Continued from part one of the LA2DAY exclusive with Portland duo The Helio Sequence at their show at the Echoplex on June 12th...

Brandon, did you do a lot of writing while Benjamin was playing with Modest Mouse?

Brandon: Well, that’s when I started playing by myself more.

Benjamin: The thing is, every tour I did with Modest Mouse, we did together

Brandon: By the time we started writing for Keep Your Eyes Ahead, the whole Modest Mouse thing was done.

Benjamin, was it difficult for you to play two sets in one night?

Benjamin: No, not at all. It is harder to do what we’re doing right now actually, with loading our own gear and having to think about driving and where we’re sleeping and selling our merch.

Brandon: Whereas on that tour, there were roadies and people handling our gear. It was really, cushy.

But I’m sure there’s more satisfaction knowing that this is your tour, people are here to see you.

Both: Oh yeah yeah yeah., of course, that’s why we do it.

Tell me a bit about the trajectory of your career, and how you came to be a recognized act

Brandon: We started a long time ago. In 1999 we put out our first self-recorded EP. I was 19 at the time. We got into this show called North by Northwest, which was sort of the pacific northwest version of South by Southwest. It wasn’t a big deal at all, really. For some reason, we were having a really hard time getting people to notice us and then we had this amazing show at North by Northwest.

Benjamin: It was weird because, Portland was in limbo at that point. All the old grunge guys were still working the clubs and there just wasn’t any way for anything new to come along. So we play this North by Northwest show, which was a surprise, and we ended up being the critic’s pick for every local paper.

Brandon: We were really young at that point. I couldn’t even stay in the bars after we played. There would be big black X’s on my hand. At that point, we got a record deal with Cavity Search and got to play a lot more often and open for bigger bands. It all just sort of went forward from there.

A question that I always like to ask bands is, what do you think of filesharing?

Benjamin: I feel like, if you as a person have tons of money, then go and buy some records. If you don’t, then I think you should still have access to art.

Brandon: I’ve had a lot of people burn cd’s for me, but my rule of thumb is that if I like it, I buy it. A lot of people have come up to me and say that they have all of our records, but they never bought any of them. It’s weird, y’know, you hope that they come to shows or something.

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The impression that I got from the interview was that The Helio Sequence were a band that responded to their indie success, and the troubles that come with it, by becoming more professional about their craft. Their performance seemed to echo this. They were good, really good, actually. Their on-stage representations seemed calculated, like they had done it hundreds of times before and knew exactly what they were doing. And to be honest, they had and they did. The Los Angeles show was deep into their tour schedule, and to maintain the level of performances, the band has had to cut out the frills of touring. No drinking, no late nights. When you’re not the new-buzz band anymore, you can’t rely on hype to get you through your career and you have to be prepared to deliver night after night.
The crowd was enthusiastic and ample, if not a little too polite. The age-old adage abut the Helio Sequence still stands: They sure do make a lot of sound for just two guys. Weikert’s drumming is punctuated by his unique style. He is powerful and precise, the entire time his face bearing an expression of sheer ecstasy and glee. Summers is different, the composed front-man who handles the majority of tonal musicality and atmosphere with his guitar while providing crisp vocals at the same time. The songs from the new album come off really well live and they managed to squeeze in a couple of favorites from Love and Distance as well. A surprise was Summers’ performance of ‘Broken Afternoon,’ a Dylan-esque acoustic number entirely indicative of his recuperation period, nurturing his voice back by finger-picking Dylan numbers. It’s a beautiful song, both the musical technicality, vocal performance and songwriting are really solid. I guess that’s the best term to use while describing The Helio Sequence: solid. They have their own style, they continue to develop it further, and they have learned to treat their art as a craft and not just a joyride. I think it’s this type of mindset that allows a band to move forward and create their best material.

Click here to read part I of the interview!!