Friday, January 30, 2009

For those who care about the Super Bowl as much as we do

...which is not at all, we're playing our first-ever early show this Sunday, February 1st at the Sunset Tavern.  We hit the stage at 7:00 PM.  So, even if you do care about that homoerotic costume party, you still have time to go to that Super Bowl party, overeat, mooch some beer, watch The Boss, and get over to the Sunset to catch the new jams we've brewed up for you.

What's more, this is our TOUR KICK-OFF SHOW!  Yes, Hellgate is hitting the road again, this time on a two and a half week mission towards the sunshine.  We'd love to see all your pretty pale faces before we jet town to work on our driving tans.

Where exactly are we going on tour?  Check it!

Thursday, February 5th, East End, Portland,OR
Friday, February 6th at Luckey's, Eugene, OR 
Saturday, February 7th at Lil Red Lion, Eureka, CA
Tuesday, February 10th at The Hemlock, San Franscico, CA 
Wednesday, February 11th at The Redwood Bar, Los Angeles, CA 
Thurdsay, February 12th at Bar Pink, San Diego, CA
Friday, February 13th at the Dry River Collective (all ages), Tuscon, AZ
Saturday, February 14th at Warehouse 21 (all ages), Santa Fe, NM
Sunday, February15th, Atomic Cantina, Albuquerque, NM
Tuesday, February17th, Ruby Room, Phoenix, AZ
Thursday, February 19th at Beauty Bar, Las Vegas, NV
Friday, February 20th, Knucklehead's, Reno, NV
Saturday, February 21st, Kennel Club, Sacramento, CA

Monday, January 19, 2009

A week of celebrating great men

We don't half-ass things over here at H Is for Hellgate. This week is jam-packed with awesomes. Check it.

#1 - Tuesday, January 20th at Chop Suey - Three Imaginary Girls Inauguration Celebration.

We're headlining this fantastic show with a stellar line-up. In honor of our 44th president, we're going to play two new songs, "White Knife" and "If Somebody Nails You To A Cross (You Don't Have Much Choice)," neither of which have anything to do with Barack Obama, inaugurations, or politics.




#2 - Saturday, January 24th at Skylark Cafe - Second Annual Ben Baier Appreciation Night

If you were at last year's Ben Baier Appreciation Night, you may remember the "Hooray" Shirts, the giant "Hooray" lighted sign, or the non-stop yelling of the word "Hooray" by everyone in the building.
Nobody can argue that Ben "Hooray" Baier brought the word hooray into our collective vocabulary and consciousness. And, while there are haters of The Hooray, one man stands unshaken by opposition. He throws back is head, breathes in the air, and releases the air back into the world on a magical blanket of joy and merriment..."HOORAY!"
Ben plays with Hellgate at 9PM and We Wrote The Book On Connectors at 11PM. Our friends The Dead Americans from Eugene play at 10PM

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

February Tour + RPM Challenge = Insanity

We're going on tour in February. Maybe you already know this. What you may not know is what the RPM Challenge is all about. Get the full low-down at the RPM site.

Basically, musicians are given the "challenge" to write and record a full album - 10 songs or 35 minutes worth of music - in the 28 days that is February. It's voluntary and it's just for fun. I entered last year and got eight minutes of a mini-suite finished before being consumed by other things. Thus, I failed. When I received the email this year from the RPM folks reminding me to sign up again, I thought, "Well crap. Hellgate will be on tour during February. Wait....."

And then I emailed Ben my crazy idea. And Ben said, "I'm totally down." And Jon doesn't have a choice. Sorry Jon. We're going to write and record an album IN THE VAN while we are on tour in February.

Now, if you know anything about how music is made (it's not delivered by magical unicorn storks, BTW) you know that playing music and recording in a moving vehicle might be difficult. This is true. But, we believe it will add to the creativity and fun.

So, keep your eyes peeled on our blog during February as well be posting song samples and video of our album making process. If it's any good, we'll put it up on iTunes. If it sucks, you'll have to get us drunk and we'll burn you a CD-R.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

We’re among the "Best Of..." (in some minds)

The votes are in. The people have spoken. The critics and journalists have written. 2008 has been wrapped up and, in the end, some folks ended up liking us. We generally don't aim to please, but we're sure happy when we do!


Three Imaginary Girls - Best of 2008: Top Northwest Releases of 2008 TIG Editorial Picks


25. The Nextdoor Neighbors - Magic Vs The Machine {live show review}
24. The Dead Science - Villanaire {
album review}
23. H is for Hellgate - Come for the peaks stay for the valleys {
info}
22. Kay Kay and His Weathered Underdround - Kay Kay and His Weathered Underdround {
live show review}
21. BOAT - Topps EP {
live show review}
20. LoveLand - The Beautiful Truth {
info}
19. Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees {
album review}
18. Common Market - Black Patch War {
album review}
17. Chris Walla - Field Manual {
album review}
16. Hey Marseilles - To Travels and Trunks {
live show review}
15. Jared Mees and the Grown Children - Caffeine, Alchohol, Sunshine, Money {
album review}
14. Grand Archives - Grand Archives {
album review}
13. Man Plus - Hungarian Suicide Songbook {
album review}
12. Wallpaper - On The Chewing Gum Ground
11. (TIE) Young Sportsmen - If You Want It {
album review}
11. (TIE) Doll Test - Mosque Alarm Clock
10. The Pica Beats - Beating Back the Claws of the Cold {
info}
9. Team Gina - Products of the 80s {
album review}
8. The Kindness Kind - The Kindness Kind {
info}
7. The Pharmacy - Choose Ur Own Adventure {
info}
6. Throw Me The Statue - Moonbeams {
album review}
5. Dutchess and the Duke - She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke {
live show review}
4. The Old Haunts - Poisonous Times {
live show review}
3. All Girl Summer Fun Band - Looking Into It {
live show review}
2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes {
album review}
1. The Saturday Knights - Mingle {
album review}


NadaMucho.com - 2008 Year in Review: Klepac on the Best Seattle Albums of 2008


16. Helms Alee - Night Terror (Hydra Head)
15. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop)
14. The Pica Beats – Beating Back the Claws of the Cold (Hardly Art)
13. The Apple War – Alarm Bell City
12. At The Spine – Vida
11. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs (Atlantic / Barsuk)
10. The Hands – The Hands
9. Common Market – Tobacco Road (Massline Media)
8. The Riffbrokers – Weight of Line and Intersection (Unsmashable)
7. The Moondoggies – Don't Be A Stranger (Hardly Art)
6. H is for Hellgate - Come For the Peaks, Stay For the Valleys (Scissor City)
5. These Arms Are Snakes – Tail Swallower and Dove (Suicide Squeeze)
4. Half Light - Sleep More, Take More Drugs, Do Whatever We Want
3. Jake One - White Van Music (Rhymesayers)
2. The Whore Moans – Hello From the Radio Wasteland! (Mt. Fuji)
1. Head Like a Kite – There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere (Mush)


Seattle P.I. Ear Candy Blog - 10 favorite songs by Seattle artists in 2008:


  • The Saturday Knights, "Dog Park": A fun, playful song by a fun, playful band
  • Fleet Foxes, "White Winter Hymnal": This song alone justifies why Fleet Foxes are on so many best-of lists
  • The Moondoggies, "Changing": Excellent roots rock from a band some consider to be Seattle's next big thing
  • Team Gina, "Wife Swapping": A humorous song about the nature of the lesbian dating scene
  • Common Market, "Trouble Is": Rapper Ra Scion and his DJ partner in crime Sabzi at their finest
  • Brent Amaker and the Rodeo, "I'm The Man Who Writes the Country Hits": Fun, unadulterated honky-tonk music
  • SHIM, "Animal": A sexed-up love song with a Foghat-meets-Wolfmother vibe
  • Jake One, "Trap Door": The pairing of Jake One with MF Doom is one of the many highlights on an amazing album
  • Dyme Def, "Brain's Theme": Definitely the best, if not the first, song to sample the "Pinky and the Brain" theme
  • H is For Hellgate, "Copernicus and Me": Progressive rock from a band on the rise

    Three Imaginary Girls - Estey's "most played on the iPod 2008" list


    John Spalding's LoveLand, "Give Me Grace"
    John Spalding's LoveLand, "Father"
    Parenthetical Girls, "Young Eucharists"
    Parenthetical Girls, "Song For Elle Greenwich"
    H Is For Hellgate, "Blood"
    H Is For Hellgate, "Pretty, Pretty Princess"
    The Saturday Knights, "Dog Park"
    The Saturday Knights, "Mutt"
    The Saturday Knights, "Count It Off"
    Damien Jurado, "Coats of Ice"
    Damien Jurado, "Sheets"
    Conrad Ford, "Vampires"
    Conrad Ford, "Sinner Street"
    Cancer Rising, "Let's Start Some Shit"
    Cancer Rising, "Perseverance"
    See Me River, "Wake Up Are You Wasted"
    See Me River, "Don't Pray For Blood"
    Saeta, "When Will You Find Love"
    Saeta, "Promise Me Still"
    Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power, "Little Fucker"
    Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power, "The Mad Passion of the Stoic"
    Transmissionary Six, "I Want To Deprogram You"
    Transmissionary Six, "Edison Stare"
    The Dead Science, "Make Mine Marvel!"
    Baskervilles, "A Little More Time"
    Palodine, "Woman Of Cain"
    Bearsuit, "Foxy Boxer"
    Amadan, "Anchor Tattoo"
    Run On Sentence, "The Afterlife, Pt. 1"
    Blitzen Trapper, "God & Suicide"
    Mono in VCF, "Escape City Scrapers"
    Viarosa, "The Old Walls"
    Gary Murray, "She's Electric"
    Everett True & The Young Liberals, "We Invented 'The Street'"
    Mt. Eerie, "Voice In Headphones"
    XX Teens, "Round"


    We're honored to be among so many other great but watch the hell out - we have some serious shit brewing for 2009, people.