Pre-Occupied with 1985, Part 8 - The Fan Clubs - Gimme an R!

Hello, Younglings!

More from The Writing Tub! Another integral part of that time.

In 1985, Christine and I pooled our money and joined Helix's fan club. It was really pretty cool and we got newsletters once a month. I wrote to them exclusively about how she and I just loved the band and how I wanted to run off to Canada to become a rock star.

Yeah, that is as dumb as it sounds. (I didn't actually go to Canada until Poppa Don and I were returning from Spain via AirCanada and had to stop in Toronto (at YYZ!!) and change planes. That was in 2019. I visited again in September of that year when I was at a workshop in Detroit and took the bus over to Windsor for about 20 minutes. I was just going to hop into a pub and have a drink but...I was on foot, it started raining, I forgot I wouldn't have phone service over there, so I hightailed it back across the lake as soon as I found the bus station. The border office people were not super-friendly. So I guess that thing about Canadians being friendly is a myth.)

Eh? 

I'll go back sometime when I'm more prepared.

Anyway, Helilx's fan club "person" wrote me back personally, a letter dated July 16, 1986, and it had a wealth of insight for a 17-year-old wanna-be bass-playing superstar.

Feel free to zoom in and read it. "Jackie B" of Promotions said, "Being a musician is a very tough life." She also recommended to have an education to fall back on. Should I study music? 

Well, I kinda already had that one figured out, but I found this piece of advice very interesting.

I finally got to see Helix at Rocklahoma in 2009. I took this letter with me and got in to the Meet & Greet right after their set. Of the original members, Brian Vollmer (lead vocals) was there, (I spoke to him briefly), and Brent Doerner, their former guitar player was with them for that show, though he hadn't played in a while. I'm pretty sure Fritz Hinz (RIP) was drumming. The bassist and the other guitar player were guys I didn't know, but they made a comment about the date on the letter, as in like, "Wow, that's old." 

Everyone autographed it, and it was fun talking to Brent because he was complaining how hot it was. "It was so hot I had to lie down on the floor of the green room, man!" And I'm like, "Dude, it's Pryor, Oklahoma in the middle of July." He was hilarious.

By the way, he reacted to my Ozzy tribute video. He's been a Facebook friend of mine for years and always wishes me a Happy Birthday. Has for several years now. Christine would get such a kick out of that because he was her favorite.

And here is the autographed photo we got direct from the fan club right after we joined, during the Long Way to Heaven days. It's too bad they weren't more popular in the U.S. because they were really a good band. The only big song they had in the States was "Rock You."

That membership only lasted a year, and we didn't renew it after we went to HSU. Interestingly enough, when they released the Back For Another Taste album, they sent me a flyer for it. They obviously still had my address (or Mom & Dad's P.O. Box LOL). That was in 1990. I didn't buy that album until years later when I found a used CD on Amazon. It's not available on streaming so that's a bummer. It was some of their best stuff.

In 1992, guitarist Paul Hackman, my "Number #1 Metal Man" in those early years, died from internal injuries after their touring van ran off the road after a July 4th gig in Vancouver. He was only 38.  

I still follow the band on social media and they stay pretty busy. They're currently working on some re-issues of their earliest albums plus working on new stuff, and still rolling on the road.

So... Gimme an R!!