It’s been years since I’ve tortured a defenseless, undersized piece
of vinyl with the same remorseless vigor I have the new Unrequited
Like seven-inch by Don Hellions, subjecting it to relentless
turntable rotations that will inevitably wear out its fragile little
grooves. Don Hellions are Portland’s princes of lounge-laced punk ‘n’
roll, a comet of excited desperation propelled by songwriter Chris
Hoganson’s organ and vocals, his brother Thomas’ saxophone, and drummer
Vinh Nguyen’s trapkit. I spoke with Chris on the occasion of Don
Hellions’ release show for Unrequited Like, a terrific record
that melts down the ore of Hüsker Dü, Mudhoney, Van Morrison,
and Rollerball, and builds something urgently new in less than 10
minutes.
When did Don Hellions form, and what were the
circumstances?
Don Hellions was originally a 10-saxophone, drums, and shouting band
that only existed on four-track recordings. We turned into an actual
band around May of last year. After recording the original songs it
occurred to me that it’s practically impossible to get 10 saxophones
together to play live. So I figured that an organ playing nine lines
and one saxophone playing the main one would make for a pretty
reasonable translation. I think our songwriting is pretty traditional;
we just use different instruments.
What is your songwriting process like?
To be honest, I usually just drink as much as I can, hit “record,”
and start smashing keys down while shouting at the top of my lungs.
When I wake up the next day I’ll usually edit my lyrics and add a few
parts. If Thomas and Vinh like the song, we start playing it, and if
they don’t I put it into my dresser.
You and Thomas live at and help run what has been one of the most
important and active unofficial community music venues in Portland over
the past few years—Dekum Manor—and Don Hellions has served
as something like the house band there. How has running a DIY show
space affected Don Hellions as a band?
We try not to play there too much. It feels a little tacky like,
“Hey, do you guys wanna come over and watch my band play?” If it’s
somebody we really like, or a friend’s band from out of town, we’ll
play there, but for the most part we’ve been looking to play new
places.
Where did the name Don Hellions come from, anyhow? I picture an
effete Spanish demon.
That is precisely where it came from. No, it actually came from this
really quiet, mild-mannered regular at the bar where I work, the County
Cork. I was talking to him about trying to think of a band name when he
said, “You know, I’ve only ever thought of one, and you can have it if
you want… it’s THE FUCKING HELLIONS.” It was amazing. I was totally
caught off guard. I really liked the name but it seemed a little over
the top, so I decided to use his first name “Don” instead of
“fucking.”
Don Hellions release the Unrequited Like seven-inch on
Sat, July 11 at Backspace, 115 NW 5th, 8 pm, $3, all ages.