edhale.com – Page 16

March 27, 2010

Ballad On Third Avenue album review by DivaDaddy Blog

Read entire review here. Or…. below:
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 https://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.

March 10, 2010

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

March 4, 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.”
Continue reading click here

February 22, 2010

ROCKSTAR ED HALE GETS MARRIED – DOES HIS PART IN CROSSING CULTURAL BARRIERS TO ACHIEVE WORLD PEACE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY, February 22, 2010 – Ed Hale, singer/songwriter and social and political activist, whose latest solo album Ballad on Third Avenue was recently voted one of the best albums of 2009, has possibly started a trend in creating a little peace between the U.S. and the Middle East – by doing it his way in his one-of-a-kind wedding last weekend! East meets West and judging from the comments of the over one hundred and fifty guests from all walks of life and religious denominations, they were deeply moved and had never experienced such a depth of love and peace within a wedding ceremony before!
On February 13, at a church in Manhattan, Hale (who took the Muslim name of Hafez in order to be legally married to his bride in the country of Iran) and Iranian-born Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai began their new life together by first being joined in a formal Islamic ceremony at a traditional Persian wedding known as Sofreh Aghd that dates back nearly four thousand years. This service was followed by a traditional Christian wedding where the bride and groom’s own vows were integrated into the formal ceremony, followed by a few minutes of candle-lit darkness and silence for world peace.
The enlightened couple did not stop there though. The newlyweds then “jumped the broom,” a centuries-old African American wedding tradition, to express their solidarity with people around the world who are still victims of human trafficking and slavery today. Hale then surprised his new bride by releasing two white doves into the air, and then at the reception a traditional Native American wedding blessing Deer Dance was performed for the couple and their guests by ancient Persian Sufi musicians. Hale’s initial concern that it might have been ‘too much’ for their guests was assuaged after hearing feedback that everyone felt humbled and inspired by the love and spirituality they felt that day, many expressing that their lives were changed forever by the experience.
Hale ’walks the talk’ once more when it comes to his nickname ‘the Ambassador,’ even bringing the idea into his own nuptials. 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 a civilian diplomat for the United States. In fact, it was in this role that he first visited Iran in 2008 to discuss peace between the US and Iran. Six months later he met directly with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations in an effort to promote world peace. Contrary to what many believe, Hale did not meet his future bride during this visit – they had, in fact, been best friends for almost a decade prior to becoming engaged.
As the rocker-activist couple began their first day as husband and wife in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, they found it both sad and ironic when Nahal read aloud from the New York Times Hillary Clinton’s plan to impose more economic sanctions on Iran, where much of her family still lives. One wonders that If Ed Hale and Nahal could cross multiple cultural and religious barriers and achieve peace on a small scale for one day with hundreds of guests from countries all over the world, couldn’t we imagine what the whole world could accomplish if we worked together in similar fashion and made peace our ultimate goal. Peace between the United States and Iran was possible, at least for one day, through true love in action by these two beautifully inspired love birds.
Find out more about the artist at www.edhale.com or connect with Ed Hale personally on Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/edhale.
Rodney Foster – Ascot Media Group, Inc.
rfoster@ascotmediagroup.com
281-324-2180

January 9, 2010

ED HALE’S BALLAD ON THIRD AVENUE VOTED “ONE OF BEST ALBUMS OF 2009″ BY NEW TIMES MAGAZINE

Ed Hale‘s latest solo album, the acoustic leaning ‘whisper pop’ CD entitled Ballad On Third Avenue was voted “One of Best Albums of 2009” by New Times Magazine. The end of year edition came out of the tri-county wide South Florida area where Hale first got his start in the seminal underground band Broken Spectacles along with Americana Music pioneer Matthew Sabatella when the two were in college.
Music critic Lee Zimmerman wrote,

“Bundled in sumptuous arrangements and a prog-rock posture, Ed Hale’s regular gig with Transcendence sometimes seemed to overshadow his true worth as a songwriter. Happily, Hale’s solo debut remedies that by emphasizing the songs’ emotional content rather than their window dressing. The support cast is still terrific – among the members are several Transcendence bandmates – but what truly shines are some brooding, introspective tunes informed by a sense of quiet contemplation.”

“Fact is, Hale’s always been quite the entrepreneur. His Dying Van Gogh label has fostered some of South Florida’s most talented artists, among them Dreaming in Stereo’s Fernando Perdomo and Ex Norwegian’s Roger Houdaille. It still provides him a local connection, even though he’s relocated to New York, where he now finds the muse best suited to his ambitions. Even so, Ballad on Third Avenue isn’t restricted to any particular setting — “Scene in San Francisco,” “New Orleans Dreams,” and “Thoughts of California” reference various locales while maintaining a solitary sense of longing and desire. Consequently, only “I Walk Alone” emulates the sweep and spectacle of Transcendence. However, like the songs that surround it, it maintains a lowered gaze, making this Hale’s most intimate and alluring set yet.”

– Lee Zimmerman

December 20, 2009

ED HALE WEDDING DATE ANNOUNCED – FEBRUARY 13TH, 2010

Singer/songwriter Ed Hale, who was engaged to be married to Nahal Mishel-Ghashghai in September of this year, announced this week that a date has been set, February 13th, 2010, creating a “Valentines Day Weekend in New York City for friends and family” and invitations have been mailed. The couple will hold two wedding ceremonies back to back, both in Manhattan. The first of which at 10 AM, will be a Traditional Persian Wedding, where Hale is said to be converting to Islam in order to travel with and be considered legally married to Mishel-Ghashghai in the Middle East, immediately followed by what is being called “an eclectic take on the traditional Christian Wedding,” where Mishel-Ghashghai is reportedly converting to Christianity. A reception will follow in the same location. The couple shared that they are foregoing the usual DJ and wedding band at the reception in favor of more personal group activities such as readings by different guests, a meditation on love candle ceremony, a blessing by a Tibetan Buddhist Monk from the Nechung Center, and of course several musical performances by friends of Hale’s in the rock ‘n’ roll world. In lieu of wedding cake the couple will be having the 200 year old New York Italian bakery Viniero’s provide over two-hundred and fifty fresh cannoli. The reception will also feature a string quintet with sitar performing both classical and standards, and a Traditional Persian Classical Trio. Honeymoon plans have not been announced, but the couple has set up a wedding website at TheKnot.com that lists flight and accommodation information for guests. Hale commented “The only other time I’ll ever get to have this many of all my different friends from around the world gathered in one place will probably be my funeral, if I’m that lucky, so Nahal and I really wanted to have things be more personal and manageable so we could have the opportunity to spend quality time with people we don’t get to see very often. Introduce everyone to each other. You know, like that.” When asked about the “eclectic take” comment on the couple’s upcoming nuptials, Hale said “Well I think I’ve got her talked into doing a big group Stevie Wonder sing-a-long, but I’m pretty sure she’s nixed the idea of me walking in wearing a cape and top hat.”

December 19, 2009

ED HALE RELEASES SECOND SINGLE FROM NEW ALBUM – “SCENE IN SAN FRANCISCO”

New Ed Hale single “Scene in San Francisco” is now available to hear free in its entirety and download on internet radio stations such as iLike, LastFM, and Jango. Transcendence singer/guitarist Ed Hale turned solo artist, albeit temporarily, with the release of this year’s acoustic flavored whisper-pop album Ballad On Third Avenue — a blatantly sentimental homage to beautiful losers and tragic lovers. The album debuted at #14 on CMJ’s Most Added Chart and has hovered at #140 in the Top 200 since its release in July, the most successful charting of the singer’s career to date. The album’s first single, the anthemic “I Walk Alone,” played on over one-hundred Triple A radio stations across the US, earning Hale crossover success and new fans in the adult contemporary market, a format far removed from Hale’s usual home in the alternative rock and college radio world. Hoping to further the success and momentum of showing the singer’s softer side, his record label (Dying Van Gogh) is releasing the album’s second single “Scene in San Francisco” in January – this time to both the Triple A market and to Top 40 radio, a bold gesture for an artist who has always been known more for eclectic inventiveness than hit-making.

November 17, 2009

NEW ED HALE MUSIC VIDEO “BEAUTIFUL LOSERS” RELEASED

New music video from the latest Ed Hale album Ballad On Third Avenue. The song “Beautiful Losers” is actually the title track and song #5 on the Transcendence singer’s newest solo album, and is entitled “Ballad On Third Avenue (Beautiful Losers)” for those wishing to download the track from iTunes. The music video was shot by photographer Flavia Molinari and edited by Roger Houdaille of the indie-rock band Ex Norwegian.

October 12, 2009

HAPPY COLUMBUS DAY VIDEO MONOLOGUE BY ED HALE

Recorded in October 2006 in Miami, Florida while recording the Transcendence album All Your Heroes Become Villains, the two-part “Happy Columbus Day” monologue video by Ed Hale was one of the very first videos posted to the YouTube channel TranscendentTV. Since that time, Hale posted over one-hundred and twenty videos of a wide variety of content to YouTube in a little more than half a year citing it as a cultural experiment. Often misunderstood, the controversial video is straight-faced, biting, sarcastic, and entirely tongue and cheek the singer claims. Happy hunting and happy Columbus Day!

September 30, 2009

“HALE IS DIGGING DEEP AND REVEALING THROUGH MUSIC THE TRAVAILS AND PLEASURES OF LIVING LIFE”

CD REVIEW IN BOOTLEG MAGAZINE August 2009: Ed Hale has recorded a solo album away from his Brit Pop band Transcendence but hasn’t left the pop sentimentality too far behind, using the skill to help shape something acoustically raw and introspective. Ballad on Third Avenue is rich in memorable and pleasantly catchy songs that eschew common trappings of a larger sound in favor of recording more sparse and intimate material. It succeeds in practicing restraint and in also telling stories weaved through American landscapes. The album recalls the jingly soft sounds of late sixties bands that seemed to crystallize sugary melody versus stomping easily all over it.