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HT: What was it like getting the band off the ground while growing up in Southern California? Did you have any connections close by?
Tommy: Well, for me personally, I grew up in Maui, Hawaii so for connections as far as rock goes, I would pretty much have to track down rock stars on vacation and give them our demos. Ha ha! Or become a reggae band! That wasn't the case, obviously, considering Halifax didn't exist when I was in Hawaii. As far as the rest of the members, I don't think any connections helped get the band off the ground. We just worked and wrote music we loved. Luckily, others liked it as well.
HT: Do you think Halifax would be around today if Myspace® and PureVolume™ weren't around?
T: It's hard to say where Halifax would be without Myspace® and PureVolume™ because those are two incredible sites for getting your music heard. I do believe before both of those sites were born, there was a site called mp3.com where kids could listen to your music. Although, I truly believe that those sites have helped every band, including Halifax, in the process of getting heard because it's free and who doesn't want to learn and hear new bands and their creative structure of songs.
HT: What is your new album, Inevitability Of A Strange World, going to sound like and can you compare it to your previous release?
T: This question seems to be the golden one everyone's asking these days... "How is this record different than the other one and why?" All I can say is that we've grown quite a bit in the last two years, and when writing Strange World we literally came out of our shells. We brought what I feel everyone is lacking and what everyone needs right now... ROCK 'N' ROLL! Our songs to us are fun, energetic songs, whether they're a slower ballad or a fist pumping sing-a-long. When you listen to Strange World, you're going to have fun, and whoever you are, it's going to bring a smile back to your face.
HT: Tell all our readers what its like rotating members, changing the bands sound/style... the whole transformation?
T: Our band has had a couple member changes. Luckily, they were in the beginning right when we released A Writer's Reference. It was hard. As being one of those new members, I'm quite relieved things didn't work out with the previous members, but I feel it all happened for a reason. The lineup we have now I almost can't believe. It doesn't seem real at times. We are five of the closest best friends with that connection that just works. We just roll well together. The transformation though was a tough one and we had to find our own places in the band. But since the transformation, the band's attitude and music I feel have only skyrocketed and gone uphill. I don't feel like our style or sound changed that dramatically. In terms of style, I think from touring and growing, it's changed us into more mature musicicans and adults in general. And in terms of sound, we just got a nice, hefty budget for recording. Therefore we sound a lot heavier. Ha ha!
HT: While on the road, whats a day in the life for Halifax?
T: A day in the life of Halifax is pretty routine. We wake up from our comfortable Comfort Suites hotel room, shower, grab breakfast, go online, then start our drive to wherever the next venue is. Lots of iPods ruining battery life due to extensive music listening sessions, and more sleep and food while driving. Once we arrive at the venue, we load, soundcheck, play our show, load everything back into the trailer, then head to yet another comfortable Comfort Suites hotel. One thing I forgot is our trusty GPS system. Without that, we'd be lost as Hell. Ha ha!
HT: Do you have "off the wall" influences that your fans dont know about?
T: When it comes to "off the wall" influences that our fans might not know about, I think we'd shock 'em. We obviously listen to a lot of music they assume we listen to, but some strange music we all share is Dave Matthews Band, Peter Tosh, NIN, Tool, Jack Johnson, and the Get Up Kids. That's just a few.
HT: Could you summarize what it takes to have a successful band?
T: To have a successful band is a big question to fill, because define success for a band. Different bands would define success in many different ways, although in my opinion to have a successful band you need to have your sh*t together. No drama between band members, no high hopes of becoming famous. You got to do what you love. You got to be happy with whatever your band gets or makes through the duration of your career. The most important thing though is maintaining happiness within yourself and turning your band into a family, not a business looking for only fame. If you're meant for fame, you'll get it.
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