Confirmed NEW Strap On Halo Coming In 2017
- Betsy Heavens Death
- Jan 11, 2017
- 7 min read
READ THE INTERVIEW PICK UP YOUR COPY TODAY JANUARY ISSUE OF WORLD OF GOTH
READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN WOG MAGAZINE 1. How did you come to be in the goth scene or subculture? Layla - “It all seems like an eternity ago when I was just a child still in elementary school, wide eyed and curious as my best friend’s older brother played his vast collections of music (or so it seemed to be vast). We fell into The Cure, Ministry, Sex Gang Children, Depeche Mode, Skinny Puppy, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, New Order, Bauhaus, Dead Can Dance and many others as the years past. I think everything at that age can be bewildering. I was an only child for seven years and didn’t have an older sibling to show me anything. My parents were avid music lovers and their soundtrack was stuff like Led Zeppelin, Journey, Santana, Joan Jett, Pretenders, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix.. you get the idea. Back then we didn’t have Pandora or streaming music sites. I had a college radio station 90.1 and record shops.” Marc - “In high school my girlfriend (now my wife) introduced me to The Cure, Tear for Fears, Adam Ant, Ministry... etc. Now I am stuck.” Sean - “It found me more or less .. no one dressed or listened to the same music I did till the early 90's after I had already been in the underground music scene since the early 80's .. in a way that’s refreshing to know.”
2. How did you come to form a band together? Layla - “A couple years after I moved to Omaha, NE from San Antonio, TX I met Sean who had already been in a handful of bands at the time. He asked me to sing for a project he and another Shaun were working on called Devilspoons. That went on for a couple years jamming when we could in our basement until Shaun fell in love with his now wife and moved to the East Coast. Right around that time Marc and his wife had just moved to Omaha. He messaged Sean and after a series of questions we invited him over and the rest is history. We rolled with the momentum and haven’t stopped since.” Marc - “In 2006 I was filling in as a Bass player in a metal band and the singer pleaded that I continue to play and do the music I want to do. Found Sean and Layla online, auditioned (4 hr jam session) and joined the band.” Sean - “After taking most of the early 2000's off from playing live it wasn't till I met Layla & Marc that I knew the time was right to get back into performing.”
3. I heard you guys all moved to Seattle? Or where are you located now? How has moving influenced the band and your sound? Layla - “We all live about 20 minutes south of Seattle. The move was essential for the band. Marc left Omaha a year or so before Sean and I moved and the “long distance” relationship was getting harder and harder. An opportunity arose and we took it. Getting to work with Lee Popa and Paul Barker was priceless. Everything that has happened to us, all that we have experienced has influenced us.” Marc - “I believe there has been a significant layer added since the move. We have met and worked with super talented people such as Lee Popa, Hung out with Paul Barker in his studio and shared interests. Malekko Pedals gave us an endorsement.. a huge landscape of sound.”
4.What is each of your favorite song (or favorite song to perform)? Layla - “I’m a romantic, each song is like a new love affair. I can’t deny that feeling I get as if that nothing could ever feel better. Each song is a different emotional journey for me. Right now we are deeply involved with our new album. It has this raw feeling, almost primal but not and my latest love affair is a new song titled, “The Undying”. If a song could kill, this one would. It takes every inch of me to sing as if it’s ripping me apart. Exposing everything.” Marc - “I love to perform new stuff…” Sean - “Currently it's Monsters, Shiver & Until the Break.”
5.What's the biggest challenge for you touring? What's your favorite part about touring? Layla - “Leaving and then returning is the hardest part about touring. Being away from my furry and human children. Returning to a life that seems to stand still after constantly on the run city after city. We are fortunate enough to get time off of our day jobs to leave and to have family that encourages our adventures. I love touring! Meeting new people, seeing new places, all the varied experiences and lessons learned.” Marc - “Touring presents many challenges... none that I can honestly say we don’t have a plan for. One I can say is the van. Good Ol’ VanGo! We have had emergency shop repairs done on tour. Our first tour we lost a pulley/belt, then in 2014 brakes with The Last Cry and a ruptured tire with False Icons.”
6. Where do you draw inspiration from in your performance? Layla - “My inspiration comes from the barrage of emotions I feel when I sing. It’s a personal experience and an emotional journey for me. My passion is singing. I would wither and die if it was taken from me.” Marc - “Our performance is relative to the songs we play. Inspiration comes from everyone we have ever met on tour, toured with, befriended along the way. My first and most memorable was the professionalism I absorbed meeting “Faith and the Muse” during their “Ankoku Botuh” tour in 2010.”
Sean- “Hmm it's not just one person .. I would say John McGeogh from S&B.. David Gilmour, Helios Creed, Geordie Walker, Early Billy Duffy .. I also love Jonathan Caruthers playing on Tinderbox ..”
7. Briefly describe everyone's main role or any other roles you may have in the band? Layla - “Musically speaking I sing, write lyrics, program all our drums, play keyboards and do the arrangements. I also manage the band which involves booking our tours, handling the marketing and our brand, running the “business”, online profiles, stores, merchandise and all the graphic design (my second passion). Sean is our irreplaceable guitar player and on occasion plays keyboards too.” Marc - “Other than just writing/performing bass, I provide maintenance for the van, do 90% of the driving on tour.”
8.What kind of setup do you have currently? Sean- “I currently play with a Gretsch anniversary 5120 & Epiphone Black Beauty. Then into an old 70's Roland JC 120 head into a Marshall 4x12, then into a ampeg 2x12 that has built in chorus .. then it's a mix of pedals I got from Paul Barker with my Malekko endorsement .. some Boss and TC electronic pedals.”
9.What is the last album you listened to? What bands/artists are you listening to currently? Layla - “Last album was Adam and the Ants, “Kings of the Wild Frontier”. The soundtrack of my life never changes much but I have this youtube playlist of some of my favorite songs. It includes bands such as The Cure, Adam Ant, Turquoise Days “Grey Skies”, Japan, Ministry, Executive Slacks “Say it isn’t so”, Sad Lovers and Giants, Danse Society, The Damned, Sex Gang Children, Autumn, Faith and the Muse, Virgin Prunes and a bunch of others…” Marc - “The last CD I listened to was “Disjecta Membra The Infancy Gospels EP”. I admire Michel Rowland's work. “Eat Your Makeup” is and always will be in my personal play list.” Sean - “Fav album? that changes 3 times a day lol. Skinny puppy- Bites ... forgotten stars of the 70's.”
9.What do you guys like to do for fun or what are some personal hobbies you have your fans might not know? Marc - “We enjoy each other's company while embarking on new brew adventures. We are beer enthusiasts! We love to cook out, camp, gear shop. Me, on a personal note I'm "outdoorsy". I have a need to stay productive. Currently I am building a kayak for my son and I.” Layla - “What Marc said, we enjoy each other's company and love beer! The band is a full time job and takes most of my time. I’m an artist, specifically a graphic designer and although not a hobby I love to make coffins (not real ones for the deceased but rather functional pieces, I even welded a shelf once), I draw, paint, practice my calligraphy, weld and I collect pens and journals, haha.. I might have a problem.” Sean - “I love german beer & rum. In my spare time I commune with interdimensional warlords on esoteric lore.
As far as things fan don’t know the only other name I have is DJ Wolfgang Von Faust.”
10.What do you think about the new breeding underground goth scene and the future of it all and the effects it will have on music? In Seattle etc. Layla - “We don’t get out much except when we tour and the majority of the bands we play with don’t classify themselves as Goth. The scene in general isn’t dead. We have traveled across the US and in Europe, it’s not dead. The underground music scene is still kicking and although I love goth music I like a lot of other stuff too. I’m a hard sell, stuck somewhere in time resistant to false ideas. The last show we played was to a sold out crowd in Leeds, UK with our buddies “The Last Cry” and “The Last Dance.” Marc - “My only clue as to "what's going on" in the gothic scene are the great musicians that we have met and are in their own right spectacular! “The Last Cry”, a huge impact on current goth DJ lists. False icons pushing the Industrial end. Bands that are coming back with new material such as “Autumn”. Sean - “As far as I know we are the only “unapologetically” goth band in Seattle. “
11. Any comments on current events, announcements or about life in general? Layla - “I spend a lot of time writing and designing when we are in the throes of a new album.” Marc - “For me, getting involved with current events would be like hitting a wall. Might as well jump into a snowball rolling down a mountain when you're trying to get up it. Do what you can to make a difference but don’t obsess.”
12.What new and exciting things can we expect from Strap On Halo in 2017? Layla - “We are working intensely on our NEW album, and I am in the planning stages of booking our US tour. I’m not spilling the beans yet ….but we won’t be alone….” Marc - “2017 is going to be busy.... *Wink!” Facebook: StrapOnHaloFanPage
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http://straponhalo.com/album/ode-to-krampus
