“Trying to pin down elusive American Ed Hale is a frustrating task. It’s as if the guy has swallowed an encyclopedia of alternative rock and the contents are flying around his musical digestive system like the balls in the National Lottery Draw!”
– Hugh Fielder, Classic Rock magazine

As the new album by Ed Hale and The Transcendence, entitled All Your Heroes Become Villains, debuts on College Radio stations nationwide starting at noon on Tuesday November 1st, Ed Hale recounts the years-long tumultuous journey from origination to completion and release of the band’s newest work together. In the blog post entitled “This is What Relentlessness Looks Like” in his Transcendence Diaries, Hale talks about the ups and downs of the band’s nine year history and their relentless pursuit to see their latest album hit the airwaves and the store shelves after one hell of a long struggle with a music business that is struggling and unsure of itself.  Read the story here. The new album gets officially released on November 15th, 2011. But it’s now available for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon.com.

Endless war, exploitation, lies. Turn the anger and outrage into a guitar riff, and you have the pulsing heart of “Blind Eye,” the latest release from All Your Heroes Become Villains by Ed Hale and The Transcendence. The riff, accomplished by some tricky open-D tuning, and then mirrored by syncopated bass (Roger Houdaille) and drums (Ricardo Mazzi), sets the emotional tone, giving the listener more than a hint where the song is going.

“It’s cynical as hell but I think it’s how a lot of us feel right now in the US; and around the world,” says Ed Hale. “You [politicians, elected officials] can do whatever the fuck you want to. I’m sick of your lies. I’m sick of your endless wars. So here’s the deal: do whatever you want to. I’m sick of fighting you. So I’m going to turn a blind eye to you and your wicked bs. But just don’t mess with me or my family. Don’t come near my home. And don’t ask me to help you in your quest to destroy the world around us.” Hale’s haunting lyrics, “Everything I hear/And everything I see/I won’t be afraid/You won’t bother me/All your evil ways/With everything you do/I will turn away/You won’t bother me, ” are delivered with such steady resolve that you can almost picture him turning his back silently afterward. The refrain, “Murder Greed Destruction Exploitation Rape Sex and Violence/Take your money Take your money Take your money” whispered quickly and venemously, came from a list Hale wrote at Fred Freeman’s, the producer of the album, suggestion. About halfway through, “Blind Eye” begins to spin, vocals, guitar, drums, bass and effects coming together in a representation of the chaos and evil present in the world today. Download “Blind Eye” now.

Preview and Pre-Order the New Ed Hale and Transcendence album All Your Heroes Become Villains on iTunes or Amazon.com Starting Today!

Watch the trailer for the new All Your Heroes Become Villains album exclusively on YouTube!

Photo Courtesy of Gina Rowland: pictured from left to right are Ricardo Mazzi (drums), Zach Ziskin (guitar), Ed Hale (vocals, guitar), Fernando Perdomo (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Allan Gabay (piano, keyboards), Karen Feldner (background vocals),  Roger Houdaille (bass, vocals), Kamran Green (DJ, Remixer), Leor Manelis (drums)

The new album, All Your Heroes Become Villains, is now available for pre-order on iTunes.
Click here for US iTunes, or UK iTunes.

Alternatively, if you wish to pre-order a physical copy, please visit http://edhaleandthetranscendence.bandcamp.com/

The fourth studio album by itinerant project Ed Hale And The Transcendence brings together new contributors and a collection of songs intertwining the talents and influences gathered together. The album opener offers uplifting soul vocals accompanied by a blissful piano and trumpet melody which ebbs and flows during the eleven tracks. Intermittent phrases of dialogue, another recurring motif carried throughout, consolidate a cinematic feel of the LP as the prelude segues into the next.

‘Here It Comes’ is the track infused most with the spirit of Britpop; the anthemic instrumentation, the rousing chorus and the soaring strings all present and correct. Hallmark elements of the Britpop sound also surface in ‘Solaris’, where Hale’s vocals, carried along by jaunty acoustic guitar chords, echo Bono and Alex Kapranos in parts; ‘After Tomorrow’, seven minutes in length, apes the likes of the mellow vibes and extended outro of ‘Champagne Supernova’ and the close backing harmonies of ‘Hey Jude’.

Read more…

The new Ed Hale solo album Ballad On Third Avenue is now spinning at over 350 college radio stations across the United States and Canada and is expected to hit the CMJ Top 20 Most Added Album List next week. See the list here for the station in your town and listen in. As always call-ins from fans are very cool. For the new CD, Hale will be conducting on-air interviews with stations across the country and many stations are also holding contests for fans to win free autographed copies of the new CD or t-shirts and other memorabilia. More info can be had by tuning in to your local college, community, or university radio station for details. In today’s singles-oriented atmosphere, college radio still holds the distinct advantage over commercial radio in that they are serviced with entire albums by artists – rather than just “the newest hit single” – and never afraid to dig deep they are usually more than eager to play the more rare, less-heard, or experimental tracks from new albums. All hail college radio for staying true to this vision and offering music fans this invaluable service. The college radio campaign for Ballad On Third Avenue is being handled by The Syndicate.

The first single from the new album, “I Walk Alone,” hits commercial radio stations across the US next week. A new update with a commercial station list for every town will be posted in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

Ed Hale – who has been hard at work on his new book Revolution in Me while awaiting the release of the band’s new CDs – will begin a regular weekly guest blog for a few months on the official Sundance Film Channel website in the coming weeks focusing on his peace delegation visit to the country of Iran and how it relates to all things GREEN: the environment, peace, war, oil, nuclear energy, and most importantly humanity. The blogs will be similar to his regular posts on his long-running Transcendence Diaries blog but will be shorter in length of course. The blog posts will feature photos, and links to videos and photo slideshows from his trip, as well as guest interviews with authors, scientists, and experts in various fields. Stay tuned for the first installment.

In the meantime, Transcendence does indeed have three new CDs releasing this year including the band’s official two new albums, The Great Mistake (EMI) and All Your Heroes Become Villains (DVG), and a new rarities and unreleased tracks album called The City of Lost Children. Stay tuned for release dates.

To best stay informed of the latest, head to Facebook and add as a friend or subscribe to this site or the band’s site either through email or RSS Feed.

Ed Hale, affectionately known to friends and lovers the world over as THE AMBASSADOR lived in New York City before his mysterious and unexpected disappearance. The singer/songwriter performed and recorded with the rock group TRANSCENDENCE, as well as released a series of many successful solo albums. The group’s albums are available at music retailers nationwide, on iTunes, or at various online music stores such as Amazon or CDbaby.

“Still finding myself obsessed with a quiet secret subtle and almost constant gnawing at my insides about the unbearable sadness of how impermanent everything is. Our lifetimes are short here. I remind myself that it is up to me to find meaning while I am here. I try to live my life to its fullest and even then I cannot shake the deep underlying knowing that they are all just moments lived and then soon forgotten. Where is the meaning in that?”

Welcome to edhale.com. Kick back. Have a look around. Enjoy the ride. Post a comment. Subscribe for regular updates.

October 20th

Ed Hale Vintage from the first series of Rise and Shine photo shoots, photo by Karen Keisler 2001

Sunday 20, 1991: The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments, causing more than $2 billion in damage.

Monday 20, 1986: 1989 – Brisbane bound coach collides with Semi – Traler North of Grafton NSW (Grafton Bus Crash)

Wednesday 20, 1982: St. Louis Cardinals defeat Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 to win 9th World Series Championship.

Thursday 20, 1977: A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing several band members, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines.

Saturday 20, 1973: The Six Million Dollar Man premieres on ABC.

Wednesday 20, 1971: The Nepal stock exchange collapses.

Sunday 20, 1968: Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

Thursday 20, 1955: Publication of The Return of the King, being the last part of The Lord of the Rings

Monday 20, 1947: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist infiltration of Hollywood, resulting in a blacklist that prevents some from working in the industry for years.

Friday 20, 1944: Liquid natural gas leaks from storange tanks in Cleveland, then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130.

Sunday 20, 1935: The Long March ends

Saturday 20, 1883: Peru and Chile signed the Treaty of Ancón, by which the Tarapacá province was ceded to the latter, bringing an end to Peru’s involvement in the War of the Pacific.

Saturday 20, 1827: A combined Turkish and Egyptian armada is destroyed by an allied British, French, and Russian naval force in the port of Navarino in Pylos, Greece. The most important result of this battle is the end of the Greek Liberation War and the affirmation of independence of modern Greece.

Thursday 20, 1803: United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.

Thursday 20, 1740: Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.

Willis McGahee, American football player (b: October 20, 1981)
Tom Wisniewski, American guitarist (mxpx) (b: October 20, 1976)
Dannii Minogue, Australian-born singer (b: October 20, 1971)
Snoop Dogg, American rapper (b: October 20, 1971)
Ed Hale, American Artist & Revolutionary (b: October 20, ?)
Juan Gonzalez, baseball player (b: October 20, 1969)
Stefan Raab, German entertainer (b: October 20, 1966)
William Zabka, American actor (b: October 20, 1965)
Julie Payette, Canadian astronaut (b: October 20, 1963)
Konstantin Aseev, chess player (b: October 20, 1960 ; d: August 22, 2004)
Viggo Mortensen, actor (b: October 20, 1958)
Ivo Pogorelic, Croatian pianist (b: October 20, 1958)
Danny Boyle, English film director (b: October 20, 1956)
Aaron Pryor, American boxer (b: October 20, 1955)
Bruce Green, U.S. Marine (b: October 20, 1955)
Tom Petty, American musician (b: October 20, 1950)
Valeri Borzov, Ukrainian athlete (b: October 20, 1949)
Earl Hindman, American actor (b: October 20, 1942 ; d: December 29, 2003)
Juan Marichal, baseball player (b: October 20, 1937)
Jerry Orbach, American actor (b: October 20, 1935 ; d: December 28, 2004)
Rosey Brown, American football player (b: October 20, 1932 ; d: June 9, 2004)
Mickey Mantle, baseball player (b: October 20, 1931 ; d: August 13, 1995)
Joyce Brothers, American psychologist and television personality (b: October 20, 1928)
Art Buchwald, American newspaper columnist (b: October 20, 1925)
Robert Lochner, German journalist (b: October 20, 1918)
Grandpa Jones, American banjo player and singer (b: October 20, 1913 ; d: February 19, 1998)
Arlene Francis, American television personality (b: October 20, 1907)
Ellery Queen, pseudonym of two American writers (b: October 20, 1905)
Anna Neagle, English actress (b: October 20, 1904)
Wayne Morse, U.S. Senator from Oregon (b: October 20, 1900 ; d: July 22, 1974)
Crown Prince Eun of Korea (b: October 20, 1897 ; d: May 1, 1970)
Olive Thomas, American actress (b: October 20, 1894)
Charley Chase, American comedian (b: October 20, 1893)
James Chadwick, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b: October 20, 1891 ; d: July 24, 1974)
Jomo Kenyatta, President of Kenya (b: October 20, 1891 ; d: August 22, 1978)
Jelly Roll Morton, American composer (b: October 20, 1890 ; d: July 10, 1941)
Margaret Dumont, American actress (b: October 20, 1889 ; d: March 6, 1965)
Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-born actor (b: October 20, 1882 ; d: August 16, 1956)
Charles Ives, American composer (b: October 20, 1874 ; d: May 19, 1954)
John Dewey, American philosopher (b: October 20, 1859)
John Burns, English politician (b: October 20, 1858 ; d: January 24, 1943)
Arthur Rimbaud, French poet (b: October 20, 1854 ; d: November 10, 1891)
Thomas Hughes, English novelist (b: October 20, 1822 ; d: March 22, 1896)
The Báb, Persian founder of the Bábí Faith (b: October 20, 1819 ; d: July 9, 1850)
Karl Andree, German geographer (b: October 20, 1808 ; d: August 10, 1875)
Chauncey Goodrich, U.S. Senator from Connecticut (b: October 20, 1759 ; d: August 18, 1815)
Stanislaus I Leszczy?ski, King of Poland (b: October 20, 1677)
Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (b: October 20, 1660 ; d: July 26, 1723)
Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (b: October 20, 1656 ; d: March 20, 1746)
Sir Christopher Wren, English architect (b: October 20, 1632 ; d: February 25, 1723)
Albert Cuyp, Dutch painter (b: October 20, 1620 ; d: November 15, 1691)
Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (b: October 20, 1616 ; d: December 4, 1680)
Claude, Duke of Guise, French soldier (b: October 20, 1496 ; d: April 12, 1550)
Guru Nanak Dev, first Sikh Guru (b: October 20, 1469 ; d: May 7, 1539)
Alessandro Achillini, Italian philosopher (b: October 20, 1463 ; d: August 12, 1512)