Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
(Toronto, April 1st, 2004) Canadian rock band Half A Halo released their debut indie EP 'The Thrashing Floor' this week.
The 6 song EP was produced, engineered and mixed by Dave Thompson, singer/guitarist and principle songwriter for Half A Halo. Daves' previous work includes working with members of Savage Garden, the producers of Matthew Good and creating remixes of some of the worlds biggest artists like Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake for Promo Only. Dave has also toured for the past 10 years across Asia, Australia and North America. Joe (guitars), Collin (drums) and John (bass/vocals) round out the Half A Halo line up.
Only a year since their inception, Half A Halo have played shows featuring Foo Fighters, Matt Good, Pete Yorn, Cheap Trick and Slaves On Dope to name a few playing venues such as Sarnia Bayfest and Zaphods in Ottawa. Half A Halo are booked by The Agency Group.
The Thrashing Floor ep is a guitar driven, melodic offering of heavy songs that fans of Stone Temple Pilots, Filter and Queens Of The Stone Age could enjoy. Fusing heavy guitar riffs over percussive grooves while melodic vocals dance with the devil, The Thrashing Floor delves into subject matter like the duality of man, acceptance and the search for truth .
The first track and single off the EP, 'Outstretch' waxes lyrical about offering help and acknowledgement of those in need, regardless of social standing. The second song 'Losing Sound' discusses the fear of losing the one thing important to us all, our desire. Bass player and screamo god John Pegg takes over lead vocal duties on the fourth track The King & I.
Fans of melodic and heavy music should find something here of substance, due to the lyrical content having some sort of social conscience without being preachy. The Thrashing Floor sounds like an honest effort while still sounding accessible and commercial.
The Thrashing Floor ep is available now on and offline. For more info go to:
http://www.halfahalo.com - Digital Underdog
September 8th, 2003 - Toronto, Canada - Half A Halo, rockers from Toronto Canada, have just secured a spot on the prestigious roster of The Agency Group. (TAG).
The Agency Group is one of Canada's premiere booking agents with offices in London, Nashville and New York with clients such as Nickelback, The White Stripes, Creed, I Mother Earth and Dream Theater to name a few. Paul Gourlie from TAG will handle Half A Halo bookings and show dates exclusively.
Management enquiries will be handled by Krista Evans of K.N.E Entertainment exclusively. - Digital Underdog
Toronto - July 4th 2003 - As one of few companies in the world that manufacture drumsticks to order based on specifications supplied or a sample, Balbex also offer customized logo or signature printing directly on their product.
"We manufacture 37 types of drumsticks including classical ones to international standards and special products developed to specific requirements of individual musical styles. We do our best to supply the widest possible range of drumsticks so that every drummer can find what best fits him or her" says owner Tomas Havlin.
"We are very excited to sponsor Half A Halo, and will be providing them with our 5B Premium Hornbeam sticks with the Half a Halo custom logo imprinted on them".
The deal will include promotion of Half A Halo at trade shows and industry fairs in Europe, while the band will fly the Balbex logo on promo items and advertisements.
Half A Halo's drummer, Collin McFadden says "We feel pretty honoured to be sponsored by such a reputable stick manufacturer, and this deal will bring more attention to both Half a Halo and Balbex in our respective countries. As a player I hit really hard, Balbex sticks can withstand the torture I put them through. Hornbeam is also known as Ironwood, due to its dense nature, so the response with these sticks is very dynamic."
Balbex also exports its drumsticks to USA, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany and Poland. - Digital Underdog
July 20th, 2003 - Toronto, Canada - Toronto rockers Half A Halo are proving that organic rock music is on the rise.
Fresh from playing Sarnia Bayfest with the Foo Fighters, Mat Good and Cheap Trick, Half a Halo are busy working on their independent debut ep The Thrashing Floor. "It was such a blast playing at Bayfest, the crowd was electric" says singer/guitarist Dave Thompson "We were very surprised to be one of 10 bands chosen to play the festival".
In little more than 3 months, Half a Halo have created their own buzz, securing prestigious gigs like the festival in Sarnia and a national television ad across Canada.
"I have been so busy promoting the band to various channels, seeing who will bite" says Dave. "It's an 18 hour a day job, but extremely rewarding. Being independent is a matter of circumstance, at this point we are focused on doing what is required to get the attention of the majors. Whether that be a major label deal, or a private investor, we will look at every option."
Whan asked about their current niche in the marketplace, Half a Halo are unsure about their own popularity. "We are organic rock, and what that means to me is straight up get-what-your-given rock. No overdubs in the studio, no 10 vocal tracks and 100 guitar tracks. Every track we record is basically just us. We may edit certain parts, but we never create more sound than we can reproduce live with a 4 pc band. So we are not nu-metal, we are not grunge, we are not heavy metal. I think we have many obvious influences in our music, so we try to write songs first and then pidgeon hole it second."
From the STPish 'Horizon' to the Radioheadish 'Incurable', Half a Halo definately wear their influences proudly. - Digital Underdog
Discography
The Thrashing Floor EP
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Half A Halo was created in Guelph, Ontario Canada in April of 2003. The band consists of Dave singing and playing guitar, John the screamer playing bass, Joe on guitars and Collin on drums.
Spawned from failed pasts, Half A Halo came together out of desperation to create the music they weren't hearing. Fresh from producing indie artists and creating major label remixes for artists such as Sugar Ray, Craig David and Justin Timberlake and a remix for former Nine Inch Nails drummer Chris Vrenna featured on DVD, producer/remixer Dave Thompson started the band as a live outlet. Apart from remixing, Dave's previous work includes playing with members of Savage Garden and in the studio with producers of Mathew Good Band.
Dave has toured in North America, Australia and Asia for the past 10+ years in a multitude of cover and tribute shows, before settling in Guelph to manage Ignition Sound Studios for David Hastings Jr. After completing the last few projects for Promo Only Canada (Promo Only service remixes to major labels), Dave enlisted the services of a few musicians he had worked with previously to bring Half A Halo to life. These musicians include Joe on guitars, Collin on drums and John on bass and vocals. Dave plays guitar, sings and is the primary songwriter in Half A Halo.
Half A Halo recorded 3 tracks with producers Ruben Huizenga (Edwin, Glueleg, Micro Maureen) and Byron Wong (David Usher, My Briliant Beast, Crystal Method) in September 2003. "Working with Ruben and Byron has been a huge honour, as I remember watching Byron on Much as a VJ and really respected his knowledge and integrity. Ruben's work on Edwin's 'Another Spin Around The Sun' is excellent, as Ruben wrote and played on most of that record and then toured with Edwin. These guys know their stuff".
Another honour came in March of 2004 when 3 major label producers became interested in working with Half A Halo. Paul Northfield (Rush, Hole, Marylin Manson, Ozzy Osbourne), Dan Brodbeck (The Salads, Holly McNarland, Dolores Oriordan) and Graham Brewer (Limp Bizkit, Tea Party, Nelly Furtado, Sam Roberts) all showed more than just a passing interest in working on an album with Half A Halo. After much deliberation and research, Half A Halo decided Graham Brewer was the best choice musically and personally to run things from the opposite side of the glass. Half A Halo are currently in pre production on a full length album with Graham. Half A Halo have a 6 track ep called 'The Thrashing Floor' produced, engineered, mixed and mastered entirely by Dave scheduled for release May 2004.
Only a year since their inception, Half A Halo have played shows featuring Foo Fighters, Matt Good, Pete Yorn, Cheap Trick and Slaves On Dope to name a few playing venues such as Sarnia Bayfest and Zaphods in Ottawa. Half A Halo are booked exclusively by The Agency Group (Nickelback, White Stripes, Evanescence and many more).
Fusing heavy riffs, light melody and a sense of song with 2 distinctly different vocalists, Half A Halo's sound is an organic meld of polyrhythmic guitar parts over percussive grooves while melodic vocals dance with the devil.
Half A Halo's music is self described as a cross between Queens Of The Stone Age, Pantera and Radiohead, fusing groove, riffs and lots of melody in an accessible rock format that would be at home on commercial radio.
Look for Half A Halo at a venue near you, or for more info go to:
www.halfahalo.com
Links
