Interview w/ Helicopria

Hey everyone!

Back at it again with another entry in my interview series. Today, I'll sit down and conduct an interview with Boston's own Helicopria. You may remember them from back in February when I did an Artist Spotlight feature on them and have quickly become one of my favorite local acts in the Beantown area. Recently, I conducted an interview with guitarist Sulene Van der Walt and drummer J.P. Bouvet to get a little more acquainted with the group and find out some of the influences that make them who they are among other things. And now, I proudly present the transcript from that interview:

- First off, give all your names and what you do in the band?

Sulene: Helicopria consists of Allison French on vocals, Sulene V on guitar, Drew Moore on bass, and JP Bouvet on Drums.

- How did all of you guys meet and when did the band form?

Sulene: All the members of Helicopria met at Berklee College of Music over the last few years. I founded the group with our ex-guitarist Elijah Melanson and also JP Bouvet, our drummer in May 2010. From there I scouted for a highly energetic bassist who could fit our group and found Drew Moore. During the first couple months we held auditions for vocalist and we worked with Sirma Munyar for about 2 and a half years. In May 2012 Allison French came on board as our new front woman as Sirma Munyar is now pursuing a solo career.

- What inspired the name "Helicopria" for your band?

Sulene: JP came up with the name; he was sitting in a class at Berklee behind our friend Garrett who was wearing a "Sharks from A-Z" T-shirt. He wrote down some interesting sounding names and read them to Elijah and I. We thought "Helicoprian" was a cool word, coming from the Helicoprian shark (look it up online, it's a pretty crazy shark). After then we mispronounced the word for several weeks and it morphed into "Helicopria" which we decided we liked the sound of better anyway!

- Now, most of you guys currently go to school at Berklee College of Music, how has your education there helped your band get noticed in the Boston area and how has it helped you all individually?

Sulene: Going to Berklee certainly has helped our musicality and creativity. Most importantly, we would never have met if we didn't all go to the same music school. I personally wanted to move to Boston to meet like-minded musicians, which I did, so I'm really grateful for that. As far as Berklee helping us get noticed in Boston, saying you go there doesn't really count for much. There are several music schools in this area and the market is so saturated with insanely talented players that it's really tough competition to get people out to shows around here. That being said, being tied to Berklee has definitely helped us in other areas and the international scene.

- Describe the sound of Helicopria for those who aren't too familiar with the group.

Sulene: Helicopria is a mix of rock and electronic sounds. Over the last two and a half years our style has gone through many changes, starting out more progressive and guitar-heavy and and now moving towards electronic elements. For those who haven't heard us, we tell them our biggest influences are Circa Survive, Paramore, and The Dear Hunter.

- A few months ago, you guys returned from playing in Istanbul, can you describe what that experience was like paying there?

J.P.: It was really amazing. It was the second time we'd been there. The culture there is really beautiful and they really appreciate our kind of music. During the trip earlier this year, we played two shows and gave two clinics. The clinics were really cool, one at a high school and one at a university. We played a show at Otto Santral, with us as the headliner. The next day we opened for rock band, Mando Diao at Kucukciftlik park. It was the biggest venue/crowd we had played and the energy in the place was fantastic. We estimate there were about 2,000 people there. We gave out lots of CD's, met lots of cool people, signed lots of autographs. It was a good time.

- How have your on-stage personas developed over the years and how personable of a relationship do you maintain with your fans off stage?

J.P.: Each member of the band fulfills a certain character on and off stage. We are an interesting mix of people so the fans generally have someone to releate to in the band, even if they don't feel that connection with each member individually. Drew is the crazy one, Sulene is badass punk rock Hayley Williams-type girl, Allison is the sexy fierce lead singer, and JP is... well JP's the drummer. He looks like a punk but he's really not.

We maintain a close relationship with fans off stage. It's very important to us that the fans know we appreciate them because we really do. Without them, there is no Helicopria. We comment back and forth with fans and keep them up to date. We wrote some personalized songs for some of our fans a while back. We give things away. We love hanging with them after shows as well.

- Besides being college students, what do you guys like to do in your spare time besides making music?

J.P.: Make more music, listen to music, practice music, record music, that's pretty much it. Some of the members play in other groups. Drew and JP are pretty in demand in the area so they are always playing around with people. Sulene is a film composer, songwriter, and also plays with some other groups as well.

- What can we expect to see coming up next for Helicopria this year, any new studio recordings or shows planned?

J.P.: YOU CAN EXPECT THE MOST BADASS HELICOPRIA EP EVER MADE. Seriously. We tracked drums and bass in New York at Rubber Tracks Studio. Guitars and vocals will be done with our co-producer in Boston, Chris Leon. You can expect to hear the album in later fall. It's going to be very dirty.

- Lastly, how supportive has your fan base been in getting you to this point and do you have any words you'd like to pass along to them?

J.P.: Fans and supporters of all shapes and sizes are the heart of the band. The members are the brain and limbs but without the heart pumping life into us 24/7, we would not exist. We appreciate our fans immensely. They are the only reason we have gotten to the point we are at and our goal is to just keep spreading the word and sharing the things we love with other people who love the same thing. People who like our music, like it for the same reason we like it. We are all attached to it for some reason or another. It evokes similar memories and feelings in each of us. So generally, our fans and us share a lot in common. We love you all.

Thanks once again to Sulene and J.P. for taking some time out of their constantly busy schedules to do this interview. Right now as we speak, the group is gearing up to play a show at The Red Room @ Cafe 939 with Red Oblivion next Thursday, August 9th. Doors open at 7:45PM and the show gets underway promptly at 8:00PM. Tickets are $8.00 and can be purchased electronically in advance of the show via this link: https://www.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?e=50dd17b1f73efe08b7962ce368606859&t=tix For more information on Helicopria, head on over to their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/helicopria and follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/helicopria