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Local Guides
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TRI–CITY REVUE
FILLING THE VOID
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by Declan Kelly
August 28 — September 3, 2003 |
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Half A Halo
“They ain’t pretty, but they sure do rock.” So
begins the unabashedly candid bio for Half A
Halo, the side project of indie producer/remixer
wunderkind Dav–o. Having done remixes for
everyone from Whitney Houston to Sugar Ray
to Craig David, Dav–o’s production work is all
over the map, but it also means he knows the
industry inside out.
So when Dav–o uses his past work with
members of Savage Garden and producers of
the Matthew Good Band as a starting point for
creating “the music he wasn’t hearing,” few
can, if any, can question the man’s pedigree.
“I know it’s a bold statement,” says Dav–o, “but
I just needed to create this project to fill a void
within myself. Being in a studio working on
projects for the past two years has created a
monster, I just needed to get back to playing
my own organic, non electronic music in a live
setting.”
In addition to Dav–o himself handling guitars
and vocals, Half A Halo is rounded out by The
Sep on guitars, Ecoli on drums and Johnny on
bass and vocals — all musicians Dav–o has
worked with somewhere in his storied musical
past. The end result is a style that Dav–o refers
to as “Jeff Buckley meets Pantera, fusing
groove, riffs and lots of melody in an
accessible rock format that would be at home
on commercial radio.”
“I have always played in commercial bands,”
notes Dav–o. “I think that has influenced the
songwriting process. I also am very interested
in the search for truth, so staying true to that
while creating something accessible may very
well be quite the challenge.”
Half A Halo are also currently in the studio
recording a three–track demo to pitch to major
labels. For this, they’ve enlisted the help of
producers Ruben Huizenga (Edwin, Glueleg)
and Byron Wong (David Usher, My Briliant
Beast).
“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,” says Dav–o.
“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”
But as excited as they are about their studio
endeavour, the band remains focused on
wowing live audiences one gig at a time. On
the heels of sharing the stage with The Foo
Fighters at this summer’s Bayfest in Sarnia,
Half A Halo are primed for their current run of
dates around southwestern Ontario.
“The first step is to get as many gigs as
possible, playing to the people,” says Dav–o.
“The few shows we have played have been
really well received, which surprises me
because you never really think anyone is going
to dig what you do, especially if you don’t have
them in mind as the audience.”
Half A Halo play Fiddlers Green in Cambridge
this Saturday. Mary 5E, One Short, and Omega
AD are also on the bill. See
www.halfahalo.com for more details.
The Diskettes
Hailing from Montreal, The Diskettes schedule
for their current tour of southwestern Ontario
shows two Tri–city dates. One is tomorrow
night at the Walper Pub (with Mike Erb), while
the other lists only “backyard upon the Speed
River” as the venue. So, assuming you’re not
big on operating a canoe while under the
influence, the Walper might well be the best
place to catch this interesting duo.
Comprised of David Barclay (guitar/vocals)
and Emily Beliveau (percussion/vocals), The
Diskettes employ a quirky but catchy mix of pop
folk, with the occasional Latino infusion. This
wasn’t necessarily the game plan from the
outset, but plans to channel Sid Vicious’
languishing spirit proved too difficult.
“We like to think of ourselves as a punk rock
group despite the lack of punk rock style,”
laughs Barclay, getting serious only when it
comes to talk of their recent, self–titled indie
release.
“The songs centre mainly around a mix of
doo–wop, bossa nova and straight up pop
music,” says Barclay.
The 12–song cd comes packaged in, what
else, the outer casing of an old 5–inch floppy
disk. Remember those? If not, I’m sure the
band will be more than happy to remind you at
tomorrow night’s show at the Walper.
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