Hello Beautiful

It is a video. - BestFan.com

I write about random things a lot. I write about random things. Did you know that album cover art dates back to 1909? The general belief was that a designer named Alex Steinweiss invented the practice in 1938 with a Columbia Records release, but as music geek Alan Cross posted on his website recently, that isn’t completely accurate. At all.

Actually, it seems that a collector named Michael Biel gave a presentation at the Association for Recorded Sound Collections last year that featured at least 200 examples of albums decorated with pictures, graphics and text that all predate Steinweiss’ work. Ever judging books by covers, artists put a lot of time and effort into the way their music is represented visually, fueling all manner of insecurity and frustration.

More frustrating than anything, however, is when artists have the opportunity to produce an album but are unable to release it. It can be frustrating for the artist, of course, because their work and livelihood hang in the balance. Of course, it can be frustrating for fans, too.

Currently feeling such a sting is Whitby’s Hello Beautiful, a hybrid rock band who rose to prominence after the release of their debut album Soundtrack For Scenario in 2008. Although they completed their followup effort I Wanna Die Like This! early last year, legal issues have kept them from releasing the album widely.

Instead, they’ve had to settle for releasing singles, like last year’s “Superstar” and the coming single “Tick Tock,” for which the band recently shot a video with the aid of a grant from MuchFACT.

Hello Beautiful already has a history of note when it comes to music videos; their first album yielded two singles and videos: “Virginia Symphony” and “Saint Andrew’s Bridge,” the latter also produced with a MuchFACT grant. The former peaked at number two on the Much On Demand Daily Top 10, while the latter peaked at number five, and, due to fan support and heavy airtime rotation, Hello Beautiful was the only unsigned act to chart that year.

It continues – the band’s video for “Superstar” last year was a highly successful prank-style video in which the band gave impromptu performances at wildly different locations, a large generator in tow to power their equipment.

“Some people got really pissed off, but we thought everyone would get mad,” recalled Charlie Royal, the band’s lead vocalist, laughing. “See, we shot the marathon part first, and then we were stuck there for three hours; we snuck in, but by the time we were done there were a bunch of spectators and vendors. We had our van and all our gear, so we couldn’t sneak out!”

“They made us stay there for three hours, and we were like, ‘Shit, this whole weekend is just going to be pissing people off,’ but it wasn’t too bad.”

Their luck improved, and the reception warmed somewhat. “Some people were loving it, some people were hating it. We got run out of Newmarket when Darrell (Wallace, lead guitar) our guitar player jumped on the counter at La Senza – the manager’s boyfriend was a construction worker, and he jumped in his pickup and chased us out of town!”

According to Royal, the new video is more of a performance video, where the band is playing an important showcase – filmed at The Garrison in Toronto – and frontman Cole Kidd is late and having trouble getting to the gig. Although Royal didn’t want to give too much of the video away, he did hint at a car crash and Kidd having a body double.

Plans for the summer for Hello Beautiful – rounded out by Dan Bradimore on bass and Kevin Walsh on drums – include a string of festival concerts in support of the coming video, including a stop here in London sometime in May or June, returning from an East Coast tour later this month.

For more on Hello Beautiful or their coming video for “Tick Tock,” visit them online at hellobeautifulmusic.com or follow them on Twitter @hellobeautiful_. And between us, while there’s no official release in the works for I Wanna Die - Interrobang: Fanshawe's Student Voice

Trying to blend different genres can make for a musical disaster. Sheer noise can result from fusing hip-hop, rock and punk instead of a euphonic harmony.

But Whitby, Ont. band Hello Beautiful have managed to successfully mix the three types of music into one. Bassist Dan Bradimore, guitarist/vocalist Cole Martin, MC Charlie Royal, guitarist Buddy Taylor and drummer Kevin Walsh have been playing music individually for at least a decade. Each member brings their own element to the band and maintains their own identity while adding to the group's diverse sound.

"I would never try to write punk lyrics," says Royal with a chuckle. "We find that when we stay as true to ourselves as individuals, it works perfectly for the group aspect of things.

"We like to be a unit and give each person their individual time to shine. That keeps things at a nice medium."

Hello Beautiful released their Soundtrack For Scenario debut album in April and their video for "Virginia Symphony" has made its way on to MuchMusic. After winning Toronto's fourth annual Indie Week competition and being nominated for best alternative act at last year's Ontario Independent Music Awards, Hello Beautiful have been making steady progress. They recorded Soundtrack For Scenario with producer Murray Daigle (Not By Choice, Cauterize) and did a lot of growing up.

"Coming to the studio every day to listen to Murray, get his advice, was a really good experience," says Royal. "We had an idea of what we wanted to sound like, and Murray broadened our horizons. He's one of those guys who lets you do what you have to do, but he also has a guiding hand."

Hello Beautiful's lyrics touch on a range of melancholy subjects. "Virginia Symphony" speaks to the tragedy of last year's Virginia Tech massacre, while "Toxic In The City" mentions the passing of Royal's cousins and overcoming life's obstacles. Their next single, "Saint Andrew's Bridge" (for which they're shooting a video next month), is about rape. Although much of the album material is politically motivated, Royal maintains that just about anything can spark his writing muse.

"I get inspiration from a lot of different places — from other musicians, random conversations. Trivial things will get me thinking and turn into a whole spiel."

Perhaps the most encouraging thing about Hello Beautiful is their ability to take the good with the bad. While most bands cringe at the prospect of sour criticism, they thrive on the public's opinions.

"We like the idea of being able to get our music out to people," says Royal. "We're definitely not trying to sell out to the masses, but we'd like a lot of people to know about our music.

"We're always interested to hear what the hardcore hip-hop fan or the diehard rock fan has to say. We're just trying to solicit opinions from everybody — good or bad — because that creates conversations." - www.chartattack.com

no text just pictures - www.chartattack.com

Sometimes writing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Every time someone I know cuts a new record, starts a new business, heck, even finishes reading a book longer than 26 pages, I get “Hey Shabby, can you write an article about…?” The standard answer is usually, “Oh for sure dog, I know our readers would love to hear about how your brother just burned his grilled cheese sandwich while dancing to ‘Party in the USA’. What’s his name again?”

But then, sometimes, and I mean in a rare instance, I get a bright idea for an article.

This my friends, is one of those times…

It was a chilly April afternoon in the calendar year of 2010. It was about 9am and I was heading to the Whitby office for a day filled with emails, ideas, and trading war stories with Pete. As I reach for the handle on the door to my crib, I get hit with a BBM from Charlie that says ‘I have something for you to listen to, u home?’ The first answer was ‘yes, I am’. The second said ‘grab a century on your way.’

(Internal footnote*: For those that may be unfamiliar with Hello Beautiful, please surf their page here on FarBeyond.ca and then give your head a shake.)

Anyway, back at the crib, I’m clad from head to toe in corporatism with no time to change. So I did what any self-respecting man would do… I got out the little grinder that my cousin Arlie gave me before his official retirement and laid it out on the most recent XXL Magazine while waiting for the doorbell to ring. Needless to say, my trip to Whitby was about to be postponed.

What happened next is a prime example of why I can’t leave this stinkin’ business…

Charlie arrives and we exchange pounds, he passes me the cigar and the CD in one motion and I begin to wrap the present. Because I still wasn’t settled in the new crib yet, all I had available to play the music was my MacBook, but on this day, it sounded like the main room at Metalworks.

What I heard was the rough mix of the 10 songs that were selected to make up their second LP that was soon to be known as ‘I Wanna Die Like This!’. I am going dedicate the rest of this article to the detailed breakdown of the 3 key records on this album, but with a little twist. Because my musical knowledge doesn’t extend past radio spins and cash registers, Pete is going to come through and write the meat with all his staccato and arrangement talk. I’m going to swing through right after with the footnotes.

Hold on tight… We’re firing away in no particular order – Let the gushing begin:

1. Some Days

One of the interesting things I noticed about the arrangements in all three of these songs, is that they all start with a stripped down version of the hook. I remember a time when Jonathan Davis was trying to lead a movement against the industry standard that was developing in modern music in which the hook always had to be played by the one-minute mark. That 60-second standard eventually became 50, and by now it’s really just a matter of getting it out there as quickly as possible. By no means am I complaining though. Kinda like you can’t picture anyone but Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones, I can’t picture a song like Some Days beginning with anything but that instantly recognizable piano and Cole’s vocals. The start of the song gives you just enough time to get your bearings before you start singing. I realized the other day, similar to a number of other tunes, I hadn’t actually listened to Some Days without singing along since I knew what all the words were.

The quality of this song goes FarBeyond the excellent writing. The engineering and the production are outstanding. When the band comes in after the four bar intro it sounds like a million bucks. There’s a lot that can be said for the benefits that home studios can give indie bands that want to get their music out there. Straight up, you can work some serious magic with a few mics, a digi 002, and ProTools LE, but there’s no replacing an expert behind an SSL, and an outside ear making those tweaks that can take you from almost, to raising the bar. The way Charlie’s vocals are layered at the right times it sounds like spoken harmonies. There’s not a single frequency that gets out of hand no matter how loud you turn up the volume, and the syncopation between the bass and drums serve the song perfectly. The mix is fantastic and as much as the song sounds completely unified you can still pick out each individual player from the recording. The way the chorus progression transitions back to the verse is seamless. Further, the way the transition from the bridge drops with the piano ‘roll’ instead of the completely expected pick slide that every other band would have used is a little reminder, in case you’d forgotten, that you’re listening to something different than everything else that’s out there. Finally to make sure you’re going to replay it a billion times more, even over and over again without it getting old, they don’t resolve the song with the key chord and you’ve got - www.farbeyond.ca

"No permission, no permit, no problem!!"

Whitby band Hello Beautiful have released a video for their new single Superstar. The band rented a generator and held impromptu performances during a public Tai Chi demonstration, inside a movie theatre, alongside a marathon run, and inside a convenience store, a superstore and a mall. The video captures the customers, crowds, managers and owners response.
The concept came from Hello Beautiful and they edited the clip also.
Rhythm guitarist/vocalist Cole Kidd says the band will tour the concept and have many other locations in mind in which to pop up a performance. So watch out for them.
Hello Beautiful play a hybrid of hiphop, rock and jazz. Their D.I.Y. attitude is, however, completely punk rock and the video for Superstar catches this band at its most innovative. Other members are Kevin Walsh (drums), Charlie Royal (vocals), Dan Bradimore (bass), and Darrell Wallace (lead guitar). HB are signed to Slaight and most recently closed out Oshawa's Canada Day celebrations at Lakeview Park. - www.durhamregion.com

This is not an article, below is a list of Hello Beautiful's accolades and awards (there was nowhere else to put it).


2006 DURHAM BANDWARZ WINNERS
2006 HAYDENSHORE PAVILLION BANDWARS WINNERS
NAMED AS DURHAM'S 2006 'RISING STAR'
2007 ERNIE BALL BATTLE OF THE BANDS WINNERS
DURHAM MUSIC AWARDS '2007 BEST ROCK ALBUM'
2007 indieSolo.com SHOWCASE WINNERS
2007 TORONTO INDIE WEEK WINNERS

2007 VANS WARPED TOUR: ERNIE BALL STAGE FINALIST
2006 DURHAM MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEE FOR BEST LIVE ACT
2007 DURHAM MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEE FOR BEST LIVE ACT
2007 ONTARIO INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEE FOR BEST ALTERNATIVE ACT - H.B. Inc.

Sounds For Scenario
Hello Beautiful
Independent

A five-piece from the Durham Region, H.B. are another aspect of the new face of Cancon rock.

The slow integration of multiculturalism into the suburbs, the mingling of ethnicities in high schools is turning out bands who have absorbed the ways of their immigrant classmates and are producing hybridized new sounds. Think K-Os and his ‘burban hiphop, Bedouin Soundclash and their rasta rock or the ska schooled Ill Scarlett. Also Our Lady Peace who threw in a whole lotta Middle Eastern philosophy loving on to their tracks.

Hello Beautiful continue this exploration and work on this their debut album. The influences are many and varied. Rapper Charlie Royal is a clearheaded addition. Guitarist Buddy Taylor cites Sublime while percussionist Kevin Walsh has roots in punk. Bassist Dan Bradimore began with a concert band and can play piano and brass. Cole Martin cloaks himself in hip hop and Latin funk. Spanish flamengo guitar is also signature. All of this is layered on a groove that swings like a Big Band.

These guys are fearless in their politics and challenge priests and prime ministers in their lyrics. Saint Andrew’s Bridge vibrates as beneath its funky span there is a tale of child abuse. On Words “Can’t you loosen intrusive nooses?/ The youth is fruitful/ We ain’t jut useless/ Yes I got an attitude/ No I won’t lose it” and Boombox Generation the band lay down their manifesto; “We scene-stealin’/ Put us up with ya top draw/ Guaranteed you’ll be glad we walked through the door.”

There is brashness here but Hello Beautiful do have the “skillz” to back it up.
- By William McGuirk - Whitby This Week (www.newsdurhamregion.com)

Okay, so anyone that hangs out with me somewhat often has heard me go on about Hello Beautiful, likely more often than they want to hear it... but screw it.
Over the year I've bought 2 different prototype CDs from this awesome band, which sounds like a kickass blend of ska, reggae, modern punk, swing and even some Latin vibe. As a result of listening to these albums so much, I figured I would be pretty much on top of what I would hear when I first got Soundtrack for Scenario in my greedy little hands.
Damn was I wrong.
I already love Hello Beautiful's music, but this album made me love their music even more. First thing that is noticed in comparison to the prototype CDs is the well engineered sound of the instruments. They have been expertly mastered so that the sheer instrumental talent of this band really shines through. Buddy's Latin-like licks sound extremely crisp and really does justice to how good a guitarist he is. The bass levels have received a nice boost, which is great for two reasons: Dan's basslines are funky and a lot of fun, and when you have a lot of bass in your car the boost makes this a great driving disc. As always the percussion that carries it all is excellent, there are some tracks when the cymbals sound a little held back, but that was likely intentional so not to draw attention away from the high energy of the guitars and bass. There has also been some very slick keyboard work added to some of the tracks, it just makes the songs that much fuller and more enjoyable to listen to.
Next up is the vocals. Charlie's hiphop lyrics and Cole's ska-rock melodies have always been a great combination in my opinion, but they have made some subtle, and not so subtle changes to some of their melodies and lyrics.
And it sounds unbelievable.
Something as simple as taking away a word here and there, adding a different melodic direction in a chorus, it's subtle but damn it sounds awesome. The vocal harmonies have also received a good level boost, making the vocals simply complete.
So, who would like this music?
Hello Beautiful is literally for everyone. Their multiple musical inspirations has something for everyone; and with a constant clean instrumental sound, even my grandparents tapped their foot to this album instead of calling it "Lee's racket music". I promise you that you will love most of, if not all of, this album.
Lee's Top Tunes
Boombox Generation
Around the River (Hey You)
Saint Andrew's Bridge
Toxic in the City
What didn't I like"
Guys!? Where the heck did Cinderblock go??
Final thoughts
Okay, I'm a very pompous prick musician and often have difficulty giving other performers props unless it's REALLY due; fortunately in this case, it's really due. This is an ideal album to me, it can appeal to a broad field of listeners and with the change to "Trick" it's now a pretty clean album lyrically, they say "ass" once in Princess Oklahoma, but it sets the mood of the song.
I'm not going to give it stars or a number out of 10 or anything like that, 'cuz it's cheesie and cliche, just get this album, honestly you will not regret it.
- By Lee Clifford - Durham College Chronicle