest. We couldn't be happier to have worked on this project with Helms.

"Secret Doors" is now available on luxurious light blue vinyl at HMRstore.com!

The vinyl will also be available at their show tonight at Great Scott in Allston, with Tiny Amps, BA-NA-NAs, and Mel Lederman. 9 p.m., 9 dollars, 18+.

We agree

"With the release of Secret Doors, it has never been clearer that Helms is, and has been for a long time now, one of the most important — if not the most important — bands on the Boston scene, and they have always occupied that role with quiet humility. On some frequencies, one could dub them 'the best kept secret' of post-rock; although, after attending any sold-out Helms show, or talking to any of their intensely devoted followers, Helms doesn’t feel like a secret."--Northeast Performer

More on Helms in the Dig and the Phoenix.

LP edition of the album out on Thursday!

Bedford and ReCaaLL available now...

New albums from Bedford Academy and ReCaaLL are available now at HMRstore.com. Helms' "Secret Doors" LP is available on humanity-reassuring blue vinyl starting Thursday, March 22. The release show will be at Great Scott in Allston.

Soon we'll have the new videos of B.A. and ReCaaLL ready for your viewing pleasure.