HELIOS CREED NEWS NO. 8 February 3, 2005

Whew! Even for me, Krazee Cyn, things have been simply CRAZY!!! Helios is still recovering from the absolutely gruelling schedule during his visit to Austin, Texas. The party was dubbed "party of the year" on the Butthole Surfers forum by the guests who attended (I hate to say I told ya so). Helios recorded a new Chrome CD while he was here! And, the show at Room 710 kicked ass (despite Helios' amp blowing a fuse during the show - I didn't even notice it in the next room where I was hawking merchandise). Oh yeah, and we will have at LEAST two new DVD's on the market soon - footage from the party, show, recording studio, etc. Here are some of the glorious details of Helios' visit to Austin:

First, fan Tommy Mansfield was so very kind and went up to Kansas to pick up Helios. Helios needed to bring a lot of equipment and couldn't possibly fly down. It turned into a fiasco for Tommy, as the weather turned bad and a blizzard of some sort hit in the line of travel. It took several days of fighting the weather to get Helios and himself back all in one piece! Helios stayed at my place for the first week, restin' up for what was to come before he ventured into Austin.

I introduced Helios to Jerry Page, currently of Central Services (also of the Bontempi Brothers and CRUST). Jerry was so kind to hook us up with his studio to practice for the party/show. He also played 2nd guitar for the party and the show (he played 2nd guitar, Liberation moog and an electric door spring for the Bubble Studio recording). I also hooked Helios up with Kevin Stack and Win Wallace of Gorch Fock (who has opened for Helios numerous times), along with Kevin's brother Brian Stack on drums and Reed Edwards on synth, so they could all practice for the January 15th party!

The day before the par-tay, Fabienne Shine (soloist, Shaken Street, Chrome AND Damon Edge's wife) flew in from Los Angeles. The day of the party, I picked up Paul Delle Pella, Helios' drummer on numerous projects and tours, who flew in from Pismo Beach, CA. Paul ended up playing drums at the party as he and Helios were both itching to play together after not doing so for many years! Sorry Brian - you were all ready to go and sounded good, I might add!

The party was held on 300 acres, lakeside. Opening at the party was Austin's Halo Rings Her Head. Their theremin player, Blair Bovbjerg also played Room 710 and recorded with Helios at Bubble (he is the most bitchin theremin player I've ever heard)! Then ST-37 (named after Helios' song of the same name) played. I hated it, because I had to miss them to go to the airport to pick up Paul, but I heard they were great! Central Services came on next, I believe (once again, I missed them play because I was picking up Fabienne from her hotel room). I've seen them before, so I know what I missed. I was in awe the first time I saw them and met Jerry Page - he is a musical wiz and Helios loves his stuff and hopes he will work with him on future projects. I'm not much of a dancer, but when I heard Central Services play, I just wanted to get up and move around. Awesome band! Nextup at the party, was the Bontempi Brothers. Jerry Page and Richard Smith put on one helluva show! I was fortunate enough to see them play for the first time. REALLY fun stuff!!

About this time, local dried and some honey glazed shrooms were introduced to the party by a VERY generous fan. A lot of us were shrooming hard when Helios Creed and Friends took the stage (talk about purrrfect timing). I didn't count how many fans plugged in to the amps to play with Helios, but the stage was full of musicians as well as each side of the stage. I'd say there were between 7-10 musicians in all. To top it all off, the bonfire kept us nice and toasty (as well as the coffee, hot chocolate, beer and liquor) AND we were blessed with clear starry skies and a meteor shower (tho' most of us thought we were just hallucinating)! We had good temperatures during the day (around 60 degrees) and it didn't get too cold that night (around 38 degrees). Overall, we had a purrrfect night! It was the BEST party I've thrown in years (if I do say so myself)!

Click here for video and loads of great photos from this special event

More practicing and recording at Jerry's studio followed with a new line-up -- Helios, Jerry, Paul on drums, Jeff Pinkus (Honky, $5 Rock, Aerole 51 and formerly of Butthole Surfers) on bass, and Blair Bovbjerg, on theremin. Thursday and Friday before the show, they all recorded at Bubble Studio in Austin, Texas. Bubble Studio is owned by Chris "Frenchie" Smith (of Young Heart Attacks) who worked his ass off for us (and still is). He was assisted by Jeff Hoskins (formerly of Nice Strong Arm) who also happens to be a member of Jerry's band Central Services. Chris and Jeff both (along with a couple of techs) put in long, hard hours to get everything down on tape before Helios had to leave. Thanks a million guys! We all had a very wonderful experience recording there and highly recommend them to anyone who is in need of a good recording studio!!! You can reach Frenchie at majordudes@yahoo.com.

Friday night, the 21st, Room 710 was absolutely packed. I would like to thank Woody (owner of Room 710) for treating us right! We all had a great time! Helios did a killer version of Master Blaster, along with many other favorites -- Some Way Out, Monster Lust, EVILDEVILMONSTER to name a few. They covered Honky's Smokin Weed With Helios Creed. Helios was going to light up a joint and pass it around to the crowd, but totally forgot to bring a one on stage with him! Fabienne sang on two new songs - Sandbox Jungle and Nico/Velvet Underground's All Tomorrow's Parties. Look for those on the upcoming CDs. Fabienne blew the audience into another dimension with her sexy, sultry voice! She used to hang out with the Led Zepplin guys and you can really tell that Robert Plant influenced her a lot. You should hear her awesome stories - Fabienne was once roommates with Nico (when Fabienne was about 15 working as an au pair in France, she was introduced to Nico and they became great friends).

For those who missed the show, Richard Smith did a live audio recording of it (thank you Richard!). We also had videographers Tom Alter (Wage Slave Films - tom@wageslavefilms.com) and Greg Leonard (Random Acts of Productions - gregleo@austin.rr.com) there to capture the show (and party) on video. Many thanks to you guys!! They both did video for a Crust reunion show last fall at Room 710. If you are interested in the Crust video, please contact me, as it will soon be released!

I want to thank Tommy Mansfield for picking up Helios, offering up your place for the party and for all of the hard work you put into it. Tommy's place is the shit, by the way! I also want to thank all of the musicians who came together for the party and show, especially my bud Jerry Page for letting us use his studio and for all the things he did in connection to the party (playing three times, the use of his drum set and P.A. system, and setting up ST-37 to play, just to name a few). Jerry was absolutely indispensable! My friend, Shepherd Jones (Jerry's girly), also helped us tremendously - she helped me get everyone where they needed to be and helped me run errands for everyone. It got really nuts at times! Shepherd - you're a lifesaver and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Jerry and Shepherd also put up Helios at their place for a few days when recording at Bubble went over - thanks a million you two!

Here's a few words from Helios:

Hello everybody!!! Still recovering from the exhausting schedule of recording and practicing. Needless to say, I was too fried to party after
the Room 710 show (I wish I wasn't cuz all my friends were there - sorry for being half outta it). I think I slept for about 18 hours after the show. I'm still feeling a bit fatigued. Of course, that is one of the symptoms of Hep C, which I am also battling. But, I am determined not to let it stop me!!! It is sorta like fighting a war. I hope someone comes up with a cure for this shit soon! When I'm rested up completely, I will be working on my solo CD again until it is completed.

I enjoyed all of the new people I met in Austin. It was good to see Pinkus again and meet his family! It was also nice to meet Jerry Page and Shepherd Jones - we all became instant friends. I hadn't seen Fabienne in about 22 years - so it was REALLY good to see her again. I hadn't seen Paul, my drummer, in quite a few years (since the last San Francisco show), so that was cool. He is my favorite drummer to play with. Joe Dupre (staticwhitesound.com) even flew in from San Francisco for the show. It was great to see him again! It was nice chillin' with some of the lovely ladies of Austin too, I might add. I'm back home in St. George, Kansas, where nobody knows who the fuck I am, or even cares! Just the way I like it.

I wish you all could have been at the party! I just wanted to make everybody happy at the party, so I bought some beer, which I can't drink, for the pople that could. Another new friend of mine brought mushrooms for those who couldn't or don't drink (for the total psychedelic experience). I felt the party was an experiment in sound, noise and repetition, like the indigenous tribes used to do in their celebrations when the took psychedelics to invoke the spirits! I feel we need more of that in our Walmart culture and need to get back to the root of what is real. It was my goal for the party! I was very pleased at how friendly and happy everyone was! No dicks or weirdos! I want to thank everybody for that!

Eventually, it would be nice if we could start a new community of free people, to share these interdimensional experiences in each others' company. Maybe if we could, we would be able to learn more about the universal mind. If anyone has any ideas or wants to donate land or money for more HelioFests, let us know! Anything to bring the good people of the world together in view of the ugliness that is also taking place on the planet. We all need a piece of free sanctuary now and then, not just the club scene or just trying to make money. I would like to be able to give more to people of our kind and not ask for anything in return so they can find out how good it feels! I would like to do sort of a Rainbow Bridge II in dedication to Jimi Hendrix on the Island of Maui. That is my ultimate dream!

Of course I can't do any of the things I want to do by myself, so I want to thank everybody involved who have and will help make all of these things possible! Peace!

One last word from KraZeE CyN:

If you would like to be included on our e-mail list for this newsletter, contact me at cynthiaobrien@hotmail.com. I also have quite a few posters from the show at Room 710 for sale ($5 plus S&H), as well as some CD's ($10 pluys S&H) - On the Dark Side of the Sun, NUGG the Transport, Dark Matter I and Inferior Plastic Finger ($17 plus S&H - a remixed live show from the 2003 tour that comes with a tour 2003 t-shirt) and a few St. Helios Prayer Candles ($6 plus S&H). To purchase any of these items, contact me at cynthiaobrien@hotmail.com - you can also pay me via PayPal at the same address. I also handle the fan mail for Helios at that address. Oh, and a lot of people were asking me after the show, where they could get Fabienne's music. You'll find a nice selection of CD's of her band Shakin Street on cdbaby.com. Some of you may remember back when they opened up for Black Sabbath on tour (the tour hit Austin) many years ago (might a been '89).

Helios would like to offer CD's that are personalized (to each individual's name, from Helios), from his stock. Anyone interested, contact me and I'll give you the details. Helios will soon be on MySpace.com and we will have a Helios Creed forum up and running soonll! When it is all set up, it will be time to do another newsletter and I'll give you the web addresses. I can also fill you in on my upcoming trip to L.A. to visit Fabienne and to meet with a few record companies we are considering! In the meantime, look for Bek Sabbath's article in the Rank and Revue due out February 15th! Until then!

Love,
Helios Creed and Krazee Cyn

P.S. Check out the pic of Helios approved for this newsletter. The credit for the photo of Helios smokin goes to Beky Hayes (bek sabbath of Rank and Revue). I'm throwing one in of Helios' grandson, who looks just like he mustav looked as a baby, I swear! He's a little messy - it's feeding time! I keep forgetting to add pics for y'all. I have some great pics from the party, thanks to my friend Profytt! I'll try to get her to send me the jpg file so I can include them next time.