Steampunk Spotlight: Hellblinki
Shine that Steampunk Spotlight on the fabulous bandHellblinki. I had the great pleasure of seeing them perform at the Oklahoma Steampunk Expo, and they were phenomenal. They truly put on a show. In fact, a description of that show took up a large portion of my Oklahoma Steampunk Expo convention report for Doctor Fantastique.
Here is that excerpt:
The southern fried psycho-cabaret band Hellblinki entertained a packed room Friday night. They were definitely a highlight of the convention. Hellblinki consists of three band members: Valerie Meiss, Andrew Benjamin, and JonPaul Hess. JonPaul is the quietest of the bunch. The obvious backbone of the band, he remains mostly in the background keeping the rhythm with his bass guitar. Andrew Benjamin and Valerie Meiss put on quite a show. Valerie (aka Vaudevie) warbles along in a guerrilla operatic style, giving their sound an edgy and fun aspect. While singing, she also intermittently plays the accordion, saw, toy piano, ukelele, and something she calls a cacaphonium. Oh, and every so often, she hits one of Andrew’s cymbals with a riding crop. Andrew, the face of the band, is made up to look like the stereotypical silent film villain (white face, red around the eyes, and a pointy black goatee). He plays the drums and sometimes guitar while he sings through a microphone that alters his voice to sound as if it’s coming out of an old-fashioned radio. Truly, a joyful performance, even with songs like “Breaking Everything” and “Don’t go down to the woods tonight.”
Truly a sight to behold. They have several videos on their YouTube channel, as well as more filmed by fans. I’ve chosen this one to share with you today.
Read all about Hellblinki and their interestingly varied history on their website. And support the band (not to mention it will also give your ears a treat) and buy some of their music. Also available on Amazon.com.
Caught in the Cogs 