All Ages Matinee with
HED PE
Originally based in Huntington Beach, CA, (Hed) p.e. was founded in 1994 by frontman Jahred, whose goal was to fuse the region’s long-standing punk rock heritage with G-funk-inflected hip-hop. He was shortly joined by bassist Mark who has remained alongside the band until present day. The line up is currently rounded out by guitarist Jaxon and drummer Trauma.
(Hed)p.e was snatched up by Jive Records early in its career, but it wasn’t until the year 2000 when they released the album “broke” that they received mainstream success. It was this album that solidified them as a mainstay in the rock and metal community.
(Hed)p.e. released its third album “Blackout” in 2003 which continues to be their most successful album to date. The group is infamous for changing the image and style of the band and music from release to release. Infusing moments of punk, metal, rap, reggae, and rock into their very eclectic yet precise sound.
Many have asked what the name (Hed) p.e. means and stands for. According to vocalist Jahred, “The name (Hed) p.e. is a name I came up with which basically means our consciousness is connected to the planet and the planet is evolving, therefore, we as her children, evolve with her. The “p.e.” originally was defined as PLANETARY EVOLUTION, and sometimes morphs to PLANET EARTH and back, but both carry the same message, the (Hed) is the symbol for consciousness. WE ARE ON THE MOTHERSHIP!”
Despite many bands and peers from their genre, (Hed)p.e. has never taken a break from releasing albums and touring, which has enabled them to survive and meet with very strong independent success over the years. As a member that has been with the band from inception, bassist Mark attributes this to a passion for music and for playing in (Hed)p.e. for over 2 decades. “I moved from NewCastle England to pursue music in the United States and have never looked back.” says Mark. “Our goal is to be a band that can connect with fans for decades to come, much like bands like the Rolling Stones have been able to do for over four generations of music.”
Staying true to the (Hed)p.e. standard of change and growth both personally and musically, the new album “Evolution” takes the band back to their metal and underground roots they grew up on as kids. With tracks like “One More Body” and “No Tomorrow” holding down the metal and aggressive front, to the Led Zeppelin infused track “2 Many Games”, this album delivers every style imaginable and even rounds the album out with three reggae inspired/infused album closers.
In a time when so many bands are playing it safe and going through the motions, whether it be out of fear of failure or lack of new ideas, (Hed)p.e. embraces change and “Evolves” with their greatest work to date.
One Eyed Doll
With a discography of eleven full-length albums under its belt,[5] (six
One-Eyed Doll albums, four Kimberly Freeman solo albums and one under the
name Ghetto Princess) the band made No. 1 on ReverbNation’s local chart[6]
and has toured nationally with OTEP[7][8] Cold, Wayne Static (of Static
X), Peelander Z, Polkadot Cadaver, Mushroomhead, and Orgy. The band’s lead
singer and guitarist, Kimberly Freeman (who has been described as Gwar
meets Strawberry Shortcake)[9] performs on a signature Tregan guitar,
accompanied by the lone drummer (and producer) Jason Rufuss Sewell a.k.a.
Junior, in a theatrical style[10] which has been described musically as
“… Pixies meets Siouxsie meets Hole”[11] and the “bastard laboratory
love child of Dresden Dolls meets White Stripes and Marilyn Manson.”[12]
One-Eyed Doll, which was formed in 2007, first gained recognition from
their peers when they won their first Best Punk Band at the 2009 SXSW; the
award was presented by Exene Cervenka[2] of the first-generation punk band
X. That year they also won 2nd place Metal Band, 3rd place Best New Band,
4th place Industrial/Goth Band, 7th place Best Acoustic Guitar (Kimberly
Freeman), 8th place Female Vocals (Kimberly Freeman), and 10th place Best
Record Producer (Jason Rufuss Sewell, for Monster.)[13] One-Eyed Doll
broke into the mainstream media, however, with the release of their third
album Break, whereupon Kimberly Freeman was featured in the
January/February 2011 Fallen Heroes issue of Revolver in its cover feature
The Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock; she also appeared as an awakening zombie
on the America’s Got Talent semi finals as part of ArcAttack.[14] She
gained musical recognition as a guitarist upon being featured in a
full-page dedicated article in the April 2011 Guts & Glitter issue of
Guitar Player[15] magazine as one of the Twenty Most Extraordinary Female
Guitarists[16] along with the likes of Joan Jett, Bonnie Raitt, and Nancy
Wilson.[17] The band has a fervent fanbase,[18][19] and is known for their
mutual support of their fans, some of whom have gotten tattoos of the
band’s iconography,[20] and for their equally fervent DIY business
model.[9][21][22] Amongst its national tours, One-Eyed Doll have been
performing at several major anime conventions such as DragonCon,[23] and
headlining at the 4&20 Blackbird Festival in Weed, California.[24][25]
Kimberly Freeman is one of several real-life people to appear in the
massively multiplayer online role playing game AdventureQuest Worlds
(where she is styled as the True Sixth Lord of Chaos);[citation needed]
the OED song Battle On is prominently featured. She also appears in the
AdventureQuest Worlds Anything-Goes Battle On Battle Card Game on two
cards,[26][27] one of them a berserker enhancement card quite in keeping
with her on-stage persona.[28] She is also the voice of Sally in the
Doomwood Saga of the same game.
In real life, Kimberly Freeman speaks Mandarin fluently from a stint in
China before beginning her music career, and was a volunteer for the Red
Cross at Ground Zero after 9-11. Her producer and fourth drummer, Jason
Rufuss Sewell, recorded his first record at the age of fifteen and has
been producing records continually ever since. Sewell has helped produce
and engineer albums with Grammy Award-winning producer Sylvia Massy
working at her RadioStar Studios in Weed, CA. He has also run for the
California State Senate seat for District 6 in 2002 (as Jason A. Sewell on
the Libertarian Party ticket), coming in second with 26% of the vote.[29]
Freeman and Sewell have created music for commercials, movies, and video
games,[1] most prominently for AdventureQuest Worlds.[30]
An hour-and-a-half gonzo documentary of the band’s life on the road on
tour from Austin to Harlem[31] has been released on YouTube for free by
David Bruce Bates, Jr.[32]
One-Eyed Doll’s 2012 album Dirty was recorded with Grammy Award-winning
producer Sylvia Massy (Tool, System of a Down, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Johnny Cash). Dirty was announced by the band in November 2011 on Dark
Matter Radio hosted by Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro. The band
recorded another album entitled Committed, also produced by Sylvia Massy,
which should see the light of day in late 2013.[33] The video for the
self-titled lead single for the Committed album, directed by Patrick
Kendall (Megadeth, Incubus, Theory of a Dead Man) and released exclusively
by Revolver Magazine in October 2012, has received over a quarter of a
million views.
One-Eyed Doll toured with OTEP and The Butcher Babies on their “Destroy to
Create Tour” and as Direct Support with Otep and openers Picture Me Broken
on the “Seduce and Destroy Tour 2013”. Beginning on June 14, 2013, they
co-headlined with Polkadot Cadaver on their “Last Call in Jonestown 2013
Tour” with openers Exotic Animal Petting Zoo.[34] In September 2013
One-Eyed Doll embarked on a full US Halloween tour as direct support for
Mushroomhead.