Luna Halo
Interview with Chris Coleman

Words: Kimberly Strasser
Photos: Autumn de Wilde

Luna Halo, hailing from Nashville, has been around in one fashion or another since 2000, with Nathan Barlowe always at the helm.  A radio-friendly pop/rock band, whose stage performance is quite lively, will be playing at the Orpheum January 20 and 27.  Reax got the chance to sit down with Chris Coleman, drummer, and chat about their upswing, signing with Warner Bros/American Records, a album release at the end of the month, and their quest to build a following.

REAX:  Tell me about New Year’s, playing with Supernova…
Chris Coleman:  Well, all you have to say, really, is Las Vegas, Tommy Lee, and you can fill in the gaps.  Do you want to know about the gig or the real reason why we were there, to party?

REAX:  I mean, the readers would probably like to know about the gig, but I, personally, would rather hear about the parties.
CC:  The gig was good.  We were well received by the audience on both nights.  We played New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day night.  Both shows were sold out.  It was Supernova’s debut gig, so there was a bit of excitement in the air.

REAX:  You played at the Hard Rock?
CC:  Yeah, we played at The Joint at Hard Rock.  As for the after-party, most of it went on in Tommy’s suite.  There was a lot of extra security around, because apparently Kid Rock was coming after Tommy, something to do with Pamela.  She was in town, too.  The talk of the town, Pamela was there and Kid Rock…everybody was in town throwing their own different parties, you know. 

REAX:  You guys recently signed with Warner Bros and American Recordings…
CC:  Yeah, I guess we inked that deal close to two years ago now.  We started our record back in October ’05.  They are starting to do the push now for the radio and Internet promotion campaign. We’re getting a good response from the listeners.  The single (Kings and Queens) should be coming out this month, I believe.

REAX:  In working with American Recordings, did Rick Rubin produce your album?
CC:  He was the executive producer.  He was basically the overseer of the whole album and the whole project. Well, from the beginning, Rick stepped out of the label frenzy that was going on with the band.  We played a showcase out in L.A. for literally every major label, and everybody from the president down was there.  And we played a great show; it was at the Viper Room.  Sold out.  We hit a homerun.  The next day, nothing happened.  The following day after that, nothing happened.  Somehow word got to Rick Rubin that we were still out on the market, available, in which at that point American started courting us.  They came out to a few shows in a row.  They are very careful on who they select; their roster is not that big. 

REAX:  They’ve got a great roster, too. 
CC:  Yeah, they have a very solid and concentrated roster.  And we were very happy to be a part of it.  It is kind of like being in that cool motorcycle gang that everybody wants to get into.

REAX:  Did he live up to your expectations of him?
CC:  He’s larger than life.   In person he is a very quiet and meek and mild man.  He is very cordial, very accommodating, very polite, but he is still very intimidating somehow.  Just because you know the reputation that precedes him.

REAX:  Is he part of the reason you guys are playing in Tampa so much?  How is the response that you’re getting here?
CC:  Well, Tampa is one of the markets that we’ve been working on prior to Matt joining the band, but I think it helps having him from there.  He has got a lot of friends down there that are very supportive and very loyal fans in Tampa.  I think after Next Big Thing, it has really opened up a big door for Tampa.  We had such a great response that we are going to come back a few times in the coming months to try to keep that going.