Way Out West With The Hellflowers!

Photo by Scott Evanskey

Shock Treatment: Let’s begin with some introductions! Who’s all in The Hellflowers and what does everyone do in the band?

The Hellflowers: Christina Hellflower- lead vocals/rhythm guitar, Matt Eskew -Bass, Alex Mack - Lead Guitarist, Stevyn Grey - Drums


Shock Treatment: What’s the origin story of the band, how did you all meet and decide to play music together?

The Hellflowers: Christina and Matt started this band in LA in 2015. After a couple line up changes we were lucky that Matt was friends with Stevyn. When the spot became available we couldn’t wait to ask him and were super lucky he accepted! Haven’t looked back since. After our second guitarist could no longer play with us we were doing acoustic shows. One of those shows was with Billy Bones of “The Skulls”. He said he knew just the guy (after telling him we needed a new lead guitarist) and boy was he correct! He put us in touch with Alex and again we haven’t looked back.



Shock Treatment: You guys released an EP of fantastic cover songs called Teenage Radio last year on Rum Bar Records. What all goes into the decision making process of picking a cover song to record and release?

The Hellflowers: Being such big music junkies it is tricky picking cover songs. I mean, you could record 100 of them, I’m sure. Each one has its own story and we could go on forever with that. But basically, the songs that we chose our songs that we have loved most of our life. I just have to make sure I can sing them well 😉(Christina).


Shock Treatment: How did you guys meet up with Malibu Lou and Rum Bar Records?

The Hellflowers: Stevyn was dealing with some health problems for a little while so he had to kind of step out for a bit. Richie Boom Boom of FOXY/The Glimmer Stars stepped up. I think Lou discovered us through Richie. We are grateful for Richie’s time in The Hellflowers and appreciate the connect to Lou. We think Lou is absolutely fabulous!

Photo by Brian Paine

Shock Treatment: Just going off the cover songs you guys release, people can kind of tell what to expect from The Hellflower's music. But what influences do you guys bring into the band that might not be so obvious to your fans?

The Hellflowers: Christina’s previous band was a honky Tonk outfit called Kit & The Branded men so influences like Loretta Lynn and Buck Owen’s may be less obvious.


Shock Treatment: I feel like a lot of Hellflowers songs are very sincere and heartfelt. Do you find playing music in this way therapeutic at all?

The Hellflowers: 100% All of these songs are straight from the heart! For me personally (Christina), after taking a year off, I realized that I couldn’t live without creating and performing. The anxiety and depression were overwhelming.



Shock Treatment: So The Hellflowers are currently based in Los Angeles. What’s it like being in an active band in L.A. right now and how has it changed since you guys first started out in 2019?

The Hellflowers: I would say it’s changed dramatically. Covid made a lot more people become home bodies. Also, financial and other reasons people don’t want to get out as much as they used to. We now realize the most important thing is to play all ages shows because we noticed a big jump in young people going to shows. So we really try to focus on that.


Shock Treatment: You guys recently played the Sofa Street Fair in San Jose. How was that experience?

The Hellflowers: Absolutely fabulous! Matt is from San Jose so we always get a great homecoming there. People were super enthusiastic and we got a lot of positive feedback from that show and new fans!

Photo by Tony Smith

Shock Treatment: What lies in store for the rest of 2026 for The Hellflowers?

The Hellflowers: Next up for us is Dr Strange Summer Bash in Pomona Memorial Day weekend with a crazy stacked lineup. We play Saturday the 23rd so make sure to get your tickets if you haven’t yet. Plus, many more shows, including sailor Jerry fest and Oahu Hawaii. Heading back into the studio soon to finish our 3rd full length album. Singles should be coming in the next few months, so make sure to follow us in all of our socials. Link tree is in our Instagram bio so you don’t miss anything!


Shock Treatment: Where can people go to listen to your music and buy your records or merch?

The Hellflowers: We’re on Spotify, Apple Music. Bandcamp. Tons of music. iOS on YouTube including one we released a few days ago!