The Black Halos - Making Music History

Vancouver’s monochrome punks are making a ton of noise in the music industry all over the globe; but that’s just business as usual for these guys. The band has just released its 4th studio album “We Are Not Alone” on Feb 26th and not a moment too soon for the pack of blood-thirsty fans who make up the Halos’ cult-like following. With dedicated management, a bolstered lineup and a brand new independent label History Music with international licensing and distribution deals already stricken, the Black Halos are a musical force that can’t and won’t be ignored.

I caught up with band and label manager Danny Cameo, the man working behind the scenes and fighting in the trenches, to find out what’s happening with the band. “Well,” says Cameo, “We had the great Jack Endino (Nirvana, Soundgarden) up here producing for us once again, which we are very excited about. We have a big few months a head of us, lots of touring, and rehearsing a ton. We’ve got a heavy touring schedule planned to promote the release of the new record.”

Heavy touring is something the Halos are used to. Last year alone, the band played in 14 countries, including of course this great nation of ours, Canada. This self-proclaimed “beautiful nightmare” (to quote lead singer, Billy Hopeless) formed back in 1994 and have made their mark through both stellar recordings and relentless touring. I’ve been to more than one of their live shows and I can tell you, they are both boisterous and spotless. They are like a calculated chaos that you find yourself craving again and again after your first taste.

The lineup has changed a bit over the years, with only front man Billy Hopeless and drummer Rob Zgaljic remaining from the original quintet. Just recently, the band added Jameel “JR” Russel on bass and less recently, Johnny Stewart on guitar after the departure of Denyss McNight and Jay Millette, respectively. I wondered if the multiple lineup changes over the years have affected the inner workings of the band, or the overall dynamic.

“Sure,” says Cameo. “But it changes it in a positive way. I think fans sometimes see it as a negative thing, but sometimes members just don’t work out. Plain and simple. With a band that’s been around this long, it’s like a gang. There’s a bond that supercedes just playing an instrument. It’s a bond that you can feel when the guys are on stage, or in a customs line in Sweden or wherever. Each time we swap members it seems like there’s an injection of new energy, but if you talk to the guys, it’s still the Halos. It looks like the Halos, smells like the halos and all that.”

There you go. They are not replacing members, but rather adding new ones. It’s sort of like building a house. You build the foundation with the original members, and if one or two, or even all of those guys leave, you just move on, and find the person to help fulfill the finished vision. I asked Danny if that sounds about right:

“Let me tell ya : you can’t replace members. With the exit of our guitarist Jay last year and the entrance of the new blood in Johnny, it’s not like we’ve replaced Jay. All we’re doing is bringing something new to the band. Same goes for JR on bass. That guy walked in, came back a week later and had all the tunes down, and with such style. Halo style. I’d say this is the strongest lineup yet, and that’s not a cheap answer either.

Wow, this guy knows his stuff. I had to wonder, how did a guy like Danny come to manage the Black Halos? He wasn’t always their manager, yet he seems like a 6th member of the band. He’s a truly dedicated manager, the kind that doesn’t come around everyday. I wondered how the Halos found him.

“Not in a dumpster. They didn’t find me in a dumpster, haha. No seriously, I saw these guys play in Minneapolis a while back and looked up and said “Shit, who are these guys?” We were the only Canadians there, and just started talking. I was spending more time in Vancouver, and we kept crossing paths, and one thing led to another.”

Fast forward to 2007 and we have the launch of the indie label History Music, which is owned & operated by Danny Cameo. I found out from Danny that things weren’t working out with the Halos’ last label, Century Media/ Liquor & Poker Music. It was the classic problem most bands face when they are signed to a label with a large roster – the label doesn’t have enough time and resources to give all of its’ acts the attention they deserve. It didn’t sound like there was any bad blood there, but Danny told me that with his background in corporate business, and the band’s connections in the music industry, they saw an opportunity. The label’s first and only act (for now) is the Black Halos, so they can focus 100% of their efforts on their own affairs.

When you control your own destiny like that, it must give you a lot more motivation to make things work. Afterall it’s your money you are recouping. It’s your fans you are working for, and it’s your ass on the line if something goes wrong.

I think Danny would agree; “I think people see the realness of that, and shit, kids can smell phoniness a mile away! That’s really what we wanted to do with this label. It’s real, it’s there, and there’s a lot of motivation because it’s 100% ours.”

Just because you are an indie label though, it doesn’t mean you have to do absolutely everything yourself. History Music has worked out a distribution deal here in Canada through Sonic Unyon, they’ve licensed “We Are Not Alone” to People Like You, a German-based label for European distro, and Acetate Records in L.A. to cover the U.S. Danny says he is now looking for a deal in Japan to push the Halos’ music into Asia.

My good friend Chris Brandt (Cazart! Records) once told me that you can buy 100 books on how to succeed in the music business, but if you spent that money taking industry people out for coffee and picking their brains for half an hour, you’d learn a hell of a lot more and have a better chance of succeeding. The connections you make in this business can be more valuable than any book in your library. It seems the same is true with History Music. A little birdie told me that Nettwerk was helping out a bit with the Halos – nothing official, but that they were supporters. I asked Danny about that:

“Well, let me just correct you on that.” he says “Anything that the fine people at Nettwerk have done for History Music has been on their OWN TIME, OWN DIME. They’re just wonderful people who are willing to help out with label-related questions that I’ve had. When you’re starting a business, you’ve got to make contacts so you can ask those questions, even if they seem obvious. The reality is, everybody hates on the big labels, but these guys are really helping a lot of people here in Canada and I’m very glad I’ve made those contacts. I’m not going to name names, but they’ve helped us a lot, yeah.”

The first release on History Music is the Halos 2008 album We Are Not Alone. Danny mentioned the fact that multi-platinum producer Jack Endino was at the helm once again. This caught my eye, as I’m sure the name Jack Endino would to anybody in the industry. What would it be like to work with this guy? I mean as an artist, just think of what that does to your credentials! But as a manger, how would it feel to work with such a big name? I asked, and Danny, like the good guy that he is, was happy to answer.

“As a manager, it’s a no-brainer. Working with Jack was very interesting, but at the same time very intimidating. I mean, we’d be eating breakfast with this guy and trying to get him to tell us stories about Courtney Love, y’know. This guy has seen it all. He’s such a class act too, that he doesn’t really want to tell you. Jack’s a real guy, he’s a rock & roll guy. The best thing about working with Jack Endino is that he can admit when he’s wrong. He listens to other people and he’s got an incredible ear. Like I said, it’s pretty intimidating at first, but when you’re working with him, he’s just Jack.

I could see how some people would call him a bit of a mad scientist, he’s a bit eccentric but not over the top. One time he stopped everything, left the studio and came back gnawing on a big bowl of Cap N Crunch. It was 5 in the morning and he just had to have his Cap N Crunch. He’s a rocker, so he relates to musicians. He’s also a fantastic musician himself. He plays slide guitar on one of the songs on the new record. I think he has a definite mystique. He’s a mad scientist genius, and I can totally see him right now eating Cap N Crunch and broccoli and turning out the hits.’

What a vision! I started to wonder about what a Black Halos recording session must be like. They are so completely off-the-wall live, yet Danny tells me they are all business in the studio. They’re all fabulous musicians, which would explain how they manage to deliver such high-intensity live shows and be able to have that translate so well on a record. But still, there must be some antics in the studio. Right, Danny?

“Oh, there’s flair. Especially Billy (Hopeless) flair. There’s a story about Billy in the studio, tracking in the vocal booth and you look over and his pants are around his ankles. But you know what, he was going balls out, and at the end of the song Migraine, off the new record, you’ll probably hear Billy’s finest vocal moment. I was rolling on the floor when Billy came in afterwards. But then Jack looks over at me and says “That was in key”.

What more can you say? These guys literally go balls-out in the studio, but they deliver the goods on the record. I asked Danny what fans can expect from the new album.

“This is honestly the best Black Halos album to date. It’s gonna floor you. But you know what? We really want the music to speak for itself. The record is available everywhere so go out and get it.”

There you have it folks. The Halos are truly a band moving at the Speed of Sound. There’s so much going on with these guys, I hope I’ve managed to cover a good portion of it in this article. I don’t know if this would be considered biased reporting or not, but I am proud to say I am a fan of the Black Halos and I look forward to seeing what these guys have in store for the future. For more information, or to see when the Halos will be attacking your hometown, check out http://www.blackhalos.net/.