Hello Mary is Helena Straight (guitar/vocals), Stella Wave (drums/vocals), and Mikaela Oppenheimer (bass). The NYC-based rock band has made a name for themselves with three unique, memorable records, a Rolling Stone feature, and tours with alternative music greats like American Football. We met virtually for an interview ahead of their first headlining tour for their latest record Emita Ox, during which they are stopping at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on October 10.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity purposes
Interviewed by Dylan Simmons & Chloe Gonzales
Dylan: How has tour been so far?
Mikaela: It’s been good but a little tricky. We left our banner in Seattle.
Chloe: Are you guys excited to come to the Troubadour or any other venues?
Helena: Troubadour is gonna be awesome. I think we’re just excited to be on the road. Headlining for the first time is such a cool change of pace after opening for shows and to promote our new record. But, definitely LA and very excited to have a hometown show in New York.
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Chloe: What are your favorite songs to play live and why?
Mikaela: I like playing “Footstep Misstep.” Super fun, but kind of tricky. I also really like playing “Hiyeahi.”
Helena: That one’s fun when it’s sounding good. My favorite is probably “Heavy Sleeper” right now or “Everything We Do.”
Stella: I feel like “Footstep Misstep” when it’s nailed. I’d say “Heavy Sleeper” too and “0%” is just really fun.
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Dylan: Where does your band name, Hello Mary, come from?
Helena: Mikaela and I came up with the name in eighth grade because we were making music together and wanted to come up with something that had our initials H and M in it.
Stella: When I joined the band, they wanted to change the name and I was like, “No, it’s good!”
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Dylan: Do you have any musical inspiration? How has that changed when you guys were kids versus now and with this new record?
Helena: It’s changed a lot! I feel like the bands that we listened to in middle school were very simplistic, and maybe part of my attraction to those bands was like I could play their songs. I feel like now I’m definitely more branched out.
Dylan: Any personal favorite artists right now?
Mikaela: I’m obsessed with Inga Copeland. She has this project called Lolina and it’s really awesome.
Helena: I’ve been listening to Portishead and Björk.
Stella: Definitely Water From Your Eyes, This is Lorelei, fantasy of a broken heart. I’ve also been listening to the new Robber, Robber album and Chanel Beads.
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Dylan: What’s your guys’ writing process like? Specifically, where do you draw inspiration from? Are there any artists that inspire your writing?
Stella: The writing process for us is pretty collaborative. People will assume that there’s one songwriter, one main contributor to the band but our band is very much a trio. It’s usually when somebody brings something in, like an idea, and then once it’s brought to the other two people, it’s developed in band practice and different parts are added. There’ll be mismatches of parts, different people bringing in different things. And it varies between songs. But yeah, it’s super meldy. In terms of artists influencing, I would say that anything like that is not outwardly intentional. I wouldn’t say that we write a song and we’re like, “We want this to sound like blank,” but it’s more that we listen to whatever we listen to and then it kind of comes out.
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Chloe: Where do you feel like your music is best played at, or what environment works for you? Like house shows, regular venues, festivals, etc.
Helena: In theory, it’s a house show, but oftentimes they don’t have good sound, so that can be difficult. But also, venues often don’t have good sound. I think a house show where we can hear what we want to hear is the best for us.
Dylan: Do you prefer a smaller, intimate crowd that seems into your music specifically, as opposed to a larger crowd that may not be on the same page in terms of genre or scene?
Stella: I feel like there’s a thrill to playing for a bunch of people on tours that we’ve done opening for bigger bands. Like obviously it’s fun to walk out and see a huge crowd, but kind of to your point, a lot of those people aren’t gonna walk away appreciating what we’re doing. So it’s definitely preferable to play to people who will get it and enjoy it.
Dylan: Yeah, I think that’ll be exciting now that you guys are having your own headlining tour, getting to experience that coming together of fans–I imagine that would be refreshing.
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Chloe: Do you all have any pre or post-show rituals?
Stella: We used to sit on the floor with our knees touching.
Mikaela: We also had this chant that we used to say but I forget it!
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Dylan: Is there anything that you guys want to share or promote?
Stella: Listen to the new record, it’s out! We’re very proud of it. We hope that people take the time to understand it, sit with it, and process it. And come to the LA show!
See Hello Mary live at the Troubadour on October 10th and check out their music below!
