Hellride is an American music group formed in the 1990s by guitarist

Peter DiStefano Peter DiStefano (born July 10, 1965, in Santa Monica, California, U.S.) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work in the alternative rock band Porno for Pyros (the Jane's Addiction offshoot featuring vocalist Perry Farrell ...

, bassist Mike Watt, and drummer

Stephen Perkins Stephen Andrew Perkins (September 13, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter. A drummer and percussionist, he currently plays with Jane's Addiction and Hellride. Following the dissolution of Jane's Addiction, Perkins continued to play w ...

. Hellride is a

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...

to the musicians' other full-time bands (Watt is active as a solo artist and former member of Minutemen and Firehose; DiStefano and Perkins were members of

Porno For Pyros Porno for Pyros is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1992, following the break-up of Jane's Addiction. The band currently consists of former Jane's Addiction members Perry Farrell (vocals) and ...

, with whom Watt occasionally played). Hellride is exclusively a live band in the Los Angeles area, though fan recordings circulate with Watt and Perkins's blessing.See, for example,
this 1998 concert
on Archive.org Their entire set list is devoted to playing and reinterpreting the music of

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

in a jazz style inspired by iconic saxophonist

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

. The band grew out of Watt and Perkins' more frequent collaborations in the jazz-punk improv group

Banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

as well as Watt's brief stint as bassist with Porno for Pyros in 1996. On separate occasions, Watt did a Hellride performance on Halloween 2003 with

The Secondmen Mike Watt and the Secondmen is the punk rock trio formed by former Minutemen and Firehose bassist Mike Watt to perform and record his third solo album, '' The Secondman's Middle Stand''. Formed in 2002 in Watt's hometown of San Pedro, Californ ...

drummer

Jerry Trebotic Jerry Trebotic is an American drummer, best known for his longtime association with veteran punk bassist/songwriter Mike Watt, with whom he has toured in the project bands The Jom and Terry Show and The Secondmen. As part of the Secondmen, he p ...

substituting for Perkins, who was on a Jane's Addiction reunion tour at the time. He also performed in a "Hellride East" line-up in New York City in 2000 and 2012 with

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlo ...

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo art ...

and Murph on guitar and drums respectively. Watt went on to replace deceased bassist Dave Alexander in the reformed Stooges with original members Iggy Pop,

Ron Asheton Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 6, 2009) was an American musician , who was best known as the guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter for the rock band the Stooges. He formed the Stooges along with Iggy Pop and his brother, ...

, and

Scott Asheton Scott Randolph Asheton (August 16, 1949 – March 15, 2014) was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band the Stooges. Asheton was born in Washington, D.C. and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan with his family at the age of ...

References

{{Authority control Mike Watt American alternative rock groups