Scott Helland
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Scott Helland is an American
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
musician, acoustic guitarist, bassist and songwriter. A founding member of the groups
Deep Wound Deep Wound was an American hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Westfield, Massachusetts. They released one self-titled 7" and contributed two songs to the compilation LP, '' Bands That Could Be God'', both of which are sought after by fans and re ...
,
Outpatients A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ca ...
, and
Frenchy and the Punk Frenchy and the Punk are a Euro-American Acoustic Alternative post-punk cabaret duo based in New York City. They were listed in the top 25 duos in May 2012 by Yahoo Music Blog's List of the Day. Punk guitarist Scott Helland, originally from the b ...
. He also performs instrumental music as Guitarmy of One. Helland was born in
Centralia, Illinois Centralia is a city in Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Illinois with the largest portion in Marion County. The city is the largest in three of the counties; Clinton, Marion, and Washington, but is not a co ...
and raised in Westfield, Massachusetts.


Career

Helland attended high school in Westfield, where he met
Lou Barlow Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock mus ...
. The two formed the Massachusetts-based
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
band Deep Wound in 1982.
J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo arti ...
joined the band after answering their ad for a "drummer wanted to play really fast". While playing bass guitar in Deep Wound, Helland formed Outpatients with brother Vis Helland in 1982 and released ''The Basement Tape'' in 1983. The Outpatients were also part of the Western mass hardcore scene and shared the stage with bands like
Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...
,
Battalion of Saints Battalion of Saints was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, that was founded in 1980. The band went through numerous lineup changes before touring the United States and Canada from 1984–1985 with George Anthony, Chris ...
, Crucifix, The FU's and GBH. Deep Wound broke up in 1984 and "Scott... went in the Outpatients full time." The Outpatients toured the East Coast of the US, Canada and Argentina throughout their 13-year career and disbanded in 1995. Helland released seven albums under his own name beginning with the experimental Hellbox Mood Rings CD in 1996. In 2000, he released an ambient/instrumental/new age CD called ''Space Age Tranceology'' "and made the striking transition to atmospheric soundtracks." In the same year he composed music for the film ''Riders''. Songs from his 2002 CD release, ''Earthbound'', were played on the syndicated radio program Echoes. In 2006, he released the all acoustic 12 song ''Catapult'' album with his tribute to the BBC series of the same name '' Monarch of the Glen''. He formed Scott Helland and the Traveling Band of Gypsy Nomads in 2005 with French-born singer and percussionist Samantha Stephenson, which later became Frenchy and the Punk. In 2004, Helland reunited with his old Deep Wound bandmates for a song at the John M Greene Hall in
Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...
. In June 2013 they reunited, to perform the song "Training Ground" at the Governor's Ball in New York City. More recently Helland and his bandmates played together in 2018 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts when the other half of Deep Wound, J Mascis and Lou Barlow's band Dinosaur jr were opening for the Foo Fighters. In 2014 his duo
Frenchy and the Punk Frenchy and the Punk are a Euro-American Acoustic Alternative post-punk cabaret duo based in New York City. They were listed in the top 25 duos in May 2012 by Yahoo Music Blog's List of the Day. Punk guitarist Scott Helland, originally from the b ...
performed at Scotland's prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Fest. In 2016 he released a book of his pen and ink drawings titled ''Feast''. "Helland’s pagan-organic lines recall the gothic style of Aubrey Beardsley, as well as those of punk pen wielders like Savage Pencil, Nick Blinko, and Raymond Pettibon." Helland returned to the instrumental rock world with his ''Never End the Rocket Century'' record in 2017. Intended as a multicultural mashup of the classic Ramones albums Rocket to Russia and End of the Century, his acoustic (guitar) has the propulsive drive of punk rock, but his riffs resonate with sounds ranging from Krautrock to flamenco and spaghetti western pastiche. Helland has released 6 videos from the album including the title track, 'Never End the Rocket Century', in which he donned a space suit and walked around Los Angeles. In January 2019 Helland and Stephenson's cabaret rock duo Frenchy and the Punk released a video for the song ''Lanky Bell Bottoms'' from their forth-coming album ''Hooray Beret''. Helland released the all instrumental spy themed album 'The Spy Detective Collective' in 2021. The music journalist Justin Vellucci from Pop Matters says "Helland has tapped into something interesting and, dare we say magical on The Spy Detective Collective."


Discography

See also
Deep Wound Deep Wound was an American hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Westfield, Massachusetts. They released one self-titled 7" and contributed two songs to the compilation LP, '' Bands That Could Be God'', both of which are sought after by fans and re ...


Albums


Featured in compilations

*''Bands That Could Be God LP'' (1984 – Deep Wound and Outpatients) *''Flipside Vinyl Fanzine Vol 2 LP'' (1985 – Outpatients) *''Guillotined at the Hangar: Shielded by Death, Vol. 2'' (2002 – Outpatients)


References


External links


Scott Helland's website

Official Frenchy and the Punk website

Scott Helland and Frenchy and the Punk

Interview with Scott Helland and Frenchy and the Punk October 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helland, Scott American rock guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from Massachusetts Living people 1967 births 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians