"HELLA BIGGER!" published January 2007, Zero Magazine

For a band, a drastic change can prove to be either a catapult or a death sentence. From Dylan going electric to Hagar’s induction into Van Halen, we’ve witnessed the results of reinvention. One more that we can put in the column of good decisions is the new face of Hella. What was once a renowned power-duo, made up of Zach Hill (drums) and Spencer Seim (guitar), has successfully transformed into a full line-up with the recruitment of Carson McWhirter (bass), Josh Hill (guitar), and Aaron Ross (vocals).

Hella’s latest album, There’s No 666 In Outer Space, and first release for Mike Patton’s Ipecac Recordings is a refined version of the band’s special brand of chaos. The incorporation of the traditional band model makes Hella all the more accessible which is large in part due to new members. One of which is bassist Carson McWhirter.

“A few of the songs that are on the newest record, we had kind of started to write five years ago…all of us had done projects together a lot over the years,” says McWhirter. “We’ve all wanted to get together and do this band but for different scheduling reasons…stuff didn’t quite work out until now.”

Drummer Zach Hill is nothing but excited and optimistic of Hella’s new direction. “It’s a full spectrum of what we’ve always wanted to achieve,” says Hill. “If you took the primitive state of our sound as two people…it has naturally morphed into how we originally envisioned our band in the first place.”

Yet, as a duo, Hella received a solid buzz about their sound, perhaps at times because they were a duo that produced that amount of sound. Why fix what wasn’t broken? “We always planned on having a full group and it was kind of a happy accident that people liked what we did as two people but we always, in the back of our heads, toyed with the idea of adding people,” says Hill. Possibly one of the more dramatic changes to the band is the inclusion of a solid vocalist. Nevada City’s Aaron Ross, a long-time friend of Hill’s, has taken this roll.

“We were always really curious as to what he would sound like if he were put into the same environment as us, so we gave it a shot,” says Hill. “There’s just another color, now, in that spectrum. I think he adds a heaviness to it, maybe a level of fantasy to things which I personally am really into.”

Hill gushes further. “He just sings straight up. Like old school style. It’s just how he naturally sings. It’s not some screaming shit or emo shit. Nowadays [you hear] some contrived style of singing. [With him] there are no frills, no effects.”

As for the other new members, McWhirter also plays bass in The Advantage, an NES videogame score, cover band, with Seim. When asked what he had to offer to Hella in terms of sound as a new member, McWhirter humbly says, “I try not to plan it. I don’t have a direction in mind before we start writing. It usually just comes from us interacting with each other…I add a lot of low-end,” he laughs. Josh Hill, who is Zach Hill’s cousin, was a member of Legs on Earth with Zach and Seim.

According to Zach, Josh and Seim had really grown as guitarists together as high school kids. When thinking of whom to add for second guitarist to Hella, Zach says, “[Josh] was an obvious choice” sans the slightest hint of nepotism.

Hella primarily originated from Sacremento. McWhirter muses on the advantages of being a Sacramento musician. “[Living there] gives us the time to focus on music,” he laughs. “Sacramento is an easy place to live. It doesn’t take much to get by here. It doesn’t have a really vast cultural influence here but…if you just want to get down to it and play music without much interaction, Sacramento is good for that.” Zach adds, “It’s a very honest city. People here are not easily impressed, whatsoever.”

Above anything else, Hella is recognized for their ability to carve themselves a niche in the genre. A band like this seemingly has something to say to today’s musical climate. What Hella has to say definitely comes from the desire to grow into a full-blown band. “I hate to say that the current state of music is kind of desperate,” says McWhirter. “It’s always like one guy’s project [where he] hires all these other musicians. We wanted to be a full, real rock band where everyone is a contributor, a real band instead of just some project. We wanted something solid. We want this band to progress and change together.”

Zach, on the other hand, is apprehensive to define the band. “How we got [to this point] feels like it has something to do with how we avoid answering that question,” he says. “Our niche is no niche. Our statement is no statement. We are constantly changing and we have no rules. Literally.”

The renovation of Hella coincides with a label change to Ipecac Recordings. The band signed before going on tour to promote their previous release “Church Gone Wild/Chirpin’ Hard. A small, experimental label would seem like a perfect home for this band. Zach agrees. “It seemed like the time was right to try something new, so we did,” says Zach. [The people at Ipecac] are pretty rad and understanding people.” When asked if the label was supportive of expanding their line-up, Zach says, “anything we think is the right idea for our band, they’re going to think it’s the right idea, too. And now they’re really happy that we made that choice.”
In terms of future direction, the guys seem unburdened by planning it. “I’d like to just keep it open,” says McWhirter. “When we get together, usually something different happens every time. That’s why I like playing with these guys. We kind of shock and challenge each other.”

Zach only has one word to keep on this matter. “I promise the next [album] will be just as different in a good way, just like this one is.”