Category: PRESS – ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS

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TRANSCENDENCE GUITARIST FERNANDO PERDOMO TALKS ABOUT RECORDING ALL YOUR HEROES BECOME VILLAINS

The fifth album by Ed Hale and the TranscendenceLongtime Ed Hale and The Transcendence guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Fernando Perdomo talks about the recording process of the band’s latest album, All Your Heroes Become Villains, available at music stores everywhere, amazon.com or the iTunes music store.
“The All Your Heroes Become Villains album was recorded in a very interesting time of my life… a thrilling two week love affair I had with a talented singer had just ended and I was down in the dumps. I had an awful haircut ordered by a Latin artist I was touring with and I was totally ready to make an amazing record with Transcendence.  (We ended up making two but that’s another story!)’ [Editor’s note: Perdomo is referring to the band’s often leaked and lauded but as of yet unreleased The Great Mistake album.]
“Upon arriving to the studio, I knew instantly this was gonna be an interesting project. Ed now lived in New York City but he had flown down to stay indefinitely to finish the album with the band. He was so amped up. Everyone was. He had this artist, Gina Rowland, who he had met online, there working on her art for the album cover in the studio with us while the songs were being recorded. She sat quietly and listened to get influenced and inspired by the music. We fell in love instantly…

“Recording my guitars was hard on the record because Ed had strict rules for what he wanted … No Santana, No Blues, No Allman Brothers, No Clapton, No Springsteen… He had all these annoying signs hanging up on the walls. He was constantly making signs with big magic markers and hanging them all over the studio walls. “There’s no such thing as over produced” and “There’s no such thing as not enough production”. Contradictions everywhere. All the time. The process was confusing. He was searching for something…. He was being very fluid. Also, the songs had some heavy metal influences and electronica elements to it that did not make sense to me at the time… but again he was searching for something else, something we hadn’t done before.
“Halfway through the making of the record I went off to LA to join the band PRICE. That’s when Zach Ziskin took over…  He had already tracked guitar on the album. He’s like the fifth Beatle of Transcendence. My LA and PRICE days ended with my mom getting diagnosed with Cancer. I came back and added my guitars to the album. We panned Zach’s guitar part towards the left, mine towards the right, and Ed’s rhythm guitars dead center. The crazier I played the more it fit the album! That’s Transcendence.
“Years later… I almost cried listening to the finished record in my car… The album is a masterpiece… and a real testament to Ed Hale’s writing and vision and the whole band’s genius… and EVERYTHING MAKES SENSE. And so is life… you never know what will make sense in the end…”

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ED HALE’S “SCENE IN SAN FRANCISCO” CONTINUES TO RISE UP BILLBOARD CHARTS WITH A BULLET

Photo of Ed Hale by Derek P. Miller Transcendence frontman Ed Hale’s latest single, “Scene in San Francisco” from his solo album Ballad On Third Avenue, continues its rise up the charts this week in the Adult Contemporary (AC) radio format, with over 1000 spins per week and several new stations adding the song to heavy rotation, including WDKB out of Dekalb, IL and KHMX in Santa Rosa, CA. The song has also been getting heavy airplay on Sirius XM channel The Blend, Clear Channel’s iHeart Radio, The TM Studios Weekly Hit Disc, and the National AC Premium Choice Channel.
The song is still holding strong at #26 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Top 40 Chart and #15 on the FMQB AC Chart among stiff competition — including Adele, Jason Mraz, Katy Perry and Coldplay — in one of the fiercest months in years in the format, one that many radio promoters are calling “a blood bath”. Hale’s “San Francisco” remains the #1 Most Active New AC Independent Song and Artist on the charts for the 12th consecutive week (as measured by BDS/R&R and Mediabase). Word is the official music video will be released on Monday April 9th, 2012.

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ED HALE AND THE TRANSCENDENCE FRONTMAN INTERVIEWED IN ABSOLUTE PUNK

AbsolutePunk.net Interviews Ed Hale and The Transcendence Frontman Ed Hale   

03.27.12 Interviewed by: Linda Ferreira
3. What bands are you influenced by?
I think each guy in the band has a different set of influences. So I can only speak for myself. But one thing I will say is that almost all of us are pretty much into anything. We’re IN the music business, you know. So there’s no real style or genre that we don’t come into contact with. I mean, right now, while we’re doing all this promotion for my latest single “Scene in San Francisco” which has jumped into the Billboard Top 30, our keyboard player Jon Rose is out on tour with Julia Iglesias in South America. Crazy. But you know, that’s the biz. All our work right now is centered around promotion, meet and greets, record signings, interviews, photo shoots, so the guys in the band have time to do other things. And this is a great gig for Jon. No way he could take it, sincerely do a great job, or even get the job, unless he was into a wide variety of styles of music. Dig?
Me, I’m into anything and everything. I really NEED music. For my health and sanity. To make me feel good. Like it’s part of my soul or something. I did this photo shoot yesterday that was very elaborate. A lot of makeup and styling and people on deck. And in order to get into it, we had to have music going in the background. They asked me what I wanted to put on. They were using Pandora, which is an incredible tool. One of the coolest things to come out of this new age. And we’re in this photography studio filled with people of all different ages and backgrounds and at one point someone put on contemporary rap. But I just wasn’t feeling it. It totally ruined the vibe of the shoot for me. Plastic, put on, contrived, commercial for the sake of being commercial, all posing and bragging and nothing substantial underneath. This is what it felt like at least. In the room.
But I had to be “on”, right, totally ON… for the camera. So I went for the pure shit, the stuff that created me and who I am. Lou Reed, David Bowie, T Rex, Donovan, Hendrix, The Beatles, Zeppelin, Lennon, Wings, The Stones, Bob Dylan. Even the Dandy Warhols or The Pixies, The Replacements, Radiohead, U2, Muse. At its heart, this is where my music is coming from at i’s core. Plus a few thousand others I suppose.
4. If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
The Rolling Stones in the 70s. For obvious reasons. Never has been and never will be another “world’s greatest rock band” quite like the Stones in the 70s. Way before all the bullshit started in the music business. Crafting songs like pottery to fit a specific genre using computers. Narrow-casting to please niche-niche markets based on polls and statistics. This kind of thing has ruined music as we know it today. We’ve got people like Adele or Katy Perry at the top of the charts who use three to ten people to help write a freaking song. And another five to produce it. That’s become the norm now. Everyone pandering to everyone else in an attempt to please a very small imaginary group of music listeners who are scrambling away from regular radio in hordes for that exact reason. They’re out there looking for something REAL and SINCERE and AUTHENTIC and the radio and record exec guys just don’t see it. Albums like DARK SIDE OF THE MOON were made with a small band of four guys and a producer and a few engineers. And that’s it. Real artists who could write great songs, looks be damned. Yeah, I’d love to tour with Pink Floyd if they ever got back together with Roger. For sure. I’d do anything with Paul (McCartney) just because he is still alive and, like many, I feel like I owe him a great deal for who I am today.
5. Best food to eat on tour?
I live on Sprite, coffee and protein shakes man. Among other things. I may not be the best role model for that kind of question.
To read the full interview Click Here
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THE AMBASSADOR ARRIVES: ED HALE BREAKS INTO BILLBOARD’S TOP 30 WITH “SCENE IN SAN FRANCISCO”

NEW YORK, March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – In a breakthrough moment for independent artists, “Transcendence” singer-songwriter Ed Hale achieves his first Billboard Top 40 hit with last week’s Hot Shot Debut, “Scene in San Francisco,” which is currently #25 and rising on the Adult Contemporary chart. The song is from his latest solo album, Ballad On Third Avenue (Dying Van Gogh Records).
Fifteen years and nine albums in as a recording artist, newcomer Ed Hale is no newcomer. Aside from his solo albums, he also sings in the eclectic indie rock band Ed Hale and the Transcendence, who debuted in 2002 with the album Rise and Shine, where Hale, nicknamed “The Ambassador,” sang in five different languages. As the band prepared a national tour to support their newest release entitled All Your Heroes Become Villains, Hale’s latest single started achieving major radio success in the AC format.
Hale noted, “Our solo albums were just side projects, so this is all pretty weird and unexpected.” Rising on both Billboard and the FMQB AC charts, “Scene in San Francisco” was picked up by Sirius XM satellite radio station “The Blend” and has been ranked the #1 Most Active Independent artist release on the Mediabase AC Chart four weeks straight.
Hale’s first single to go commercial from Ballad On Third Avenue, “New Orleans Dreams,” peaked at #10 in the Adult Contemporary format (FMQB) and is still in heavy rotation on the AC Top 100. With two Top 40 songs on commercial radio, the singer’s biggest struggle he says has been maintaining indie credibility and loyalty to his art. Breaking all the rules and saying no to selling out has become a badge of honor for many independent artists. Hale cites “relentless perseverance and never giving up” as the secret to his most recent overnight success, adding, “I wouldn’t exactly call it overnight success.” Regardless of his exact formula, “The Ambassador’s” Cinderella story is a major spark in the evolving indie-music revolution.
“Ed Hale’s Ballad On Third Avenue will feel right at home to the same crowd that loves the music of Wes Anderson movies,Rubber Soul-era Beatles, Bright Eyes, Simon and Garfunkel, or Nick Drake” – music-city.org
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NEW ED HALE INTERVIEW TO APPEAR IN PENS EYE VIEW MAGAZINE MARCH 9TH, 2012

New interview with Transcendence singer/songwriter Ed Hale to appear in Pens Eye View Magazine on March 9th. Hale talks about his latest hit single “Scene in San Francisco” becoming the Hot Shot Debut of the Week in Billboard Magazine, and other songs on his Ballad on Third Avenue album including “New Orleans Dreams”, as well as what life is like on the road, how he overcomes stage fright, his band’s new Dark Knight-themed album All Your Heroes Become Villains and what it’s like having hit songs on Adult Contemporary radio when you “play in a rock band”.

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ED HALE LIVE ON-AIR RADIO INTERVIEW AT 4PM EST ON HEALTHYLIFE.NET RADIO

Transcendent singer/songwriter Ed Hale will be interviewed live on air by PJ Grimes on the Backstage Gourmet radio show broadcast over the internet radio network HealthyLife.net, 4pm EST. Fans can tune in and listen live by clicking the stream on HealthyLife.net or check out the archive of the show after broadcast here: http://www.healthylife.net/RadioShow/archiveBSG.htm. Tune in to hear The Ambassador discuss his favorite vegetarian recipes, in addition this his music, activism and other healthy passions.
Healthy Life features eclectic talk programs with a positive twist. Their mission is to help eliminate fear, advance positive thought and encourage the concept that we are all one here for the greater good of all.

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ED HALE LIVE ON-AIR RADIO INTERVIEW TONIGHT AT 8:30 EST ON BLOGTALKRADIO

Transcendent singer/songwriter Ed Hale will be interviewed live on air by Ryan Holmes on New York’s Blazinry Radio Show tonight (Thursday February 16th) at 8:30 pm EST. Fans can tune in and listen live at BlogTalkRadio.com/blazinry. Tune in to hear The Ambassador discuss his new hit single “Scene in San Francisco”, the socio-politics behind his last hit song “New Orleans Dreams”, the band’s latest album All Your Heroes Become Villains, the current state of affairs between Iran/US relations, the Grammy Awards and a host of other subjects.
BlazinRy Radio is an entertainment show powered by Blog Talk Radio. The episodesbegin by covering the hot topics of the day in entertainment, news, and sports. BlazinRy host Ryan Holmes then chats with today’s hottest artists and entertainers. Recent guests include hip-hop legend Biz Markie (“Just a Friend”), Grammy nominee Jaret Reddick (Bowling For Soup), Sanjaya Malakar (American Idol), Emmy Winner and Tony nominee Tammy Blanchard (Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows), Marisa Von Bleicken (The Glee Project), Jared Blake & Lily Elise (The Voice), Emmy nominees Van Hansis and Colleen Zenk (As the World Turns), Jake Silbermann (Gossip Girl, Stuffer), Eric Sheffer Stevens (Julie & Julia, Silent House), Ignacio Serricchio (General Hospital), Paul James (ABC Family’s Greek), Emily Bergl (Desperate Housewives), Playboy cover girl America Olivo (Bitch Slap, Friday the 13th) and more.
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GET READY TO ROCK! INTERVIEW WITH ED HALE

1. What are you currently up to?
a.       Currently up to our necks is what we’re up to! Total madness. But a very cool kind. Semi-controlled madness. Just a lot of incredible things happening right now all at the same time. It’s a thrill and a rush for sure. But it also requires extreme focus and attention, which isn’t usually the stuff of artists if you know what I mean… More than anything else I’d say we’re all very excited about the upcoming release of the new Transcendence album All Your Heroes Become Villains. It’s hitting retail and digital stores all over the world as we speak and people are loving it. The concept of the album is resonating with people at this time. One critic called it “The perfect soundtrack to a beautiful apocalypse.” That pretty much sums it up I’d say. So that’s a good thing. Right now t’s making a big splash on College Radio here in the States.
b.       Oddly enough, at the same time we’ve got this other thing happening with my last solo album Ballad On Third Avenue which was totally unexpected. The second single “New Orleans Dreams” has been climbing up the Adult Contemporary charts here in the US and spinning in 21 other countries. Including the UK of course. Right now the song is currently #10 in the US. Because of this, there’s a whole new interest in this solo album. We didn’t see this coming. So we’re literally working PR and promo on two totally different albums at once by the same artist. AND trying to book two separate tours to support these two very different albums. It’s insane.
c.        We’re doing a ton of press, which is always fun, and at the same time we’re working on the music videos for the “Villains” album. Of course we are also planning the US tour, deciding which cities to hit and which other countries to books some shows in. That’s a daunting task. But obviously well worth it once we’re on that stage. We love performing live. It’s THE rush of all rushes. If that doesn’t sound like enough, we’re also in the studio and just about halfway through recording two new “Ed Hale solo albums”. We’re still attempting to get our minds around what these new albums ARE… what their all about… We recorded about 20 songs so far and we’ve found that about a third of them sound like Adult Contemporary, a third of them sound like a more mellow singer/songwriter vibe, and another third sound more like they belong on a Transcendence album. They’re more alt-rock. It’s weird how we work like that. It confuses some people… but not us. We’re used to it.
d.       And of course there’s the mysterious The Great Mistake album that we still haven’t officially released, but it’s been sneaking around the internet for a few years. We just found the master tapes and gave them a listen and they sound incredible. Just over the top raw garage rock but catchy as hell. So now we are all involved in this heated debate as to “when should we release this new-new album?” It obviously doesn’t make sense for us to release it now. And yet it sounds so damn good we want to! Take French band Phoenix and mix it with some Strokes and Vampire Weekend… add some early seventies Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground or Wolf Mother and you get a pretty good idea of what the sound of this new new album sounds like. It’s done. Just needs to be mastered. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it. I just love it.

Read the other 11 in-depth questions and answers here: http://reviews.getreadytorock.com/blog/_archives/2012/1/3/4971094.html
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TRANSCENDENCE’S ED HALE ON HEROES, VILLAINS, & AN “ALL-STAR LINEUP”

After catching up with Ed Hale last week in the first part of my interview with the singer/songwriter/guitarist/keyboard player for the former Miami based band Transcendence, today we delve further into the group’s current status and the making of their latest album, All Your Heroes Become Villains.
I encountered an interesting parallel story during a recent weekend in New York. During lunch with musician pals Richard X Heyman and Edward Rogers, an obscure British musician named Jimmy Campbell came up. Campbell wrote a few mildly successful hits in the mid ’60s during the full flush of the British Invasion. Few Americans know of Campbell, but Hale sure does. His label, Dying Van Gogh, has a multi-artist tribute planned and Rogers is contributing a track to the effort! Anyhow, here’s the rest of my little chat with Mr. Hale.
Read the full interview here.