Entertainment

Hep Alien Needs To Be In The 'GG' Revival

by Amy Roberts

A cold sweat covered me the other day when I watched the Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life trailer for the billionth time and noticed something that I hadn't before. Firstly, Hep Alien is absent from the entire trailer (which, like, fair enough — time is limited here). But second of all, Lane is totally rocking the drums in a setting which simply looks like home. Not a stage, not an arena, not a music festival — but potentially, just her living room. I'm cool with the idea that the band may not have made it big (despite being the greatest covers band of all time), but I need to know: Is Hep Alien still together in the Gilmore Girls revival?

Because out of all of the fictional bands from the many shows that I've spent a good portion of my life lovingly obsessing over, Gilmore Girls' Hep Alien is by far one of my favorites. Part of that could be because they cover Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" better than any mere mortals have the right to, but another reason is because of the characters who make up the band and their general camaraderie. And I simply don't think I could enjoy A Year In The Life without them treating me to potential rock covers of "Hotline Bling" or "Single Ladies." Can you imagine?

But let's all just chill for a second, because there are a couple of positive signs which may indicate that Hep Alien will be in at least one episode of A Year In The Life . The first clue is the most simple. Actors Todd Lowe (Zack), John Cabrera (Brian) and Sebastian Bach (Gil) are listed on IMDb for one episode each of the Netflix revival, alongside Keiko Agena, who's obviously starring in all four as Lane.

Now, of course, I'm less than stoked about the fact that the fellas of Hep Alien will only be gracing fans with their presence for only one episode, but it's better than nothing. And it actually fills me with even more hope that within that single episode there may be a spectacular performance on par with the one they did at Zack and Lane's wedding.

The second super-positive piece of evidence is the fact that Hep Alien recently reunited at the Gilmore Girls Fan Festival. And from this detailed report about the Gilmore Girls fan festival by Vanity Fair, it sounded as though Hep Alien not only performed, but also totally kicked ass in a way that sounds as though all the members may have been practicing together recently.

According to VF, Lowe entered the stage strumming "Single Ladies" on guitar (uh, seriously, I'm dying to hear them nail this song) before being joined by Agena and Cabrera to perform a version of Carole King's "Where You Lead." (Yes, the Gilmore Girls theme song.) Sadly, Bach was apparently absent from proceedings, but it was close enough. Hep Alien happened IRL and I'm clinging onto this fact as a total affirmation that they're also going to totally slay a performance in the Gilmore Girls revival too.

Which brings me right back to A Year In The Life, and particularly the fact that Lane can be seen drumming in what looks like a very domestic setting. I live for the potential idea that Lane has likely kept her drum kit in the lounge of her home with husband Zack (and that they jam together when their kids are in school), but could this brief sequence in the trailer indicate more than that? Could it be that Hep Alien uses Lane and Zack's home as a practice space, like they used to use their shared apartment together? Because if so, then I'm loving that.

I'm also absolutely still clinging onto the hope that Hep Alien may be together in the revival for an extra special performance. Possibly for that much speculated Gilmore Girls revival wedding scene that fans have been repeatedly obsessing about for the past few months. Because a wedding would also be an incredibly appropriate time for Hep Alien to sing the lines "if you like it then you should have put a ring on it..." from "Single Ladies" — a song which I wholeheartedly hope Lowe was playing at the Gilmore Girls Fan Festival as a playful teaser for things to come.

In my heart of hearts, I strongly believe that Hep Alien would have never have broken up. Sure, they often had their disagreements (Follow Them To The Edge Of The Desert is still definitely too long, Zack), but they also shared an infallible bond. And I can't wait to relive that bond, their hilarious band bickering, and on-point cover songs when Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life finally premieres on Netflix on Nov. 25. It absolutely wouldn't be the same without them.

Images: Warner Bros. Television; Giphy; Netflix