Halifax (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
Halifax

(L-R) Brandt, Peyton, Hunau, Guindon, Charles
Country Thousand Oaks, California, USA
Years active 2002–present
Genres Rock, pop punk, post-hardcore
Labels Drive-Thru Records
Members Mike Hunau
Chris Brandt
Adam Charles
Doug Peyton
Tommy Guindon

Halifax is a five-piece pop punk/post-hardcore-influenced rock band from Thousand Oaks, California. They formed in 2002 and are currently signed to Drive-Thru Records. They achieved notable success with their 2004 EP A Writer's Reference (selling over 33,000 copies to date),[1] after making a cameo appearance on MTV's The Real World: Austin. The band's sophomore full-length album, The Inevitability of a Strange World, was released in May 2006. In December 2006, they won MTV2's Dew Circuit Breakout competition.

Contents

[edit] History

The band Halifax started in Thousand Oaks, California as simple leisure activities of singer Mike Hunau and guitarist Chris Brandt, who would write songs out of boredom in Brandt's parents' house. They later recruited Justin Chlowitz on bass and siblings Dan and Matt Locascio on guitar and drums, respectively, to form a full-time touring band. Their band name originated from the Canadian city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the Locascio brothers had attended a hockey tournament. After several months of occasional touring, Halifax recorded their eleven-song debut album within a week in March 2003. The self-produced and self-funded Start Back at Start was licensed and released in June 2003 by Weymouth, Massachusetts independent record label ECA Records.[2][3]

However, it soon became obvious that Hunau and Brandt were not getting along with the remainder of the band. Being the creative core of Halifax, the two decided to take a chance on a new batch of members. The band added guitarist Adam Charles, bassist Kevin Donlon and drummer/Drive-Thru Records intern Tommy Guindon. The new line-up pooled their cash to record their sophomore effort, similar to the manner Start Back at Start was created. The result was the yet-again self-produced EP A Writer's Reference, released on January 25, 2004 by No Milk Records. While Halifax's debut was much more reminiscent of the band's emo/pop punk influences — namely Taking Back Sunday and The Starting Line — their new material showcased a more unique style, mainly because of the line-up changes they had undergone. The quintet accordingly retired the entire Start Back at Start catalog from their live shows, as they felt they had become a new band. Therefore, Halifax toyed heavily with the idea of renaming, but eventually stuck with their already established moniker.[4]

Given the band's earlier connection with Drive-Thru Records, Halifax opened on various Drive-Thru bands' tours, before getting signed by the Thousand Oaks-based record label in July 2004. Simultaneously, bassist Donlon quit after only a year in the band, to pursue his undergraduate degree in civil engineering at California State University, Northridge. While Chlowitz was initially rumored to return, the vacant position on the bass was in fact filled by temporary members or Hunau. A permanent replacement was not found until Doug Peyton joined the band in late 2005. Drive-Thru re-released A Writer's Reference — which had only been sporadically available in record stores — to the general public in January 2005, with new artwork and a bonus track. International tours followed, including the Dead by Dawn Tour (with From First to Last, Emanuel and He Is Legend) and the Warped Tour in the United States, as well as the Drive-Thru Invasion Tours in Europe and Japan. In between, Halifax appeared on MTV's The Real World: Austin alongside hellogoodbye in a series of episodes about the South by Southwest music festival. While the band was unhappy with how they were depicted in the episodes — as a group of mindless drunks — the exposure certainly helped spread the word about the band, resulting in crossing the one million plays barrier on PureVolume.[2]

In May 2006, Drive-Thru Records released Halifax's third album, which marked the first time the band worked with a record producer. The Inevitability of a Strange World was produced partially by Lou Giordano and partially by Machine, who had previously worked with such renowned bands as Armor for Sleep, The Goo Goo Dolls, Lamb of God, and Sunny Day Real Estate. Thanks to them, the album featured a much rawer sound, giving a slight nod to a variety of heavy metal acts (most notably in the song "Our Revolution", which lyrically and musically pays homage to Mötley Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart"). The Inevitability of a Strange World sold close to 7,000 copies within its first week, debuting at #130 on the Billboard 200 and at #1 on the Top Heatseekers chart.[5][6] To promote the release, the band shot a music video for "Our Revolution", toured extensively and appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly on July 19, 2006 and on Fearless Music on September 23, 2006.

In December 2006, Halifax competed in the finals of MTV2's Dew Circuit Breakout, a TV battle of the bands sponsored by Mountain Dew, against Fallen from the Sky and Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer. Halifax placed first, following in hellogoodbye's footsteps, who won the annual competition the year before. All the while, Payton was continuously suffering from a knee injury, forcing him to leave the band in January 2007. He was replaced by a new bassist named Eric.

[edit] Members

  • Mike Hunau – vocals
  • Chris Brandt – vocals, guitar
  • Adam Charles – guitar
  • Eric Ivener – bass
  • Tommy Guindon – drums

[edit] Former members

  • Dan Locascio – guitar
  • Justin Chlowitz – bass
  • Matt Locascio – drums
  • Kevin Donlon – bass
  • Doug Peyton – bass

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Singles

From A Writer's Reference EP:

  • "Sydney"

From The Inevitability of a Strange World:

  • "Our Revolution"

[edit] Non-album tracks

[edit] References

  1. ^ Halifax Takes Strange World By Storm. NowOnTour. Retrieved on May 21, 2006.
  2. ^ a b Interview - Halifax. The Recorder. Retrieved on May 21, 2006.
  3. ^ Halifax interview. Skratch Magazine. Retrieved on May 21, 2006.
  4. ^ Interview with Halifax. Emotional Punk. Retrieved on May 21, 2006.
  5. ^ Soundscan Results: Week Ending May 28th, 2006. Absolutepunk.net. Retrieved on June 2, 2006.
  6. ^ Halifax Chart Position. Absolutepunk.net. Retrieved on June 2, 2006.

[edit] External links

‬

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../h/a/l/Halifax_%28band%29.html"
In other languages