SCENE SCRIBE
By Michael Swanger scenescribe@mchsi.com
Rockin’ blonde Val Halla returns with dependable band, new album
If you think that platinum blondes have more fun, you should hear the stories of what went on during Canadian rocker Val Halla’s summer tour as the opening act for Ted Nugent, which included a stop at 7 Flags Events Center in Clive two months ago.
During the course of 41 shows across North America, Val Halla, the self-proclaimed “Carmen Electra meets Marilyn Monroe,” and her last-minute, pickup band from Austin, Texas, traveled more than 20,000 miles trying to keep pace with the “Motor City Mad Man.” Meanwhile, they were getting to know one another in cramped living quarters. But as band politics go, their musical journey quickly turned into a road trip from hell when the band’s van was broken into and their instruments were stolen, then midway through the tour the hired guns abruptly quit.
“I feel like I could write a book about that summer,” said the singer-guitarist via telephone from her temporary home in Nashville.
“It was awesome working with Ted. Everyone on his crew told me that anyone I tour with in the future won’t be like this because they operate like a big family,” she said. “I owe a lot to Ted and his crew. They helped me out and were watching over me like big brothers because they knew I was having a tough time with my band.”
That sense of family, let alone friendship, let alone professionalism, according to Val Halla, was missing from her backing band comprised of Berklee College of Music graduates.
“I found out about the tour at 5 p.m. one day, then was on a plane at noon the following day to meet these guys in Texas where we rehearsed and lived together for about 10 days. I could tell they were good musicians, but what I didn’t know is that they had never toured before, and two of them had terrible tempers,” she said.
“So I warned them it would be rough and low pay and over 20,000 miles in a van — not something a band would do their first time out. But it was Ted’s tour schedule, so it was like ‘pull yourself up or get out.’ ”
After a couple of weeks on the road, when everyone started to tire, Val Halla said that’s when it all fell apart. Matters got worse when the band’s equipment was stolen and the drummer refused to buy a replacement kit, forcing Val Halla to foot the bill.
“It got to the point they were being divas. They wanted the same perks that Ted’s band got. I tried to keep up the morale, but couldn’t. The night they quit, they left me in downtown Pittsburgh after a show and I had all the merchandise cash on me, which was dangerous. They didn’t tell me they were leaving, they didn’t say goodbye, they waited until I wasn’t looking and ran out of the club,” Val Halla said.
“After I hitched a ride back to the hotel, we had a big fight. They ended up giving me their two weeks notice and I said, ‘OK, that’s fine. I’ll find someone else,’ ” she said.
The next day, when she relayed the story to Nugent’s crew, they suggested that she fire them.
“So I ended up leaving them in Chicago right after that. I told them I had to make room in the van for the new guys coming, and they were in shock,” she said.
With the help of friendly musicians from Canada and Chicago, Val Halla completed Nugent’s tour, finishing on a high note.
“I was laughing and having a good time again. It was awesome,” she said.
When the young rocker returns to the Des Moines area for a show this weekend, she will bring with her a dependable drummer and bassist to help her promote her new, independent, blues-rock-country album, “No Place.”
“I really like these guys, and they know what they’re doing,” she said. “I can’t wait to get back on the road.” CV
caption: Val Halla plays a free show at the Bombay Bicycle Club, 8410 Hickman Road, on Sunday, Nov. 28 at 8:30 p.m.
