Lzzy Hale

Halestorm

In the Hard Rock genre having the loudest voice will get you noticed quicker and it is definitely the case when it comes to HALESTORM vocalist LZZY HALE who is currently leading her way to the top of the genre. Creating 2 albums which has given the band worldwide acclaim with a 3rd album being recorded this year which means there is certainly no way of stopping Lzzy Hale and her band of rockers. Emily talked to the vocalist of HALESTORM on their UK tour about inspirations and touring life. 
By Emily Coulter
May 15, 2014
Interview - Lzzy Hale (Halestorm) interview
You're halfway through your UK tour, how are you enjoying it so far?

I love it, I've been having so much fun! We're smack bang in the middle of writing our third record so we were itching to go out on tour.

How have you been getting on with the support bands, THE SMOKING HEARTS and DAYSHELL?

They're all great guys, DAYSHELL is from America like us but we've never met them before so it was like a brothers from another mother kind of thing but we've known THE SMOKING HEARTS for a while now which is great.

Any memorable moments from the tour so far?

A few nights ago all the guys got one of the girls in our touring crew really pumped up so she could get everyone into a club which ended up working! But now a challenge has been set for each night of the tour somebody has to motorboat someone. Josh and me have both succeeded but we keep calling our guitarist ''Captain Motorboat'' as he keeps setting everyone up but hasn't succeeded!

What are the best and worst things about touring?

The best things about touring is getting to do what I love every day with the people I love, meeting amazing people and trying so much new stuff but the bad stuff is like not getting showers much and trying to find a toilet all the time..

If you could tour with any band, who would it be?

I'd love to do a gig with THE FOO FIGHTERS as we've never worked with them and it would be a huge milestone in my life to play live with them!

What other tours and festivals are you doing this year?

Not much actually, we're trying to release the record in the fall hopefully so we're doing a few random dates but not many festivals. I love doing European festivals so it's abit of a bummer.

How long have you been playing guitar?

Not aslong as I probably should have, I started on piano and started on guitar when I was 16 but it took me along time to figure it all out. I quit lessons which I don't recommend and I regret it so much but I was very impatient cause I play decently by ear so that is how I ended up quitting, I started playing live and not really knowing what I was doing.

You have very distinct vocals, how do you train them?

I was trained for 2 years by an 80's metal singer and he showed me how to use my resonances which massively helped, I don't drink before I go on stage and drink lots of water and I make sure what I do doesn't hurt me.

Any tips you can give to people who want to achieve your style of vocals?

Go to a teacher as that is a huge help and you learn so much and if it hurts don't do it! Learn to breath properly and use your resonances.

Who are your biggest inspirations as a vocalist?

Alot of my early influences were guys in 80's rock and metal bands like James Hetfield and Ronnie James Dio but female wise it's people like Pat Benatar as I feel like I relate a lot to them.

You're seen as a huge inspiration to a lot of hard rock and metal fans, how do you feel about that?

A little scary really as some people take what I say too seriously, which is flattering but sometimes they don't realise what I say can be a joke. But when I meet fans at shows and they tell me that they've started bands, began playing an instrument or anything musically related because they've been to our show it's a huge inspiration to me and makes me very happy.

What is it like being in a band with your brother?

It can be both the amazing experience and the most horrific because I love him to death but he can be very loud and obnoxious, they are the reasons I love him though and it makes him the drummer he is today. He knows when I yell at him, I'm either yelling at him as a big sister or as his band mate but there is a very big line between, last night he went out without telling anyone where he is going and then got his phone stolen so I gave him a telling off for that!

You recorded a song for the Ronnie James Dio tribute album ''This Is Your Life'', did you enjoy the experience?

I loved it so much, I'm a huge Ronnie James Dio fan so it was amazing to be featured on the album and to play the Ronnie James Dio Gala but it was pretty nerve racking to be featured on the album with some legendary artist's who we've looked up too.

Why did you pick ''Straight Through The Heart'' out of every song you could of covered?

The first Ronnie James Dio album I heard was ''Holy Diver'' and has ''Straight Through The Heart'' featured on it, it's an underrated song and I've wanted to cover it for a long time.

You released the highly successful ''The Strange Case Of..'' in 2012, what is your favourite track from the album?

It changes daily but I'm currently enjoying ''Break In'' as we get to play it on this tour and it means I get to play the piano so it's fun to get off the guitar and relax but tomorrow it could be anything.

What are your plans to follow up the album?

We've been writing for a long time and trying to figure out what we want for the next record, so we wrote 60 songs but only 4 were really exciting so we threw the rest away but we've added 8 more to the list of good ones. We could go in the studio at any point and record those songs and then add some more at another point in time but I want to get this tour done and take a few weeks off to relax.

You've made 2 albums, 2 cover EP's and 2 live albums, what's your favourite?

Oh that is so hard, I love the live albums as it's a moment in time, the cover E.P's are so much fun but really easy as there is no pressure so the most rewarding ones are the studio albums as you have to put so much work into it and hope people like it.

What are your favourite songs to play live?

Lately we've been playing one of our new songs called ''Mayhem'' which isn't out anywhere yet so we've been trying it out on the crowds.

For people who've never listened to HALESTORM before, how would you describe your music?

Beautifully cantankerous as we're a very simple band, we plug in and we play and any mistakes you hear are real cause we don't do any trickery. 

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