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Halfwait QnA with Foghorn Media

Halfwait QnA with Foghorn Media

Foghorn Media: What inspired you to become a band? Who were your early influences?

Halfwait: We all grew up in the 90s listening to bands such as Nirvana, Silverchair, Offspring and Blink 182 and always admired them. We looked up towards the thought of playing on the big stage and connecting with people through our music.

FM: Tell us a little about how you write, how do the songs come? What gets you going creatively?

HW: Depending on our moods and what is happening in our lives at the time can determine on the feel and direction of the song. Usually Chris and I have created a good balance of teamwork with structuring songs, but in most cases I write something on guitar along with a melody and bring that into the studio and we build a song around that. With the lyrics, I write about topics that mean something to me or are around me at the time. I’ve been writing poems from a young age so it makes it a lot easier for me to convert it into lyrics for a song.

FM: What is the first record you bought and why?

Jon: ‘Nevermind’ by Nirvana. My brother was into it at the time and that’s the only CD we had in the house. I grew to like the sound of the recording and held it highly in sound quality.

Chris: ‘Follow The Leader’ by Korn. I wasn’t a big fan of Nu-Metal but I always admired people with long hair or dreadlocks, which ultimately drew me to the band. I also liked The Offspring which was my favorite band at the time.

Nathan: ‘Frogstomp’ by Silverchair. I thought it was really well put together.

FM: What current Australian and international acts are inspiring you?

HW: The Deadlove and Violent Soho as they are bringing the 90s scene back to Australia and we dig and admire that. For international artists, we are inspired by and have respect for Mallory Knox for their journey and growth in the international music scene. But also  bands that have been around for a while such as Metallica, Blink 182, Offspring, and Green Day.

FM: Tell us a little about your music and what a crowd can expect at a live show.

HW: Because we have the 90s built into our style the crowd should expect hard hitting drums, strong bass lines, and scratchy guitars with clean vocals. There’s a lot of energy in our performance creating a really great atmosphere.

FM: Favorite films?

Jon: ‘Step Brothers’
Chris: ‘Pulp Fiction,’ because no matter how many times I watch it, I always find something new that I haven’t noticed before about the movie.
Nathan: ‘Django Unchained,’

FM: Where do you see Australian music heading?

HW: With bands like Violent Soho on the rise, I think we will see the youth growing up listening to music similar to what we did. And with people who grew up in the 90s, like us, wanting the music that they heard in their youths back will revive the grunge scene.

FM: What are your future plans for 2016/2017?

HW: We will be finishing off this EP, which we are currently recording, followed by touring Australia, and in between that time we will re release our first EP and an acoustic EP. Then we are planning to go back into the studio in 2017 to record our debut album whilst playing various shows and promotions for a national tour after the completion of the album.

 

 

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facebook.com/halfwait 

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Alexi

Alexi Musnitsky – QnA with Foghorn Media

Alexi Musnitsky QnA with Foghorn Media

Foghorn Media: What inspired you to become a pianist? Who were your early influences?

 Alexi Musnitsky: I chose piano at an early age, four years old. After seeing my sister play, I wanted to try and I just stuck to it. I was raised with classical piano, but I was never one to adhere to the rigors of “solfege.” I was lucky that my teachers let me explore my own way to express the music and they were pleased with the results. I am also a fairly quiet person, as some people say “still waters run deep.” I don’t express my feelings or emotions in words. But I do have experiences, good and bad, happy and hurtful. These feelings come out in my playing. This is why I switched from playing others’ music such as classical and began composing my own pieces. To me this is not songwriting, but a form of communication – a way for me to express the feelings I have and to let out some of the memories I keep inside.

FM: Tell us a little about how you write, how do the songs come? What gets you going creatively?

 AM: This is a difficult question for me to answer because I do not have a method or process. There is no plan or template nor do I set aside any specific time to “sit and write.” Rather, I focus on my feelings. For example, a good friend was feeling a bit lost and going through something I went through myself. So, one rainy Paris morning I remembered my feelings at the time and sat down and played.

FM: Your bio mentions working with a French/Belgian project called Daybreak and then with Will Ackerman. Tell us about that.

AM: I was contacted by Will Ackerman and asked to go to his studio, Imaginary Road Studios, to record. This is a story I think other aspiring artists should hear because there is a real “dream come true” aspect to it. I simply started to compose at home on an upright piano with a digital system, an analog to digital converter, and a Mac with Garage Band. My father likened the style to his favorite Windham Hill artists. I posted some of the music on Soundcloud so my friends could hear it. Somehow the music caught peoples’ attention and this gave me the courage to write an e-mail to Will Ackerman. Will answered and, to me, that is the most amazing part. A cold call to world champion of my music style and he answers. It took the financial help of friends and family, crowd funding, borrowed money, frequent flyer mileage, and my Aunt and cousin in the US to get me to Vermont and the Imaginary Road Studios. I entered a studio with Platinum records on the wall and Grammy awards on the shelf and I sat down with Will Ackerman, Tom Eaton and Eugene Friesen and played.

FM: What is the first record you bought and why?

AM: My sister is 3 years older so I followed some her music, such as David Bowe. I had my own Classical piano training so I listened to Glenn Gould play Bach inventions and went to see Lang Lang and Krystian Zimmerman. And I am a big fan of ColdPlay.

FM: What current Australian acts inspire you? International acts?

AM: Well, I am still a fan of ColdPlay. However, since releasing ‘Zia’, I have gotten to know Fiona Joy from Australia – she won this year’s ZMR award for best piano solo album. When I listen to Ludovico Einaudi’s music, I sometimes think “I wish I wrote that.”

FM: Tell us a little about your music and what a crowd can expect at a live show?

AM: The crowd would not be what you would expect. When I was a young child I had played at some hotel resorts in Spain and even the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam. As you could imagine, it was an older crowd and they seemed to appreciate the music from such a young person. But then I performed for a charity at a Paris university to a young crowd where other artists were definitely not my music style. The result was amazing. The place went silent and remained focused throughout my playing – and then wanted more.

FM: Favorite film? Book? Place?

AM: My favorite film is “The Green Mile,” Favorite place to be is on the ocean in a sailboat. I am certified as a French national sailing instructor and every summer I teach sailing on the Brittany Coast.

FM: Favorite food or drink and is there a story associated with that?

AM: Growing up in France really helped because I eat almost every kind of food. Right now I am thinking of Lasagna… Favorite drink comes from my American side and is Dr. Brown’s Black Cherry soda.

FM: You are backstage with Andrew Lloyd Weber –  what do you say?

AM: I would really like to write music to be used in film (or stage). I think that emotions being portrayed through imagery and music is special. I remember seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and I went home and started playing that night.

FM: What are your future plans for 2016/2017?

AM: I honestly did not know what to expect from releasing an album nor anticipated the reaction of people listening to it. I can say that the positive feedback has been a huge motivator and I am now composing new music and planning to play concerts.

 

 

Social
www.aleximusnitsky.com

www.facebook.com/AlexiMmusic

www.soundcloud.com/AlexiMusnitsky