HALESTORM: On the Brightside (2022)

By BRIAN GIFFIN

HALESTORM’S latest album Back From the Dead is a reflection of life during COVID. On it, singer Lzzy Hale addresses issues of mental health and the psychological impacts of the pandemic from the point of view of a musician disconnected with her audience.

At one level, her brother and drummer Arejay is in alignment with the themes of the album.

“I felt empathetic to people who go to live shows, and having that as part of their therapeutic life,” he explains. “Those people that we’re really close to that come to our shows are people that go to live shows all the time. That’s all they want to do. They spend their hard-earned money on concert tickets to just feel that. That’s how they get through their everyday life. When that was taken away from them, that was a reminder to me about how important it is that we continue to do this. It was a reminder that the reason you do this is for them.”

On the other hand, the enforced break allowed him to take stock, settle into a new relationship, rehabilitate his body after long years on the road and investigate new hobbies and interests.

“It was kind of a blessing in disguise for me, really,” he says. “Yeah, it sucked and it was weird and the whole world was flipped upside down. There was a time where I was like, ‘This is weird, I get to be in the same zipcode for three weeks in a row’. But for me, I had just started dating my girl Emily, and she came with a dog, and I haven’t had a dog since I was a kid, and I also got to focus on songwriting, on singing, because that’s all I could do every day, but I also took some time rehabbing my body from all the punishment I put it through every day playing drums for the past decade on the road non stop.”

Ensconced at home in Nashville, Arejay is fired up as he happily shares his thoughts about Australian rock n roll culture and food, and his new found love for fragrances. What began as a “distraction” has turned into an online alter-ego. On his YouTube channel, he becomes perfume tester Dr Magnifiscent, where he unboxes and tries out perfumes and fragrances. Check him out going apeshit over a new discovery here:

“I developed this incredible passion for perfumery!” he says enthusiastically. “So after bettering myself as a singer and a songwriter and a producer, I needed a distraction from that. And that snowballed into a YouTube channel and creating fragrance content. That started as a sideline for fun, and now I’m gaining a following on YouTube on my fragrance channel Dr Magnifiscent. That’s been another passion of mine.”

He definitely sounds passionate, but as we talk it’s difficult to find a topic he isn’t excited about. Discovering new interests and hobbies seems to have given Arejay new spark, if he didn’t already have plenty of that.

“When you’re constantly on tour, your life has to be put on hold, and that means ten months out of the year, you can’t do anything else except tour. It was nice to be able to discover these other passions and learn how to do other things and tap into my love for perfumery and comedy writing and video editing. Since we’ve been back touring, I feel like I’m at a new mental state now. I’m so much more prepared to maintain myself physically, and mentally.”

Being back on the road hasn’t gotten in the way of Hale’s side hustle either. The travel between shows gives him plenty of time to work on content, and that frees up his personal time when he’s off the road.

“I film the Dr Magnifiscent episodes while I’m home and then when I’m on tour I have more time to edit, so I’m in my bunk, editing all day. It’s a great way to pass the time. It’s great for long flights! I find that I feel better when I’m ultising my mind to do something productive that’s also fun and fulfilling for me. When you spend 90% of your time touring, it’s better to utilise that time than to have that little time you have at home being swamped with work. I prefer to spend that time at home with my girl and my dog.”

February next year will see Halestorm in Australia once again. They have been regular visitors to our shores since The Strange Case of… broke them worldwide ten years ago. Hale’s excitement is palpable. He’s an enthusiast of Australia’s rock and roll culture, and can’t say enough about the food here.

“I love going down there and I can just stumble into any restaurant and I can eat super healthy,” he says. “I first experienced it… the first time we toured Australia was the first time I ever found out about avocado toast. Avocado toast with an egg, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this yolk is so dark, and rich and dense!’. Then we flew back to the States and we had a layover in New York, and after being in Australia for three weeks I got a sandwich at the airport and I was like…” He retches, before continuing to sing praises.

“Everything you guys do down there is done much better. You don’t use a bunch of chemicals and additives in your food. I find that great when you’re on tour and you’re a drummer and you’re trying to be healthy, it’s a lot easier down there to maintain it.”

No doubt Hale will get to enjoy as much avo toast as he can eat when he and the rest of Halestorm get down here next year. With a new lease on life brought about by their time away, fans may see a supercharged and re-energised band if Arejay’s closing words are anything to go by.

“Since we all lived through it at the same time, and it was taken away from us, I think we hit the stage now with the mental attitude of, ‘Let’s not waste a fucking second for granted. Let’s hit the stage and play every show like it’s our last’. And I think the people coming to the shows have the same mentality. You never know if it can be all taken away from us tomorrow. I hope not! Let’s not take a single moment for granted anymore!”