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H Is for Hellgate

H Is for Hellgate Radio

Music

FEATURED SONG
(demo) League, Fathom or Stone
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(demo) League, Fathom or Stone
Album:
Released: Jan 1, 2009
Label:

General Info

  • Genre: Progressive / Rock

    Location Seattle, Washington, Un

    Profile Views: 84482

    Last Login: 12/12/2010

    Member Since 12/26/2004

    Website hisforhellgate.com

    Record Label Scissor City Sound

    Type of Label Indie

  • Bio

  • Members

  • Influences

  • Sounds Like

Bio

H Is for Hellgate was a band from 2006 to 2009. During that time we released two full-length records with the original four-piece line-up (Jamie Hellgate, Ben Baier, Marie Calderon and David Thomas).

Albums and tracks available for sale at hisforhellgate.com :
- H Is for Hellgate (s/t) (2007, Sterotype Records).
- Come For the Peaks, Stay For the Valleys (2008, Scissor City Sound)

The final year of H Is for Hellgate brought a line-up change, reducing the band to a trio and bringing in a new drummer. Jamie Hellgate, Ben Baier and new drummer, Jon Jacobson wrote and recorded several demos available for listening above.

Members:

Jamie Hellgate - guitar, vocals
Ben Baier - bass, vocals
Jon Jacobson - drums

H IS FOR HELLGATE EMERITUS:
Marie Calderon - drums
David Thomas - guitar, vocals

Sounds Like:

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Press

What some other people said....


Seattle Weekly feature for the Artopia Festival. June 2009.
"There's a fullness to their sound despite their bass-guitar-drums setup, and they're even more intriguing during their instrumental breakdowns."

Seattle P.I. feature about our demo club. June 2009.
"The band joins other, more established acts that have also opted to basically give away their music as the Internet has changed the way we communicate, the way we represent ourselves and especially the way we deliver, consume, propagate and exchange music. "

The Stranger, David Schmader. March 2009.
"H Is for Hellgate—the Seattle poppy-post-punk outfit powered by singer-songwriter- guitarist Jamie Henkensiefken—are gaining national attention for their new record, Come for the Peaks, Stay for the Valleys. But the track that most caught my attention is "Tina Fey," an as-yet-unreleased track I found on the band's MySpace page. Over a sprightlier-than-normal pop-punk riff (one of the band's key traits is their way with slower, heavier tempos), Henkensiefken lays out her deep personal love for the woman who's become America's Sweetheart. "Why did you marry some guy from the SNL band? I think we could have worked it out. If you wanna hook up with a real musician who won't knock you up..." The cute is kept in check by the creepy—the song ends with our frantic-with-desire frontwoman cozying up to her amazingly lifelike Tina Fey Real Doll."

Eugene Weekly album review. February 2009.
"Henkensiefken and her bandmates don’t just make music that requires that you pay attention; they make music that’s worth paying attention to."

Seattle Magazine album review. February 2009.
"If you believe variety is the spice of life, the cure for gray, blah February may be Come For the Peaks, Stay For the Valleys, the second album from the wildly diverse indie rock band H is for Hellgate. Released in December (on local Scissor City Sound), the album showcases the band’s—and in particular, lead singer Jamie Henkensiefken’s—ability to move seamlessly between punk rants (think Sleater-Kinney), alt-folk ballads (à la Laura Veirs) and the tricky time signatures of prog rock (like The Dismemberment Plan). The surprising mix will keep your ears on their toes."

MSN Consumer Guide by Robert Christgau. February 2009.
"Woman tells her bitter truths, which her guitar elaborates, or is it challenges? "

Venus Zine feature on Jamie Hellgate. December 2008.
"With endless shifts in time signatures and layers of intricate guitar filtered heavily by pedals against an onslaught of driven bass and drums, H Is for Hellgate is definitely first and foremost a proggy band. But there are also slower, folkier moments, tinges of grunge, and homages to riot-grrrl sounds."

The Stranger, Megan Seling. December 2008.
“Hellgate's pounding drumming and wiry guitar work nod to turbulent '90s post-rock, but some songs ("Blood," for instance) come with a somber Pacific Northwest vibe. "Copernicus and Me" is dark and drilling; "Dusk at Devil's Tower" is one part Jawbox, one part Bikini Kill. I came for the dogs, but stayed for the music. "

KEXP/Three Imaginary Girls show preview. December 2008.
"It is a personal but still excellent and rocking record. Everything that the first album did right: well-written songs with unexpected time shifts and driving guitar parts, the second album does better. Lead Hellgate Jamie Henkensiefken has grown incredibly as a songwriter between records. Another point for H is for Hellgate: they wrote a love letter song to Tina Fey before the rest of America caught on."

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