Les Hall of Crossfade
by Deb Rao
Staff Writer
Hardrock Haven is proud to present to present an exclusive interview with one of the breakthrough bands of 2011 Crossfade. Hot off the heels of performing at Rock On The Range, Crossfade has just released on Eleven Seven Music, We All Bleed. The band has a very unique sound and writes inspiring lyrics that deal with real life situations.
Guitarist Les Hall gives Hardrock Haven readers an in-depth look at the making of We All Bleed. Don’t miss Crossfade on the Rock Allegiance Tour that kicks off on August 24th.
HRH: Les, how are you doing? Tell us about the writing process for your new album,We All Bleed.
LES: Hi Debby. Well, it was 2 and 1/2 years of hell. (Laughter)
HRH: But you got a good pay off with the release. It was well worth all the hard work. The final product is awesome. I know the band had been off the road for five years.
LES: It is all worth it. I will tell you that.
HRH: Tell us about the new video and single, “Killing Me Inside.”
LES: Is a song that is about around nightmares that you have. The ultra vivid nightmares. That pretty much lives with you throughout the day that kind of affects your reality. It is the message behind the song. I used to have a lot of fucked up dreams. I would look at people differently when I actually woke up. The dreams are so real. The video was to make you feel catastrophic like you are in nightmares. We were in a box. The four of us were in there. There was a cameraman in the middle the fifth guy sitting on a stool spinning around. We were all wearing tight leather jackets and all. The wardrobe gear was provided to make us look cool. It was hot as hell in there.
HRH: You are currently on a great label Eleven Seven Music. Then us about the recording difference this time around from your previous release.
LES: This time the majority was recorded in our own studio. We realized we had a seven thousand dollar credit at Sweetwater when we called up to get a credit card from them. They are like oh yeah by the way you guys have seven thousand dollars credit. We are like thanks for telling us. So we ordered a bunch of gear. Eddie and I would sit around and we did the right as we record all in one process. We document everything we did. Whether it was me sitting with an acoustic guitar with my iphone out which having an idea and tracking it is always documented. All the ideas we had, we would go with whatever was inspiring at the time. So the majority of the recording process, I would program the drums for the rest of the album. We did the bass and guitars and the keyboards at our own studio. Then we went to LA and actually track the real drums and mixed the album. The majority of it was our studio. We spent the budget on what counts, which is a big, drum sound and great mix.
HRH: What does the title We All Bleed denote to you? I really love the concept for that.
LES: Thank you for saying that. Because I was reading some review and somebody said just that name alone makes me not want to listen to the record.
HRH: I think the title makes me more want to listen to it. Because we are all the same. We do all bleed. I disagree.
LES: I disagree with that comment as well. Make you for saying that. It makes me feel a little bit better.
HRH: What was it like performing at Rock On The Range this year? That must have been a great opportunity for you.
LES: We did. There was a huge turnout there. There were cameras out there filming. We look forward to getting on some bigger tours and getting a bigger audience.
HRH: Are you exciting about performing on the Rock Allegiance Tour with Buckcherry, Papa Roach and Puddle of Mudd?
LES: That starts August 24. We will probably do 10 warm-up dates heading into that. There are a bunch of great bands on that bill. It is bands that we all played with before. So I think it is going to be a nice large family and a lot of fun. It will be a great thing for us to get out of the clubs and get back into the arenas.
HRH: I think Crossfade could really be the new breakthrough band of the year. How do you think the band has evolved? I know the band has been together a long time.
LES: The band has evolved from the changing of the members. The writing process being a little bit different. With me writing a lot of the material and songs with Eddie. Also, Eddie being inspired and writing a lot of stuff. We went back and forth. I think having different heads with people that write differently. I write a lot of dark music naturally. I write a lot of stuff on piano and acoustic guitar oddly enough considering it is a pretty heavy record. Writing with Eddie to me was almost like sitting in the room like I was writing with my double. I had to look around and see if I was delusional right now or is he actually here. We work way to well together. We over analyze every little detail. Anything I am not thinking about. He is thinking about and vice versa. I think the collaboration is what has made it what it is today.
HRH: What I like about this album is the heartfelt lyrics. Did you write, “I Am Not Holding On To Dead Memories?”
LES: Those lyrics are all Eddie’s. I wrote the music for that one. But that is Eddie’s his ode to the past and it is time to move on and get off my ass. Do you know what I mean? Eddie had a long dark time. He traveled the universe of a year and a half. I was writing a lot of music at that time. Very inspired. He was going through a different phrase in life of what he had and what had gone away. For me it was a different thing. It was joining a new band. I was excited about writing music. I wasn’t a part of Columbia records. So we had two different head spaces going on there. That song was one of the last ones that we wrote. Every song we would write would be so dark. We kept saying to ourselves after three of four songs it is a really dark record, we need to write something a little bit lighter. Finally, towards the end, I think the last three tracks we finished were “Dead Memories”, “Open Up Your Eyes”, and “Make Me A Believer.” We sequenced the album in that way just to say we are grabbing life by the balls. Forgot about what happened in the past. Let’s move on. That made the start of the album. The rest of the album sort of flowing in through the darkness that we had all gone through. Ending with a little positive of light.
HRH: That is awesome. We are really excited to promote Crossfade at Hardrock Haven. Hope to see you on the Rock Allegiance Tour this summer.
LES: Thank you so much. We are really excited about this record. The feedback has been amazing from all the fans. Which I think is really cool. I think it is a really different sounding record for Crossfade. To get all the support and the love from the fans because it does have a different sound to it is amazing.
HRH: How would you describe the sound of Crossfade to the fans for the people just turning on to the band with this new release?
LES: Can I just make a noise? (Laughter) This new album I would say is an experience and journey. It is an album that you listen to the top to the bottom all the way through. It was definitely sequenced to be listened to in full. I think I have seen the word dark in every single review. Clearly, it is a darker record. It is a very moody record. I think it is an album that you listen to from the beginning and it takes you on a journey.
For more info on the band visit: www.myspace.com/crossfad.
Watch “Killing Me Inside” Video here: http://youtu.be/qhf59O0ASx8.