HELLO SHARK
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HELLO SHARK

Burlington, Vermont, United States | INDIE

Burlington, Vermont, United States | INDIE
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"Hello Shark "My Life""

Imagine if a garage were a person: what sort of life would she have? And imagine if a parking-lot were a person, making rich business. Imagine these dumb ideas. // I was born in a place that I didn't think had any people. The garages were not people; the parking-lots were not people; my friends and parents were not people. I decided when I was eighteen years old that no one was real except for myself. They were all made of asbestos, stuffed with straw. // I was wrong. - Said The Gramophone


"The State Of Music: Part 4: Vermont – Hello Shark"

The man who built this website currently resides in Vermont. His name is Dan, he has a company called Madlab Design and is also a very nice chap.

That is about all I know about this North Eastern state – that a nice guy called Dan lives there….and that its a big ski resort, which most likely counts me out as a visitor. I worry about breaking my leg just watching the sport.

Indeed my quest for truth hit a block even further when I asked for Vermont facts on my Twitter account. Indeed, the only fact given to me was by @fatfish59 who told me he has a jar of sweet mustard bought from the Vermont Country Store in the back of his cupboard.

The state does appear to have an abundance of good bands though – the best of which I am very honoured to have on Choose My Music

Hello Shark



BUY ALBUM (BANDCAMP) – Digital Download – $5 (£3 approx)

Downbeat music maybe, but there is always something wonderful about bands who can bring out the melon collie in the right way. It’s a difficult skill but it is one that Vermont’s Hello Shark does so well.

As we are at the end of British Summer Time here in the UK, I imagine this album is one I will be listening to as the early nights draw in as I make my way to the local shop to by milk for my hot chocolate wrapped up in my winter coat. Lovely!

As usual, you can listen to Hello Shark’s album ‘Break Arms’ below, and while you do that why not have a little read of my interview with vocalist/guitarist and Hello Shark’s main man Linc Halloran

CMM: Welcome to Choose My Music. Could you give us a personnel check of Hello Shark and how long you have been together.

LH: Hello Shark has been a making music since 2006. The band has ranged from an eight piece ensemble to just myself. Right now Alex plays drums, Sean plays bass guitar, I sing and play electric guitar, and Brooke sings sometimes.

CMM: How did Hello Shark get started?

LH: Hello Shark got started when I was 17 and moved to northern Vermont. I didn’t have any friends except for a boy named Shay Roselip who was staying in a cabin in the middle of the woods with two lovely dogs. He had a room filled of tape recorders and we recorded an album called Book Lungs throughout the long winter. I started performing that spring more often in peoples houses around New York and Boston and the album was picked up and released. Since then I have been hooked on writing songs and touring.

CMM: How best would you describe your music?

LH: I would say Lo-Fi Pop. Most people would say “Miserable Pop”

CMM: You are based out in Vermont. How would you describe your state and what is the live scene like out there?

LH: There is a late bohemian bluegrass craze in this state, last grip on the death of Phish, and a crusty karaoke basement scene.

CMM: One thing I am hoping to find in this series is some kind of link between where a band is based and their location. Do you feel as a band you are influenced by your surroundings and the scene around you?

LH: No. This is just one of those places where people are positive. I like when you walk into town and everyone looks content and happy. Lots of cities are hectic and upsetting to me when I stay too long. I like living here. It is also one of those places that is really easy to hitchhike.

CMM: What other influences does the band have, musical or otherwise?

LH: Alex listens to lots of early 90’s rock and punk. Sean listens to lots of current rap, Pop songs, and old Phil Spector produced songs. I listen to lots of folk songs. Favorites are Thanksgiving, Silver Jews, and Melanie.

CMM: You are signed to Burst and Bloom Records based in New Hampshire, how did that relationship come about?

LH: I was visiting family in the area one summer and was asked if I was interested in recording some songs at their studio. That fall and winter we would drive down from Vermont and record a song or two each visit.

CMM: I am aware at the time of writing this you are currently out on - Choose My Music


"Hello Shark"

Traveler Linc Halloran phones it in from the basement of the Bug Jar bar in Rochester, NY while on tour. This is music to fall in love to and with, short and small, sweet, and perfect for playing over the telephone.
Nadav Carmel, KDVS 09/07/2009
- Phoning It In


"Best New Bands in America"

WHY THEM? Endearingly lo-fi, minimalist acoustic campfire ballads about topics as disparate as romance and insects, all delivered with aching sincerity. There are a few embellishments from Casio keyboards, drums, and guest vocalists, but for the most part it is simply the work of Linc Halloran and his guitar. Sounds kind of like Cowboy Junkies if they junked their sister singer and replaced her with a pathologically shy entomologist. It’s the kind of thing that could seem affected, but because it’s so spare and straightforward, Halloran (er, Hello Shark) makes it work.

BONUS BIT! Halloran took part in the second installment of last year’s “Field Trip,” a Cambridge-based performance of guerrilla acoustic shows. His took place near Metropolitan Storage. - Boston Phoenix


"Advance Base / Hello Shark split"

The B-Side from Hello Shark, starts out with "Stayed on an Island", recorded by Joey Pizza Slice in his apartment, the 4 piece reserved band lead by Lincoln Halloran on guitar and vocals, sounds like it works right alongside on old Palace album, he's just as understated in his delivery as Owen and the simple sentiments of making an island out of a mattress or giving a good friend a solo cigarette, come off as intensely personal, you're being let in on this intimate performance that doesn't ever need to be loud or scream for your attention. "Stars are Glow" continues this loose, good friends together writing music, a sleepy melodic track with Brooke Morrison bringing a high register harmony to the low key proceedings. A great pairing with Advance Base, and a serene end to 2011.
- 7 Inches


"K Records Turns 25"

Since we can’t offer you a slice of the sweet stuff, head over to the AK website and stream a bunch of covers of K artists. There are tracks by Danielson, Adam Gnade, Half-Handed Cloud, as well as a couple we’d like to share with you now: My Brightest Diamond collaborator DM Stith — he did the artwork for Bring Me The Workhorse — putting a world-weary, but somehow breezy spin on the Microphones “You’ll Be In The Air” and Vermont popsters Hello Shark nailing that old K bedroom vibe with a cover of Tender Trap’s “Marry Me.” Total Six Cents & Natalie flashbacks… - Stereogum


Discography


Hello Shark | Break Arms | Burst and Bloom

"It breaks hearts. It's the most honest thing I've listened to. This record kills me..." -The Stowaways

"Slow, sleepy, rainy
day indie rock. Not that that’s a bad thing"
-Silver Circles

Advance Base & Hello Shark 7" Split | PIAPTK

"The debut release from Casiotone For the Painfully Alone's Owen Ashworth's new band..."

Hello Shark | Book Lungs | Grinding Tapes

Photos

Bio

Hello Shark has been making music since 2006. Distributing a mix of songs supported by a number of different labels in the United States. Hello Shark has toured the country extensively playing with Jana Hunter, Castanets, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Karl Blau, Nat Baldwin, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Phosphorescent, YACHT, Parenthetical Girls, Deer Tick, Kurt Vile, Viking Moses, and Mount Eerie.
Lincoln Halloran started the project while living in northern Vermont and since then there has been a largely rotating cast of musicians by his side. In the summer of 2011 Hello Shark released the full length album "break arms" on Burst and Bloom Records along with a split 7 inch with Advance Base "formerly Casiotone for the Painfully Alone" on PIAPTK Records. Hello Shark's line-up has remained the same since the conception and recording of these two releases.

Lincoln Halloran - Electric Guitar, Vocals
Sean Hood - Bass, Vocals
Alex Decato - Drums