I love it when I can see a band at SXSW and a year later they are signed to a major label and on a big national tour. Things actually have moved pretty quickly for Halestorm. Within months they were signed to Atlantic and have released a live ep to satisfy fans and recruit new ones. Lzzy Hale’s vocals are amazing.The EP has a song called “Takes My Life” that may be one of the greatest live vocal performances by a female artist. I call her a guitar toting Janis Joplin. One can also hear a little Ann Wilson. If you can imagine Pat Benatar and Joan Jett with AC/DC then you can get the idea of what Halestorm is like. I caught them at the
House of Blues in Las Vegas on tour with Seether and friends Shinedown. The band rocked and provided worthy backing for Lzzy’s vocals. After reading Lzzy’s tour journal I then discovered the other band on the current tour, Flyleaf. This band is another SXSW veteran but that was from 2003. I missed them there and having been in the Dallas area for 4 years was amazed that I had missed them on that circuit as well. Hailing from the Temple, Texas area they played many of the venues I frequented. Better late than never. After hearing the new self-titled on Octone Records, I rushed to schedule an interview. Sitting in the tour bus back stage. I spoke with bassist Pat Seals and guitarist Sameer Bhattacharya.
IM: What was the process of being at SXSW and getting discovered?
Pat: I just want to say our mutual respect for Halestorm, how much they completely rock! SXSW 2003 was a definitive time for us. All the events happened just right.They couldn’t have been better. There were reps from RCA and EMI and an attorney who eventually became ours. There was correspondence over a few months and we were able to go to New York for a showcase.
IM: Did you go to SXSW completely cold or was there a buzz about the band?
Pat: There was a little bit of a buzz. We had a few friends there in Austin We had been playing the Texas rock circuit, Houston, Dallas our hometown. …..we played Spiro’s Amphitheater at 5 o’clock(SXSW)…we will always remember that day.
IM: What was it like to taking your songs/demos to a producer to work one your songs/demos and what was it like working with the producer to craft the songs?
Pat: Me and the band had written a bunch of songs, all the fodder was there. What we did was get a rehearsal space, then Howard Benson came and hung out with us and we played the songs. He said, “lets try this here, this hear”, and in pre-production we did all the arrangements and how we thought they would go if you played them live. Over the course of 3 weeks we laid down the recordings and after that we got the mixes back and they are all rearranged. He kind of protooled different arrangements and so it was definitely out of our comfort zone, but I think it was necessary and I am very glad we went through that process.
IM: There is some very interesting stuff on the record, particularly the guitar work and orchestrations, like little tiny rock opera’s going on.(Pat laughs) I hear Rush stuff, intros like the Stooges, punk drumming. What are some of the influences you draw upon?
Pat: As a band, we’re pretty across the board. Lacy has Nirvana, Pantera. James has Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Beatles. My self, Deftones, Jared and Sameer, Third Eye Blind, Foo Fighters. Sameer and Jared are very amazing guitar players.. they really compliment each other well. Its not a chop thing or who can play this many notes. There is a lot of good color and depth. Some of the punky riffs, like what you were talking about, like “Perfect” and “Cassie”, Lacey wrote some of the “B” sections and her attitude comes through with that.
IM:Who do you think your audience is..age group,etc?
Sameer: Our audience can go anywhere. Anyone who connects to the music..what were trying to do when we write music..all of our intentions, were trying to find hope..trying to find the positive. A lot of us go through things that are negative…a learning situation…you want to let that come across in your music. Even though we go through these things there is hope in the end. You end up a better person. Whoever can relate to that, thats who the music is for.
IM: One of the songs is about a girl with a gun to her head.
Sameer: “Cassie” That song is not about suicide its about the Columbine High School shootings. “Do you believe in God” written on the bullet, I will say yes and pull the trigger. By saying yes, I believe in God, they are waiting for these girls to deny their faith and their belief in God and the girls didn’t. They said “yes” and they knew what was going to happen..they were willing to sacrifice themselves for something they believed in.
When Flyleaf took the stage the lights were dimmed and Lacey faced away from the sold out crowd raising her arms as if to briefly gather supernatural inspiration from the heavens. Then, suddenly turning to the band, they exploded into thier first song. The 4′ 10” singer was like Alanis Morrisette at her height. She was flailing her arms and taunting the crowd while her waist length hair frequently obscured her face and glowed red from the stage lights. At one point she knelt down at the edge of the stage, a single hand extended to the audience as if giving an offering…or awaiting the same from the crowd while Sameer provided a backdrop of intense yet exquisite guitar.
