Chilling out with Neil Halstead

Kansas, Jack Johnson and on the road in America—this Brit is just enjoying the ride

Justin Jimenez

Metromix

Chatting with Neil Halstead was instantly calming—a smooth British accent with no rush of conversation. He jokes about not knowing whether his tour bus is Kansas City, KS or Kansas City, MS; references Groundhog Day as he feels like most of the massive venues he has played at so far look so much alike, yet he is able to recognize how special it all is while never taking himself too seriously.

Easy going, rarely a sentence without a subdued laugh—he is a guy who lives through his music not for it. His laid-back tone reflects his tune in the studio as well. It makes sense he was recently signed to the Hawaii-based Brushfire Records label owned by none other than Jack Johnson—like minds. It also makes sense he is opening for Johnson on his current tour, most notably Aug. 17 at Red Rocks.

How’s the tour going so far?
It’s been a lot of fun, but a little strange. I am not used to performing on these types of stages at all. It’s been quite a learning experience actually. But it seems to be coming along great and audiences appear to be responding well.

Strange as in good, or strange as in American’s are crazy?
Strange as in I am used to playing in much smaller clubs, these stadium venues are huge. I have toured America a lot but this is a different experience. I find myself waving to the people at the back of the stadium to see if they are paying attention. It’s all in good fun, and maybe we might even sell a few records.

Where does your latest album "Oh! Mighty Engine" fall in the spectrum of your career? It seems quite an evolution from your earlier stuff.
It is sort of the current record, I guess. Originally I just wanted it to be guitar and vocals, but I learned that was really hard. It’s still more minimal than anything else I have done. I mean, I feel like things are moving along, I am excited about it and as happy as I could be. But to be honest I really don’t listen to the actual record that much though after it was recorded, I find myself being too critical.

As one of the founding members of Slowdive, is shoegazing a term that still follows you? How much does that era still play a role in your music?
All that still is still very special to me. I mean My Bloody Valentine, The Smiths, The Cure, those were the bands when I was a kid that I was really excited about. You would hear a band and you would go trace the path back to where that music came from, to try and understand it. As I get older I find it harder to get that excited about music. Those were the people that inspired us and got us going. We have all moved on but they’ll always have a place with me.

You aspired for something a little more minimal with the album, but you still decided to tour with a band? You didn’t want to give the guitar and vocals a run on tour? You have Adam Parfitt on guitar and Ben Hall on bass. Where does that relationship come from?
They are friends of mine from my hometown. I really wanted them to be with me to experience this, as they have never toured America. Though I warned them it might never be this good again (laughing), they have come in at a pretty high level. It’s been great to have them just to see it through their eyes; they bring a lot of excitement. They also give the audience a lot more to hold onto as well, they bring a great sound.  Even more so than on an album, performing solo is very difficult. This was the right choice.

How is it touring with Jack Johnson?
I am actually a really big fan. I was surfing in Sri Lanka around the time of his second album and I came out of the water and it was playing from one of the bars, and it caught me. I mean there is a lot of Nick Drake in there, it’s kind of like Cat Stevens meets reggae. You can see why it hit with the surfers, like a sound to fit the lifestyle. It’s just weird now how big he got, he used to be just a special thing for surfers, almost tribal, and now he’s a household name. It’s great, he’s such a amazing guy. But it’s funny because I think he would be happy just surfing. Kind of a happy accident.

Have you ever played at Red Rocks before?
No, I am really looking forward to it. As soon as I saw it on the tour I knew it would be a special one. This one for sure won’t look like any of the others.