Halifax (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Halifax


Img_capt = (L-R) Brandt, Peyton, Guindon, Charles
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Thousand Oaks, California, USA
Genre = Rock
Pop punk
Years_active = 2003–present
Label = Drive-Thru Records
Associated_acts =
URL =
Current_members = Chris Brandt
Adam Charles
Eric Ivener
Tommy Guindon
Past_members = Justin Chlowitz
Dan Locascio
Matt Locascio
Kevin Donlon
Doug Peyton
Mike Hunau
Notable_instruments =

Halifax is a four-piece rock band from Thousand Oaks, California. They formed in 2003 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) [cite web|url=http://www.nowontour.com/news/pressreleases/release.php?id=943|title=Halifax Takes Strange World By Storm|work=NowOnTour|accessdate=May 21|accessyear=2006] after making a cameo appearance on MTV's "". The band's second 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.

They are currently working on recording a new album and is set to be released in fall 2008.

History

The band Halifax started in Thousand Oaks, California as simple leisure activities of Dan and Matt Locascio, Justin Chlowitz and guitarist Chris Brandt, would write songs out of boredom in The Locascio's parents' house. They later recruited Mike Hunau on Vocals , respectively, to form a full-time touring band. The Locascio's father came up with the name for the band while setting up a hockey tournament in which Dan Locascio and Justin Chlowitz were to be playing in later that year 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.cite web|url=http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/entertainment/entertainment_item.asp?NewsID=14|title=Interview - Halifax|work=The Recorder|accessdate=May 21|accessyear=2006] [cite web|url=http://www.skratchmagazine.com/interviews/interviews.php?id=179|title=Halifax interview|work=Skratch Magazine|accessdate=May 21|accessyear=2006]

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 second album, 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 pop punk influences — namely Taking Back Sunday and The Starting Line — their new material showcased a more distinctive 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. [cite web|url=http://www.emotionalpunk.com/interview/9/|title=Interview with Halifax|work=Emotional Punk|accessdate=May 21|accessyear=2006]

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 "" 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.

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. [cite web|url=http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=140649|title=Soundscan Results: Week Ending May 28th, 2006|work=Absolutepunk.net|accessdate=June 2|accessyear=2006] [cite web|url=http://absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=140768|title=Halifax Chart Position|work=Absolutepunk.net|accessdate=June 2|accessyear=2006] 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.

In 2007, the band completed tours of the United States and the United Kingdom with Madina Lake, Envy On The Coast and My American Heart. This is one of Halifax's first major tours in the UK. Their song, Nightmare, was featured in MLB 07: The Show.

They have recently finished touring Australia as part of the Soundwave festival.

Singer Mike Hunau left the band in April 2008, and Chris Brandt is now taking over the vocal duties for Halifax. He will be singing lead vocals on their new album which they are going to record in the studio this summer.

Recently Halifax has posted a new song demo "Perfect Life" on their myspace. In this song Chris shows off his finesse in singing.

The song "anthem for tonight" appeared in the 2006 videogame Prey. Kevin Schmitz will be missed very much by the band we wish we would have stayed.

The band has recently announced they have finished recording their new album in studio, but have not said when it is to be released.

The Song "Sydney" was featured in the show "Pimp My Ride" / On an episode featuring a Toyota T100

Members

*Chris Brandt – vocals, guitar
*Adam Charles – guitar
*Eric Ivener – bass
*Tommy Guindon – drums

Former members

*Dan Locascio – guitar
*Justin Chlowitz – bass
*Matt Locascio – drums
*Kevin Donlon – bass
*Doug Peyton – bass
*Mike Hunau – vocals (left band in 2008)
*Kevin Schmitz – guitar vocals drums

Discography

Albums

*"Start Back at Start" (2003)
*"The Inevitability of a Strange World" (2006)

EPs

*"A Writer's Reference" (2004, re-released in 2005)
*"3 Song Sampler" (2006)

ingles

From "A Writer's Reference" EP:
*"Sydney"
*"The Kevin" 7"

From "The Inevitability of a Strange World":
*"Our Revolution""Nightmare"

Non-album tracks

*"Straight Up" (Paula Abdul cover) – released on "Punk Goes 80's" (2005)
*"Obsession" – released on the Japanese version of "The Inevitability of a Strange World" (2006)

References

External links

* [http://www.halifaxrock.com Halifax's official website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/halifax Halifax's profile] at MySpace
* [http://www.purevolume.com/halifax Halifax's profile] at PureVolume

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