Halfwait discuss their music, message to the world and what their impact will be—exclusive

If you’re looking for a great grunge rock band that has a professional, but unique sound, look no further!

Halfwait is the band to fill your needs, even if you’re not into the grunge genre. With a mix of punk and grunge, Halfwait takes the airwaves by storm with classic songs. Better yet, they’re from Australia, but have a stunning presence in the music world with growing popularity, especially on Instagram.

Halfwait was formed in 2009 in Sydney, Australia, by guitarist Jon Barca and drummer Chris Tallon, who had always wanted to create a band since they were younger teenagers. Jon’s passion for writing poetry and music influenced by bands like Nirvana and The Offspring opened up new doors for him that involved playing guitar. “I started playing bass in a school band basically to get girls, but that formed into learning guitar and mixing my poetry into songs,” said Jon. As for Chris, he had a similar music interest in bands like Jon, but he admired the more-punkish style of music. “Something about that style of music grabbed me from a very young age,” said Chris. He continued, “I always wanted to start my own band, not really wanting to play that particular style of punk but to incorporate a more grungy slower style of that. And thats where Jon comes in the mix, without him I would be playing an even more generic style of punk.”

The band became aware of their talent and began recording in a studio in late 2009. They practiced a few times a week and eventually released their first EP, “One Life, One Chance” in last 2011-early 2012, while working with bassist Nathan Stalenberg.

However, with a growing name and healthy fanbase, a tragedy forced the band to go on hiatus. A close friend of the band had passed away in 2012, causing the band to pause at an important time of their music career.

However, they were able to reform the band in 2014 with new ambitions and an even bigger idea of what they could bring to the table with their music.

“We stumbled across a video from 2009, it was a song called ‘Forever’ and the lyrics somehow already sounded like they were about our friend who passed three years later. It felt like it was meant to be. We tweaked a few of our lyrics and turned it into a dedication song to our friend called, ‘Kings Of The West”. I’d say, that message is the main drive behind what we’re doing now” said Jon, who is eager to give the world the message of their late friend, who meant so much to them.

With that, they’ve labeled their latest EP, “Forever” in regards of their friend. Their purpose is to carry on and help out the family, who is still mourning the loss of such a great person. However, it’s not juts labeled at them, as they want anybody who’s suffered the loss of a close friend to be able to relate and heal with their music.

“Getting a message out there to help other people is above fame and fortune. Money is an evil thing and I think you can tell who’s doing it for the money and who is doing it for the passion,” explained the band, who continued,“we put a lot of our hard earned money into what we’re doing…not expecting us to make money off of it but to try and make a difference.”

To them, humbleness and passion is all they could ever wish for, having their name out to the world to assist to any broken heart or suffering soul. That, right there, is what the world needs most.

Currently, the band is working on a debut album and they’re excited to see what the future holds. They’ve recorded a new single for the said album and currently have a lot more materiel to record, but the album won’t be released for a while. They plan to release a few singles leading up to the album’s release,  but want to promote their current EP as much as they can without burning it out.

However, making new music and connections with people on their Instagram is what’s in their sights. They’re currently working with their producers to get the album out, as well as tour and spread their message even further.

“We would love the opportunity to get a chance and go overseas to America in the near future. We have just teamed up with a management company recently based in the U.S and they will be working hard on getting us national tours and supports in the near future. It’s exciting and we look forward to it.” said Chris, about the band’s future and what coming to the U.S would mean to them.

Their biggest goal, or, “Ultimate goal” to Jon would be to play with Blink-182 or Greenday, but they’d also love to play with the likes of Moose Blood and Mallory Knox. They’ve dreamed of people from all over the world listening to their music and posting about their band and their progress, and so far it’s showing.

Most of the support has been gathered by European counties and America, as claimed by Chris. He likes how the growth of the metalcore scene is doing overseas and thinks its their biggest market, as the world is moving towards a grunge type of movement again.

However, there’s so much more than touring and playing in front of 17,000 people per night. What Halfwait wants is their footprint to be remembered. “In the end, we don’t live forever, but people can live through music forever. I think that is the one thing about music we love most. Even our friend passing…the positive part about it is that we have created a tribute to his life that will live forever and anybody who knew him would say that would say the song is spot on.”

Halfwait is definitely a band on the rise, who carries a hefty message with a positive vibe. They’ve impressed not only me, but plenty of their fans from all over the world.

I urge you to follow them on Instagram here, to get the latest news on what the band is working on. You should also look them up on Youtube here, where you can find a lot of their music.

Personally, I want to thank Halfwait for this great experience and their incredible passion for the music world.

Follow me on Twitter: @Johnaubert97

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