Wow, this album is really good. I don’t think I’ve ever heard one person come this close to sounding like a group, ever. All I can say is Daniel Fernandez who is The Halfways is damn good with mixing. Guitar work is excellent, and his voice does not sound like someone who is new at this. Seasoned, mature and impressive, reminds me a little of the last album from Mikal Cronin. Anyway you look at it, this is good…. I mean this is really blowing me away, the more I listen I’m just amazed , somebody get him signed , your all crazy if you don’t…. I mean this is insanely good…
Meet The Halfways….
Hi our name is…
The Halfways
And my sound might be best described as….
The tunes on my first album, Exit were psychedelic folk with jazz, country, rock, baroque pop and world music influences. My latest songs have been more rock oriented now employing full band instrumentation and I can describe them as a mixture between 60s psychedelia, grunge, and a little bit of everything in between.
Halfways is ….
Daniel Fernandez, I write and record all the songs.
I am originally from…..
San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Central America
Who are some that have an influence on your sound??
There’s the classics of course: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks, Soda Stereo (big Argentine band)
The newer ones: Fleet Foxes, Dorty Projectors, Animal Collective, Tame Impala, Quilt, Jacco Gardner, New Electric Ride, Temples
I knew I wanted to start recording when……..
I saw the movie School of Rock in 2003. There is no rock star esque story. As geeky as it sounds that is the real reason I decided to become a musician! I convinced my parents to let me buy a guitar and that was that.
Before starting the band I was employed as……
A rowdy student in Escuela Internacional Sampedrana in my hometown of San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
My craziest gig ever was….
I haven’t been lucky to have a live band for long enough to play many gigs and here in Miami, where I’m currently located, it’s hard to find like minded musicians since the psychedelic scene is practically non-existent. But we once played a show where the side entertainment was exotice dancers. Babyyyyyy baabyyyy baaaabyyyy whooaaaaaaa!!!
The first song I wrote was…….
Well that can be split into two categories: the first song I ever wrote and the first song I ever wrote that I was willing to show people. For the first, it was a sad little tune called Under Water. No one will ever hear it. Well maybe for the 50th anniversary boxset after I’m dead. The track is nice but the vocals are flat out embarrassing.
For the second category, it would be Gnarltrees, found on my debut Exit. It is a Crosby, Stills and Nash-esque tune about Luke Skywalker’s exploits in the swamp planet Dagobah as depicted in Star Wars Episode II: The Empire Strikes Back. Funnily enough, I was never a huge sci fi geek but it still manages to seep in to a lot of my songs. I still like that song to this day so that’s a good sign!
What tunes are you currently jamming to…
I recently covered press for Austin Psych Fest, a festival purely dedicated to psychedelic music and have been way obsessed with the bands who played there. Quilt, Jacco Gardner, Kadavar, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, And Temples to name a few. I also got to meet a lot of then and share my music. Also, the guitarist from Quilt, Shane Butler and the owner of the company who did the liquid light show are both designing covers for my future releases! I’m beyond excited. At the very least it’ll get me a little extra exposure.
What are some of the 1st songs you remember listening to that made you say, that’s what I want to do
Maybe not a song but a concert. I had already been a huge fan of music and had been playing guitar for 5 years when I first saw Pearl Jam on June 12th 2008 at the Tampa Bay Forum, then called the St. Pete Time’s Forum. I went with my sister, Natalia and that show just blew my mind. The whole crowd knew the songs and they just played music without any elaborate live show or anything like that. I knew after that… Later that week I went to my first music camp in the University of Miami and that just solidified it.
When your touring and have some time off , where could we find you..,.,
Well, I’ve never toured yet unfortunately but if and when I do, you’ll probably find my exploring the current town I’m in or meeting the locals. I love love love meeting people and that’s a huge reason I want to be a professional musician, Well, that and to avoid traditional responsibility 😉
The one thing we want you to remember while your listening to me
It is all doable. I’m from Honduras where the music scene is non-existent. I moved to Miami, where the GOOD music scene is non-existent. And yet I’m still making the music I want to hear and people from all over the world get to listen to it! Sone of them actually like it!!! So if I can just get this going to the point where I can successfully maintain myself doing what I love,
Follow The Halfways…..
