Hale resides in a small-but-fertile corner of the musical landscape. This land is populated by men and women who spent most of their youth in the rock scene, but who have recently discovered the simple beauty of a haunting melody and a few honest words. The music emanates a very sad undertone which the band describes as “melodrama”. The lyrical content of their songs are insightful, sad, angry, and earnest; producing music with substance and that explores the full range of human emotions.
The band is composed of Champ Lui-Pio(lead vocals, guitars), Roll Martinez(guitars, vocals), Sheldon Gellada(bass, vocals) and Omnie Saroca(drums and percussion).All of them are based in the southern area of metro manila(Las Piñas, Alabang and Parañaque).
Their musical influences include a diverse eclectic group of musicians ranging from Dave Matthews, John Mayer, and Kurt Cobain for Champ; Muse, Dave Grohl, Soundgarden, James Iha for Omnie; Sean Malone, P-Nut, Dirk Lance, Jaco Pastorius, John Myung, Bud Gough, Victor Wooten, Buddy Zabala, Aston Barret, and Stefan Lessard for Sheldon; Damien Rice, Switchfoot, Nina Gordon, Vertical Horizon, Shades Apart, Feeder, Travis, Nine Days, Chris Carraba, and The Corrs for Roll.
Hale exclusively abuses Fender Guitars and Cables, Ibanez Guitars, Ovation Acoustic Guitars, Yamaha Bass Guitars, Vox amps, Digitech, Boss Pedals, Korg tuners, Tech 21 Sansamp, Neutrik Cables, Planet Waves Straps & Cables, GHS, D'Addario Guitar & Bass Strings, Gator Cases, Tama Pedals, Zildjian Cymbals, Pearl, Nokia, Toyota, and Tic Tac.
The band’s goal is to reach out to the listening crowd and make them understand the value of the band’s musical sincerity. And sincerity is where Hale excels: Champ’s heart-on-sleeve vocals and the group’s songwriting exude feeling and melody, much to the delight of melancholy teens in search of a like-minded voice. It’s still a long way for Hale, but it’s obvious why so many people will take them to heart.