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Ed Hale stirred up a great deal of controversy in 2005 with the Transcendence album Sleep with You that explored relationships, sex, women, romance, drugs, and life on the road. Anyone who knows him best appreciates his deep passion for music, writing, and his unyielding frankness when it comes to matters close to his heart; however, unknown to some, he is also the author of an award-winning screenplay and a pop-culture/ sociology non-fiction book, about to hit the market, as well as being a guest columnist on the Sundance Film Channel Website covering how “green” peace on earth really is.
Music is in the blood for this man who released his first album at the tender age of 17 and whose great-uncle was none other than the famous musical conductor and arranger, Antonio Morelli, well known for his many years at the infamous Copa Room in Vegas during the ‘Rat Pack’ years. After having received a guitar from his mother at a young age to ‘vent his creativity and keep him out of trouble’ – the rest, as they say, is history!
The songs on Hale’s latest impressive new album Ballad on Third Avenue are said to be the most personal and intimate collection of songs he has ever recorded. An eleven song acoustic singer/songwriter venture, it is said to be reminiscent of Bright Eyes, Kings of Convenience, Rubber Soul era Beatles, Belle and Sebastian, and Simon and Garfunkel. Not surprising that his latest album debuted on the CMJ Most Added Chart at #14 and then climbed to #140 on the CMJ Top 200, along with the release of the first single, I walk Alone, which became a staple on Triple A radio stations all over the United States and Canada.
Hale’s respected and tireless efforts in social and political activism may also be something in the family blood since Hale is the nephew of Eleanor Cutri Smeal, former president of the National Organization for Women and one of the leading American feminists of the 20th century. Named a Civilian diplomat, he represents the United States around the world and never tires in his efforts for world peace, earning him the nickname ‘the Ambassador.’ Not content simply working with Habitat for Humanity in providing homes and a new beginning for those less fortunate; he strives daily to make the world a better place in his honored role as one of this country’s civilian diplomats. In fact, it was in this role that he first visited Iran in 2008 to discuss peace between the two countries, and later met directly with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations in an effort to promote world peace.
Alongside Hale’s incredibly talented music, openly public spirituality, and activism for human rights and world peace, there is an ambitious entrepreneur who has founded numerous multimillion-dollar companies over the years that include a chain of health food stores, real estate, a clothing line, a multi-media company, and his latest venture in a New York based business consulting firm with offices worldwide.
Fans of this rock star extraordinaire will be happy to learn of his national tour this Summer promoting Ballad on Third Avenue (dates have already been announced for Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver), plus the upcoming release of another new Transcendence album, the long awaited All Your Heroes Become Villains, only this time Hale will surely be accompanied by his lovely new wife, Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai, who was the inspiration for the band’s alterna-rock smash Superhero Girl on the controversial album, Sleep With You. To hear songs from the new album or connect with Ed Hale online, visit http://www.edhale.com/ or his official fan-pages on Facebook or MySpace for more on this diverse artist. Promo copies of Hale’s new CD Ballard on Third Avenue are available by request for review or article purposes.
My Take on the CD
Prior to buying Ed Hale’s CD, I can say that I had not heard of him or his band in the past. Being a father I have to say that typiclly lately when I am in the car instead of listening to music that I typically would (for my own pleasure) instead you can probaby guess that I have been listening to music for the girls instead.
Hale seems to be quite talented in his songwriting. While I have come to realize that this was NOT his first solo album, for me, I would not have known this; so for me I was able to have a clean look at a new artist for me. And how refreshing this artist is.
All of the artists playing with Hale worked well together making a beautiful sound that worked well together creating a melody that draws the listener into the music. There were a few sondgs that did seem to drag on for while, but overall I was impressed by both the songwriting and the musicality of the artists.
The music is a bit haunting and yet poetic. The CD actually made me think of music that I could sit and listen to in a wine bar or at least sitting back and sipping a wine and chilling out.
Ed Hale Wedding Photos Now Online
New photos of the February 13th wedding between singer/songwriter Ed Hale and the beautiful Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai have started to appear online in different photo albums on Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr.
The most recent album is by indie-photo-journalist/filmmaker Flavia Molinariwhich can be accessed here if you are on Facebook.
If you do not yet have a profile on Facebook you can still view the photos by clicking here, though there may be less information and user interactivity available in this album.
A more ample and broad collection from a wide variety of family, friends, and fans can be viewed by clicking here.
Happy viewing and congratulations to the new couple!
DVG Records Company 2010
NEW ED HALE INTERVIEW IN EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE TALKS ABOUT RECENT WEDDING, TRUE LOVE, AND CIVILIAN DIPLOMACY
A new interview with Transcendence singer Ed Hale in Exclusive Magazine. The singer, who just recently released a new solo album, Ballad On Third Avenue, and more recently surprised friends and fans by getting married to the beautiful Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai in dual Persian and Christian Ceremonies.”
‘All Hale, Ed!’
Ed Hale, the iconic singer of the rock group Transcendence, never known for doing things ‘ordinary,’ definitely did it his way in what may be the ‘interfaith wedding of the year!’
On February 13, Hale’s last Triple A radio hit single, ‘I Walk Alone,’ no longer applied to him as he and the beautiful Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai, began their life together in a style that crosses all cultural barriers.
At a church on the corner of Park Avenue in New York City, they were joined in a formally Islamic fashion in a traditional Persian wedding, followed immediately by a traditional Christian wedding.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Ed Hale about all this, and first wondered, being that he just married his soul-mate (congratulations!) in a Multi-Interfaith, one-of-a-kind wedding, if he could kindly explain this a little more. “Thank you for the congrats. Nahal and I knew that if we were going to have a wedding that it needed to be special. Something that was bigger than just the binding of the two of us as one. If we wanted to do that, we could have just eloped off alone the two of us and done it privately. But we felt a responsibility to our friends and fans and family… we wanted to share it.”
“Many people already knew our story. How long we had been together. How in love we were. Always the iconoclast, I wasn’t too knowledgable about weddings per se, but I knew that if I was going to get married in public that it had to be about more than just the two of us. So we really worked hard at this idea of ‘celebrating love,’ in all its shapes and forms… rather than just making it about us.”
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