Helmet's 'Betty' is still a bombshell

A conversation with Page Hamilton about band's classic third LP
By Peter Lindblad

The Helmet lineup in 2015 that's
playing 'Betty' in its entirety.

The record-buying public doesn't always take kindly to so-called "experimental" records. Helmet's Betty has taken its fair share of pot shots from detractors.

Relaxing in a black RV parked outside of the High Noon Saloon in Madison, Wis., back in March, Page Hamilton, one of the true architects of alternative-metal, is fighting a cough just hours before gig No. 61 of Helmet's recent tour, one in which the landmark Betty album was to be played in its entirety, with a second set chock full of favorites from other Helmet albums thrown in for good measure.

Helmet - Betty

The show will go on, road fatigue or no road fatigue, because Betty deserves it. And with miles to go before he sleeps – Helmet had 20 more shows to go on this victory lap for perhaps the most confounding record in the band's catalog – Hamilton couldn't be happier with the reception the tour's received.

"Amazing, yeah it's been great," said Hamilton, joined in Helmet nowadays by Dan Beeman, Kyle Stephenson and Dave Case. "We're sold out tonight, sold out tomorrow in Chicago, sold out in Cleveland. Last night in Minneapolis was 550, so that was a packed house. It's been good, really good. I love seeing packed houses, and the band is playing really well, so that's all you can hope for."

In 1994, anticipation for the follow-up to the monstrous sonic earthquake that was Meantime, Helmet's 1992 major label debut on Interscope Records, was feverish. An almost militaristic march of heavy, disciplined riffs and infectious grooves as high and tight as a Marine's crew cut, the groundbreaking post-metal masterpiece Meantime breathed fresh air into a scene that had long grown weary of the excesses of '80s glam and was mighty suspicious of grunge. What would Helmet do for an encore?

Along came Betty, an ambitious bombshell of thick, pummeling aural punishment that sent shrapnel flying in every direction, some of it landing in the disparate camps of jazz and blues. Although it wasn't the commercial smash everyone was hoping for, critics generally took a liking to it and over time, it's come to be appreciated as one of Helmet's finest.

Still, even as tracks like "Biscuits for Smut," "Milquetoast" (see the video below) and "I Know" retained the crunch of Meantime, more offbeat fare such as "The Silver Hawaiian," the jazz standard "Beautiful Love" and the demented lap-steel weirdness of "Sam Hell" led to lots of head scratching.

However, if this tour is any indication, Betty, Helmet's third record, has aged well. 

"Both albums seem to have survived the test of time, 20 years for Betty and 23 years for Meantime," said Hamilton. "And we play songs from both those albums, as well as Aftertaste. In London, after we did Betty, we did the second half of Meantime and the first half of Aftertaste for the second set and they went more crazy than they did for Betty, which pissed me off, because I thought, 'There goes my Aftertaste idea (laughs).' It's good to see that sometimes when you get flak when an album comes out because it's not like the previous album, that 20 years later you can see you did things right. That's what it's all about, because we're not trying to win any pop music competitions. We're not a mainstream band and never have been. Helmet fans are very loyal, and they know we're not going to come out with a disco record, or techno or whatever's the flavor of the month. We'll never sound like Katy Perry or Maroon 5."

Upon Betty's release, though, some were wondering if Helmet had lost its edge.

"I remember that day we did Flipside magazine, which was a cool magazine back in the late '80s, early '90s," related Hamilton. "It was Helmet mania, and they just loved Helmet. When Meantime came out, he came out to see a show in Long Beach, Kirk (or KRK Dominquez) from Flipside said, 'I wanted Helmet and I got a bonnet.' He thought we'd gotten soft after Strap It On and didn't like it at all."

Taking the sardonic criticism in stride, Hamilton vowed not to let it influence his artistic vision.

"I learned then that it doesn't matter what you do – somebody's a fan of what you do today, tomorrow they may be disappointed because you're not doing what you did yesterday," explained Hamilton. "So you have to stick to your guns and have a thick skin. You have to do make music for yourself and make music you know is good, and not try to please anybody else. I'm not worried about what critics say, or even fans. It could be disheartening at the time, but I have to know it's good. I have to study my craft and continue to move forward without throwing the baby out with the bath water."

Hamilton has a good sense of what Helmet's identity is, and although they may take the occasionally unexpected detour, he makes sure they never lose sight of who they are as a band.

"We're not Marilyn Manson," said Hamilton. "I'm not going to grow tits and change outfits. That's not what Helmet's thing is about. It's four guys in street clothes standing up there and trying to make music. It's strictly drop the needle. That's what it's about. That's what my heroes were for me – John Coltrane, Charlie Parker. They had cool suits in the '40s and '50s and '60s, whatever, but they just played music. It was just about the music, and that's what turned me on, that's what got me excited. Sure, I thought Jimmy Page looked cool in his dragon pants, in his penny loafers and whatever, and Robert Plant in ladies' blouses, but it was all about dropping the needle and listening to them singing and playing – that's what it's always been for Helmet. Some people hate that. They don't like me because I don't do that. They don't like us because we don't do that, and that's their prerogative. They can't say that we're not honest or we aren't good. They're saying they don't like us."

Helmet dropped the needle and then some when Hamilton, drummer John Stanier, bassist Henry Bogdan and guitarist Rob Echeverria – the replacement for Peter Mengede – entered the studio in the fall of 1993 to begin work on Betty, with writing and recording sessions at Soundtrack, Power Station and Sound on Sound in New York City.

Helmet - Meantime

While touring in support of Meantime, there were reports of internal tensions, and Mengede allegedly did not leave on the best of terms in early 1993. Still, Hamilton doesn't recall the sessions for Betty as being overly stressful, although there was pressure from outside influences.

"Yeah, it was a little bit, I suppose, but every album there's some stress involved," said Hamilton. "Strap It On, it was my bartending tips that paid for it, so we're like, 'Okay, that mix sounds good,' and I had to stand there with my hand on two faders, and Bogdan on one; they had two faders, so we're mixing manually on the board, and it was like, 'Okay, I think we're set up now. Push that up a little bit. Now go back.' So that's stressful. With Meantime, we'd signed a big record deal, and we had people from the record company coming in and listening, so we're like, this is weird, you know? And with Betty, after a gold record and a Grammy nomination for Meantime, everybody wanted to make it Nirvana. We're like, 'We're not anything like Nirvana,' nothing like Nirvana. And Aftertaste … well, 'Betty didn't do as well as Meantime, so Aftertaste has to be like this and that,' and I was like, 'All I can do is write the songs and record them and sing them to the best of my ability.' And that's what it is. It should be fun. The process has always been fun and enjoyable for me, and it's simply about music."

When it came to Betty, Hamilton and company had aspirations of expanding Helmet's sound to incorporate other genres, as other voices within the band begged to be heard.

"Yeah, that was what was fun about it," said Hamilton. "We wrote some songs … I guess it started with, 'Well, man, what more can we do?' Strap It On morphed into Meantime, which morphed into Betty and there were other elements. Henry had an interest in lap steel guitar, and other things he was writing. He was listening to the Beatles I think when he came up with the riffs for 'Silver Hawaiian.' And I wanted the whole band to feel more included, because I think they saw that when there was a clear leader in the band after a couple of years, there's a leader and I think that makes guys uncomfortable. I just wanted make sure that everybody knew it was a band, that I'm the singer, the writer and essentially the producer, but without a great band, you're shit. I'm not Trent Reznor, where I've got the genius technological ability … that guy's amazing in the studio. I don't know if he can play guitar as well as I can, but he's a genius in the studio, so he doesn't necessarily need a band to make a record. I do."

Like all Helmet records, Betty grooves ... relentlessly. Hamilton feels that comes naturally for Helmet, that it's not something they ever have to think about.

"I think every record grooves. We never consciously said we've got to groove or we've got to be groovier or whatever," said Hamilton. "John Stanier was listening to a lot of hip-hop and a lot of drum and bass. Henry was listening to country and western and Hawaiian music, and I was listening to my usual jazz, which is all about groove and feel and swing, as well as classical things, expanding my understanding of harmonic knowledge. But we never consciously said, 'God, We're so funky.' AC/DC is a different kind of funky from Rage Against The Machine or Red Hot Chili Peppers. To me, those bands are more trying to incorporate that thing in their sound, and I like AC/DC, that sound. That's my band. I thought the Beatles grooved. The Stones, in their sloppy way, kind of grooved, so it's not like we're trying to play white-boy funk or anything."

While the notion of whether a record grooves or not may be a nebulous concept, song composition is not, and while more well-known tracks off Betty might garner more attention, Hamilton is sweet on another.

"Somebody asked me that last night after the show," said Hamilton, responding to a question about which song on Betty is his favorite. "It's hard for me to say, but I'd probably have to say 'Overrated.' I've always liked the structure. I just found this cool chord progression of things that I thought of at the time. There was a cool tension release in the song; it's an interesting structure. It's not really supposed work at all."

Hamilton admits, "I've always experimented with structures, that's kind of what I'm known for." On "Wilma's Rainbow," Hamilton used another Helmet classic as the foundation for what that track would become.

"I like that song," said Hamilton. "That's the structure that I came up with for 'Unsung.' That's a different structure, too. It's got a verse and chorus, but it's also got a developing section in the outro, and a song like 'Pure' from Aftertaste,  it's got a different structure."

Construction of Betty was completed by Helmet, along with Andy Wallace on mixing, Howie Weinberg on mastering and Martin Bisi, known also for his work with Sonic Youth, Swans and White Zombie, handling the engineering. Bisi was a late arrival, coming in midway through the proceedings to record Echeverria's guitar parts and additional overdubs.

Finally, on June 21, 1994, Betty had its coming-out party, settling in at No. 45 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, Helmet's best chart performance ever. Alas, it was not the commercial success Meantime was, and in the aftermath, Echeverria departed to join Biohazard, leaving Helmet a trio. 1997 brought Aftertaste, and later, a new guitarist in Chris Traynor, formerly of Orange 9mm. That record spent very little time on the charts, and sales were disappointing. The 1997-98 "Aftertaste" tour was the band's swan song – that is, until Hamilton revived Helmet in 2004.

If he has any regrets about any of it, Hamilton isn't sharing them.

"There's so many events that happened over the life of the band," said Hamilton. "It was roughly 10 years, and now I've got eight-plus years with Kyle, so he and I are the core of the band at this point, but we've got two guys who are amazing players, Danny and Dave. So it feels like a real band to me, as much as the original lineup did for the first five years. Unfortunately, people grow … not unfortunately, but people grow apart, and it happens and you can't control what other people want to do. They decided it was their time to move on, and I said to them early on when we were about to sign a record deal, to Peter, John and Henry, 'I'm not putting your kids through college just because we were in a band together. I don't owe you anything, and you don't owe me anything.' They were clear that it was my band, it's just sometimes shit happens."

Check out this Helmet performance on KXEP to get a taste of what they're like live nowadays.

It’s only rock and roll, but Backstage Auctions likes it

By Susan Sliwicki ~ Goldmine Magazine

Jacques and Kelli van Gool of Backstage Auctions

Although we’ve never met Jacques van Gool’s mom, we suspect that she’s pretty cool. When the future rock and roll auction house owner opened his birthday gift in 1973, he found the turntable he’d been hoping for — but no records to play on it. So, his mom walked with him to a nearby record shop. “I’m standing there with my mother, and I’m looking in the window, and the first album that caught my eye was Black Sabbath,” van Gool recalls. “So we went in and bought Black Sabbath’s second album.”

Of course, it didn’t take long for his parents to tell him to turn his record player down. “Pretty much the same day,” he admits. “I remember my mother coming home one day with a fairly big box, and she said, ‘Here, please use this.’”

Inside was a set of huge, funky headphones.

“With the headphones, I could literally crank it up to the point that by the time I was done playing the record, my ears would literally ring,” he recalled.

Admittedly, that move may not have been the best thing for van Gool’s hearing. But it built his appreciation for the music and the artists who produced it, particularly heavy metal. So in all, it makes sense that he eventually chose to open an auction house that specializes in selling music and related memorabilia. van Gool and his wife, Kelli, operate Backstage Auctions, which marks its 10th anniversary this year. Kelli van Gool shared her perspectives on the music collecting industry with Goldmine.

GOLDMINE: What’s the history of Backstage Auctions? What prompted you to start the business, what led to your choice to pursue the niche of consigning large items directly from artists and industry professionals, vs. simply offering collectibles at large?

BACKSTAGE AUCTIONS: It’s was really Jacques’ passion for music and his personal hobby of collecting music memorabilia that was the driving force behind the idea. Having nearly three decades of collecting, trading and brokering memorabilia, he recognized that significant changes were occurring in the collectors market when eBay started to become a widely popular platform for selling memorabilia in the late ’90s and early 2000. Suddenly people from all over the world had access to buying and selling memorabilia through the Internet, which was awesome. However, with the good also came the bad, and the market was flooded with fakes and forgeries, and at the time, there really wasn’t a good (system of) checks and balances in place to weed out the non-authentic pieces.

We started conceptually thinking about it in early 2000 and after doing quite a bit of research, talking to friends who were big time collectors and a whole host of musician friends, we finally took the idea from concept to reality in 2003. Our business model was simple; we would work exclusively with musicians and industry professionals directly, which in turn gave collectors access to authentic pieces of music memorabilia without questioning the provenance or authenticity of any piece we would offer up for auction or for sale. For collectors, it offers a unique opportunity to purchase items that have a direct link back to the artist, and for our clients, it provides them with a professional and highly reputable selling platform to empty out their storage facilities filled with music history. Our goal when we started was stimulate and revitalize the collectors market, restore buyers’ confidence and put some much-needed integrity back into the collectibles market. Fast-forward 10 years later, and I believe that we accomplished those goals and continue to keep the thrill and excitement in collecting rock and roll memorabilia alive. After all, nothing beats owning an authentic piece of music history.

GM: Before you launched Backstage Auctions, what were your careers?
BA: Well, we both had nearly 20 years of corporate business experience before launching Backstage Auctions, and interestingly, we both started our careers in human resources. I progressed through my career in more of a strategic human resources role, with a focus in development and communications, and Jacques’ skills were focused more on the merger and acquisition side of things. Our previous careers did prove to be very beneficial when you peel down our experience and apply it to core business functions.

GM: What do you find is the hardest or most challenging part of your business? And what is your favorite part?
BA: Like with any business, developing business and securing collections is always a challenge. Our clients have very demanding schedules, especially the ones who are actively touring and recording. It’s getting the stars to align at the precise moment when we get a “yes,” and getting a “yes” can sometimes takes months on end, even years.  Probably for both me and Jacques, our favorite part is when the collections actually get delivered to our studio. It’s quite a thrill to open of a box that contains original recordings, handwritten lyrics that are decades old, or even stage-worn attire and concert-used gear. It’s history, and it’s not only our client’s history, but it’s a part of our personal history, because we grew up listening to these artists.

We also get a tremendous satisfaction when our clients actively participate in promoting their auctions. Ted Nugent played a very active role in his auction, as did Herbie Herbert, Page Hamilton, Kip Winger, Scott Ian and Charlie Benante. Social media is a very powerful tool, especially when an artist has a tremendous following. It’s a lot of fun following the interaction between the artists and their fans when the auction is live. The fans and collectors eat it up, which always have a direct impact on the auction results.

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian adds a personal touch to one of the guitars he consigned to Backstage Auctions. The auction house, which just celebrated its 10th anniversary, focuses on acquiring lots directly from artists and music-industry insiders to ensure buyers are getting high-quality items with a direct link to artists. Photo courtesy Backstage Auctions.

GM: What’s the significance of the Backstage Auctions red star logo?
BA: Well the cliché answer would be that it represents being a star … you know, a “rock star,” and that certainly applies. We have changed our logo a bit over the years, but the constant that has never changed is the recognizable red star. Setting the business answer aside, it also has a personal meaning for Jacques and me, dating back to when we first met. So there is a little bit of us in our logo, which I personally think is cool.

GM: What are a couple of memorable experiences you’ve had through they years with Backstage Auctions? (i.e interesting consignments, fun stories about nervous consignors, etc.?)
BA: Oh, gosh, there are so many amazing stories and experiences. We are really fortunate to have worked with so many artists, producers and managers that each one has a great story I could tell. Every client is different when it comes to how involved he or she would like to be during the auction. Some track their own items and watch their personal VIP auction dashboard on the last day, while others call for updates. But a favorite story of mine is one of our clients was so excited about all the bidding on the last day, that he eventually had to leave his house and go to the movies — which, by the way, he later confessed that he didn’t even remember which movie he saw, because he was too nervous and preoccupied with the auction.

We have had so many different type of rock an roll rarities pass through our studio it’s hard to name just a few that are memorable or interesting – because they all are in their own way. But I can say that when you open a box and pick up a collection of original Jimi Hendrix acetates, KISS original recordings, amazing Led Zeppelin memorabilia or a even a concert used guitar – it’s hard to not feel humbled, nervous and excited all at the same time.

In the early days, admittedly we were probably a lot more nervous than our clients when we would go live with our auctions. We had the opportunity to work with the legendary Eddie Kramer (yes, this was truly an OMG moment). His collection was the very first “online” auction and in retrospect we were probably not as mentally prepared as we could have been because we simply underestimated the market response. Don’t get me wrong we knew it was going to “huge”, what we didn’t anticipate was it being “ginormous”. The lesson learned from that auction was we always need to be prepared for the absolutely “best” case scenario moment – you know the one that usually begins with, “I can’t even imagine – but what if….”.

We have worked with so many amazing people over the years, and quite a few of our clients have become great friends post auction activities. But I must say that for me personally Eddie Kramer is still “one” of my favorite clients, but really everyone we have worked with has been awesome.

GM: How much has changed in the business (both collecting-wise and auction-wise) since you held your first auction? What are the trends you’ve seen?
BA: Ten years seems like a long time, and it is, but there are things that simply don’t change, like the passion for collecting. That said, we do see the primary collectors group for classic rock memorabilia starting to shrink a bit, but that makes sense to us, because of the age of that group. What has been growing in popularity and is definitely a force to be reckoned with is heavy metal memorabilia. This year we will be hosting our fourth heavy-metal focused auction, and every year it gets bigger and bigger. It’s the natural progression of collecting, markets and emerging interests that drive the mayhem behind metal memorabilia collecting. Let’s be honest here. When Scott Ian of Anthrax has one of his guitars prominently featured in the annual “Warman’s Antiques & Collectibles” guide book, you know heavy-metal memorabilia is a real player in the world of music memorabilia collecting. And we love it!

Herbie Herbert's 1974  personal agenda from the Journey days.

GM: What’s it like to work with your spouse? Do you think that being married makes it easier or harder to work together, and why?
BA: Well, for us, it’s easy. But we do have separate offices in our studio. Rarely do we have to actually work together side by side. Jacques mainly focuses on client service and manages the production side of things. My focus is more keeping all the balls in the air. Sure, we have our moments but there is definitely more of an upside than a downside.

GM: Have your collecting habits changed as a result of running an auction house? If so, how? (It’s got to be hard to work with all that cool stuff and not want to take at least a few goodies home with you!)
BA: It’s interesting that you ask that, because one would easily assume that we (actually, Jacques) would still be actively collecting, but he doesn’t so much anymore. From time to time, he will purchase something, but usually because it has a personal history attached to it. As so many collectors do, they reach their summit, and Jacques reached his and was OK with it.

GM: If you could go back and do one thing differently in regards to your business, what would you choose to change, and why?
BA: Oh, there are probably things that we could have done different, but we like to look at those as teachable moments. One thing that we learned early was this is a fluid business, and over-managing the process doesn’t necessarily deliver the results you were hoping for. In 2005, we were out in San Francisco, packing up a warehouse filled with decades of memorabilia belonging to Herbie Herbert, who was the man behind Journey’s success. He gave us a piece of advice that he learned early on from his mentor Bill Graham, which was, “When you have a yes, you stop selling.” For us, that translated into when you have a “yes,” keep it simple, go with the flow and try to not over- manage the artists — they have enough of that already.

GM: In 10 years’ time, you have built Backstage Auctions from the ground up. Would you ever consider selling now that you are established and reputable music memorabilia auction house?
BA: That’s a very good question. We have organically grown and built Backstage Auctions in such a way that if the right buyer (individual or company) came along and expressed interest, it would definitely be an easy business transaction — especially since Jacques and I are the sole owners. That said, it would probably be emotionally difficult to hand the keys over to someone else, but at the same time it could be equally exciting. But for now, we are rockin’ in the here and now and having fun … one auction at a time.

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Page Hamilton Wears Only One Helmut - Offers Up Relics for The Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction

Initially setting his sights on becoming a jazz musician and moving to New York in the early 80s, Page Hamilton discovered distortion and went a completely different yet highly creative direction. He co-founded the New York-based Helmet, fusing Zeppelinesque riffing with a vehement post-hardcore precision, augmented by dense chords and offbeat time signatures based in Hamilton’s formal jazz training.  The combination was one of the rarest of visionary creations. Page's artistry and musical talent has opened countless doors of opportunity and experiences, but he maintains a singular attitude which as he says is "really conducive to writing songs."

Page pulled out some really nice Helmut treasures for the 2012 Rock Gods and Metal Monsters auction which include stage worn shirts, guitar straps, itineraries, picks, passes and his famous Oakley sneakers that he used on tour with Helmet for 5 years…imagine if shoes could talk!

Here are a few of Page's personal items up for grabs:

HELMET PAGE HAMILTON 2006-2011 STILETTO SNAKES TOUR USED T-SHIRT

Remember that favorite shirt you used to wear ALL the time? The one, that in time no matter how often it was washed, it still smelled a little dirty? Featured here is that shirt, owned and worn extensively on countless tours around the world, this shirt was a staple in Page's stage wardrobe from 2006 to 2011. The shirt is not damaged, though it does show significant wear and staining - especially left side which bears staining from a guitar strap. Also included with this shirt is a pair of well-used Nike sweatbands from Page. Both of these items are truly one-of-a-kinds! Bottom line: it doesn't get much cooler than this for Helmet fans!

Page Hamilton's Personal Stilletto Snakes Tour Used T-Shirt

Page practically lived in this famous t-shirt! Very Cool!

HELMET PAGE HAMILTON LOT OF 6 CUSTOM GUITAR PICKS

Okay pick lovers….featured here is a lot of 6 rare Helmet guitar picks direct from Page Hamilton's personal arsenal! These are custom guitar picks that Page uses exclusively. They are nice and thick, and no doubt help him dig into those strings to churn out some of those brutal Helmet riffs!

Page Hamilton's personal guitar picks, custom made of course. 

HELMET PAGE HAMILTON 2006-2011 STAGE WORN SHOES

This pair of Oakley 'Elite Special Forces Standard Issue' shoes was worn extensively by Page on numerous worldwide tours! Proclaimed his favorite shoes by Page himself, this pair of size 12s has literally carried Page around the globe! Shoes show some obvious wear around the toe areas and are in VG condition considering all the hours these bad boys spent on stage. What an awesome collectible for any diehard Helmet fan and quite the conversation piece, wouldn't you say. These shoes ROCK and so does Page!

Page Hamilton's Tour Used Oakleys 1006 - 2011.
 These shoes were made for Rockin!

The stories these Oakley's could tell!
Perhaps that is why Page is parting with them! 

Be sure and check out all of Page's relics featured in the auction by simply typing PHT in the Auction Search Box. Each item offered comes with a certificate of authenticity personally signed by Page.

The Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction will go live and open for bidding on Saturday, April 21st and come to a close a week later on Sunday, April 29th. For more information visit our Auction Page. Grab your VIP All Access Pass today and get yourself a piece of metal history.

Backstage Auctions Announces Headliners for Annual "Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction"

The auction will showcase over 900 exceptionally rare  pieces of rock memorabilia direct from the private collections of notable rock and metal icons from Anthrax, M.O.D./ S.O.D., Testament, White Zombie, The Cult, Mudvayne, Helmet, Cirith Ungol, Ministry, Quiet Riot, Dio, Whitesnake, Queensryche, Powerman 5000 and more.

Scott Ian (Anthrax) - Personally Used Guitar

Houston, TX – March 13, 2012 – Backstage Auctions is proud to present their annual "Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction", a one of kind, rock you to your core, online auction event. "Almost every item being offered in the auction is iconic hard rock and heavy metal memorabilia and is easily identifiable to a specific artist or band that spans 3 decades," explains Backstage Auctions founder Jacques van Gool.

Scott Ian sealing the deal.

The auction, which is scheduled to go live in April, features amazing rock relics direct from the personal  collections of Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Robert Garven, Page Hamilton, John Tempesta, Mike Tempesta, Matt McDonough, Sean Yseult, Rudy Sarzo, Scott Rockenfield, Al Jourgensen…just to name a few. "This years auction catalog really took on a life of it's own when we started getting in so many rare but highly personal items from each of the artists and industry executives. It's not every day that you get a dozen guitars belonging to Scott Ian, but knowing that each of these guitars have a kick ass story, that is a fan or collector's dream. Of course giving fans and collectors direct access to rare pieces of rock history is always our goal when we build our auction events, and we have definitely achieved that with this auction," says van Gool.

Charlie Benante (Anthrax) Big 4 Drum Head

There is definitely a wide range of collectibles featured in the auction and whether you are a fan or collector, you can bet that your inner rock star will come out! "We have everything from guitars, amps, cabinets, drum kits and heads, Gold and Platinum records awards, artist stage worn apparel to master recordings, rare concert posters, historical ephemera, photos and negatives with "money shots", picks & sticks and the list goes on and on. We couldn't be more pleased with how the catalog came together and the final result," says van Gool.

Equally impressive are the private collections of various music industry executives, which feature a jaw dropping collection of RIAA record awards, rare and sealed vinyl, promotional items, signed memorabilia, ephemera, promo jackets and concert shirts, interview cassettes and so much more. "The fact that these executives worked for various records labels, means the memorabilia covers a wide range of artists such as Judas Priest, KISS, Van Halen, Thin Lizzy, Ozzy, Pearl Jam, Pantera, Twisted Sister, Dokken, Gary Moore, Korn, Stryper, Incubus, Motley Crue, Metal Church, Grim Reaper and the list just goes on, it's very impressive," says van Gool.

Motley Crue RIAA 3x Platinum - Dr. Feelgood

The event, aptly titled the “Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction”, is a not-to-miss opportunity for fans and collectors around the world to own an authentic piece of one of the most significant genres of music history. 

The online auction, starts April 21, 2012 and will run through April 29, 2012. A special VIP All Access preview of the entire auction catalog will be available beginning Saturday, April 14^th.

 For more information and to get your VIP All Access pass for the event visit:  http://www.backstageauctions.com/catalog/auction.php

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Backstage Auctions is a boutique online auction house specializing in authentic rock memorabilia. By exclusively representing legendary musicians and entertainment professionals directly, every auction event is unique, reflecting the artist's legacy and chronicles their legendary career. Backstage Auctions has represented dozens of notable and very talented musicians, producers and managers in the music industry. The very first online auction event featured the private collection of legendary producer Eddie Kramer (Hendrix, Zeppelin, Kiss) and since then, Backstage has represented Ted Nugent, Howard Kaylan (The Turtles), Ross Valory (Journey) and Michael Shrieve (Santana) Johny Barbata (Jefferson Starship), Kip Winger (Winger), John 5 (Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie), Al Jourgensen (Ministry), Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Dio, BOC), Scott Rockenfield (Queensryche), Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, Alcatraz) as well as managers of legendary bands such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, KISS, Journey, Joe Walsh, Pantera, White Zombie, Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band and Motley Crue. Backstage Auctions works closely with each of their clients and incorporates their personal stories and memories throughout the online auction event. The end result is a unique, historical and unforgettable journey spanning decades of music history and turning fans into collectors one auction at a time.