How did the band form?
Jink: Nutt and I used to play at night around RCA, Thonglor and Phra Athit Road. We happened to meet some people from SpicyDisc who loved our “oldies” style. I later asked Sum and Deo to join us and we became Helmetheads at the end of last year.

Where does the band name come from?
Jink: In university, I was always changing hairstyles, and there was a time where I didn’t cut my hair so some people started calling me “helmethead,” because I kind of had a 60s hairstyle look.

Why do you like 60s music?
Jink: We were originally into bands from the 90s which took a lot of influences from 60s music, so we decided to go back to the roots. We like bands like The Monkees, The Beatles, The Kinks and Herman’s Hermits.
Deo: While we do listen to a wide range of music—even stuff like “Gangnam Style”—we prefer to play older music because we think it has more charm. After the success of “What I Like About You,” are you worried that people might prefer your covers over your original material?
Sum: We’re clear on what we want to do. We already have plenty of our own material, but it’s going to be the next project, after this album.
Jink: Our own Thai songs are pretty indie, but we still want them to be accessible.

Do you always dress retro or only for performances?
Jink: We do kind of plan what to wear on stage, but we generally dress similarly in our everyday lives, too. I like to look at American and Japanese fashion magazines. I used to be a freelance stylist, so I had to stay up-to-date with whatever was happening in fashion. I used to always go to Chatuchak, to walk around with friends and look for secondhand clothes. Now we don’t really have time to shop so we get clothes from brands that sponsor us, like Topshop and Urban Studio.

Where do you normally perform?
Jink: We play at Circle (Soi Ruamrudee) on Thursday nights, but that’s our only regular gig right now. Apart from that, companies hire us to do one-off shows.

What are your most memorable performance experiences?
Jink: When I used to perform in restaurants I’d get too into it sometimes. I’d throw things around, like the microphone or tambourine, and customers were probably wondering what I was doing.
Deo: I like to get up and stand on top of my double bass and I’ve fallen off a few times—nothing too appalling though. If the audience is into the show, I’ll climb up and play, just to be a bit crazy.