Hella: guitar fretwork inspired by Nintendo game soundtracks

Thrasher Magazine, June, 2004 by Jesse Locks

When asked if the audiences they play to are choosing their own adventure, the answer lies in their live show Good friend Dan Elkan, who also plays in Team Sleep with Hill and lends his vocals to Hella, recounts the live show: "It can seem like an all-out assault, but when you see it night after night you realize that the music is as pre-meditated as it is free. The songs are technically there every night, but the emotion is what turns the music inside out. Every night I get to see the look on people's faces when they see (Hella) for the first time. They're (Hella) really doing something that makes people process their perception of what is beautiful, I've seen them make people cry."

"Zach and Spencer are two of the most talented and down-to-earth critters around," adds David Dickerson, owner of Suicide Squeeze. "Watching these guys play is magical The shit they pull off is beyond words. If playing shows were like sports and there were winners and losers, Hella would be undefeated."

Hella is scoring more and more points with their audience, which are helping change what is accessible or commercial in modern rock. Their listeners are bearing the repetitions even with the strange time signatures, finding the underlining structure and choosing their own meaning from the music.

"It's pretty cool where it (the music) is now," Seim concludes. "Enough people know about it and are getting something from it or enjoying it; it isn't some trend or style. I think it would be cool for the masses or the whole country to be into very complex music. Complex music does something to people's brains--and people in this country definitely need some help."