By Cassandra.
Omaha based goth rock band Strap On Halo will be heading out on a summer North American Tour in support of their full length album 'The Dead Don't Lie', to be released in May. The Memento Mori North American Tour 2011 will span five weeks and begin in June.
I spoke to Layla Reyna and Sean Rial of Strap On Halo and I found out that they have a wish-list of European festivals that they'd like to perform at - Wave-Gotik Trefen, M'era Luna and Whitby Gothic weekend, so hopefully with American bands like You Shriek and Strap On Halo coming to the fore, we may one day see their wishes fulfilled.
Strap On Halo consist of Layla Reyna, singer, lyricist, drum writing, programming and occaisional keyboards, Sean Rial, founder member, guitar, bass and keyboards and Marc Jones on bass and keyboards. This is a typically democratic band who whilst they all have a specific part, they work with each other closely until they have a mutually agreed sound.
Strap On Halo have played support to such bands as Cassandra Complex, Android Lust and Faith & The Muse, with the latter band being their main source of inspiration for professionalism and how to do the thing right, and the gig that they most enjoyed.
Strap On Halo's music harkens to 'traditional gothic' that is driven by howling guitars, resonating bass and a haunting female voice. The band initially struggled with where they fitted in and questioned whether they were making the music that they had intended to, it's taken a year or so to get comfortable with their current style, they do say however, that if it was necessary to categorise themselves, it would be 'American Goth Rock'.
All of Strap On Halo have been in other bands on a local level and this band is one that took a break and reformed, splitting up in 2003 and reforming in 2009. Sean Rial said that it was mostly because of a lack of venues that would host original music. Back then the underground scene seemed to be shrinking and you couldn't get a gig unless you were rap metal, top forty or signed to major record label. He figured that it was time for a hiatus and always kept the idea of reforming the band in his head but it wasn't until he met his current bandmates that he felt the time was right.
Today the scene in America is, as Layla says ''a fickle creature, if not maintained it falls apart and separates. In some cities the scene seems to maintain a strong force but in other places it's something to be desired. As for the best venues well, they are the ones that are willing to book our genre. Really we try to make the best of it and connect with as many people as we can that share the same love of goth rock music as we do. However few or many, we need to stick together''.
Sean met Layla in 2005 and joined him, along with another former Strap On Halo member Rev SOB in a project that they were working on called Devilspoons. That project existed on an off-and-on basis for a few years, however, Rev SOB met the love of his life and moved to Philadelphia. The idea of re-forming Strap On Halo had been mooted but it wasn't until Sean met Marc that this idea came into fruition.
Personal favourite bands are Fields of The Nephilim, Faith & The Muse, Xmal Deutschland, Skinny Puppy, Killing Joke and Einsturzende Neubauten, and this probably shows in their music. Strap On Halo are a politically aware and astute band that say ''Defining influences is one of those things that you don't think about until someone asks you. What it comes down to is that it's the totality of everything around us. Life, death, politics, current events, experiences. A kind of symbiotic relationship where we feed off one another and anticipate the next move. It's hard to define a singular influence in what we do but in those instances it's a reflection of sound, smell or sight that trigger the creation of a new song. Our influence is based on an emotional response to the world around us''.
''We try to pay to attention to what's happening in the world and hold a firm belief that politics operate under a shroud. Nothing is as it seems and we strongly believe that we are only told what they want us to know. We absolutely hate talking about politics but it's unavoidable when the world is faced with so many issues. None of us claim to be a part of any political party and we hate it when people try to shove their beliefs in our face and/or place judgements. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and should behave accordingly. Our world views involve an environmentally aware, conscious and proactive world where everyone strives to better themselves without greed.''
Layla says that her views on the world are expressed in her lyrics. ''When something stands out and it's not hard considering the turmoil the world is in now, but when something stands out it's inescapable. My lyrics are not always overt but do personify broad implications. 'Chemical Nation' is one song found on our EP,' Cherry Flavored Quick Fix' that speaks of society's overabundance of prescribed medication. Our forth-coming album, 'The Dead Don't Lie' is also influenced by my various world views in relation to recent events.''
The hauntingly beautiful and powerful ' I Feel Like Yesterday' from the 'Cherry Flavored Quick Fix' EP is one of those songs that had British DJs known of it, it would have been a regular on many a dark gothic dancefloor over here.
Strap On Halo's tour dates are as follows:
06/14/11 The Hive @ Plan B Bar Portland, OR
06/16/11 Apparition @ Lidos Nightclub, San Jose, CA
06/17/11 Ignore The Machine @ Submission, San Francisco, CA
06/18/11 Death Rock Dive bar @ The Stork Club, Oakland, CA
06/19/11 The Ruby Room San Diego, CA
06/22/11 Lips Lounge, El Paso, TX
06/23/11 TBA, Austin, TX
06/24/11 TBA, San Antonio, TX
06/25/11 The Liquid Lounge, Dallas, TX
06/26/11 Synthetic Sundays @ TBA, Tulsa, OK
06/28/11 TBA, Springfield, MO
07/01/11 TBA, Baton Rouge, LA
07/02/11 TBA, New Orleans, LA
07/04/11 The Big Easy, Pensacola, FL
07/05/11 The Shelter, Atlanta, GA
07/06/11 The Engine Room, Tallahassee, FL
07/07/11 The Cameo, Orlando, FL
07/08/11 The Laboratory Gainesville, FL
07/09/11 The Factory @ Cafe 331, Jacksonville, FL
07/11/11 TBA, Savannah, GA
More dates and venues to be added in the coming month.
To buy the latest merch and stream Strap On Halo's music for free, visit straponhalo.com.
