Halo Bite leverages their group chemistry for electrifying summer concerts

Over a Zoom conversation, four-fifths of the group (bassist Chandler Aldrich was unable to make it) attribute their successful start to their chemistry and being part of a welcoming Capital Region music scene.

“The Albany scene has had a significant impact on me,” said guitarist Angie Medina, a New York City native who moved to Albany for college. “One of the highlights is that it caters to everyone, not just hard-core fans. From the Instagram pages that promote diverse shows to the formation of new bands, I want to commend the entire community.”

“It doesn’t feel like a competition. It’s homies supporting homies,” singer J. Kaiser agreed. “Despite the seemingly angry nature of our music, there’s a lot of love in the hard-core scene, and it provides a healthy outlet for people to express their anger. Women, nonbinary individuals like myself, naturally feel included and encouraged. There’s room for you to be yourself. It’s refreshing.”

Halo Bite originated when guitarist Jeremy Langevin and drummer Russell Hanusik considered reuniting their former band Dunce Cap. Although they were excited about the material they were creating, it didn’t align with Dunce Cap’s fuzz-punk aesthetic.

“I always had a feeling it wouldn’t work out,” Hanusik admitted. “It was completely different.”

So Langevin and Hanusik decided to start something new. Medina had briefly played with one of them in a side project of local hard rockers Sunbloc. Prior to the pandemic, Kaiser used to host DIY shows in their basement and had a growing interest in creating hard-core music. Langevin reached out to them for a jam session. Aldrich, a friend of Langevin and Kaiser from college, was a perfect fit for the bass. From these personal connections, Halo Bite was formed.

“Jeremy contacted me and asked if I wanted to try vocals,” Kaiser recalled. “I had participated in a few small projects, including singer-songwriter and folk-pop genres, and I had a taste for hard-core. I was invited to practice with my journal in hand, and the first page became our first song. Everything just clicked.”

“I had been attending underground shows and came across Sunbloc. The other band didn’t go anywhere,” Medina shared. “I had been searching for another band to join, and this was everything I had been looking for.”

When asked if the songwriting process has been as straightforward as their first song, Halo Bite responded with a unanimous “yes.” The group has established a comfortable dynamic where a member, typically Hanusik or Langevin, presents an idea and the rest of the band collaborates to refine it.

“Everyone has a role,” Hanusik explained. “We gather in the practice space and demo a song. It’s an eye-opening experience because sometimes I’ll think, ‘This is so amazing,’ but the rest of the band may not agree, and I end up feeling crushed. However, everyone brings excellent ideas to fine-tune and make the song work.”

“What’s enjoyable is that we explore different ideas and see where they lead,” Langevin shared. “J. might say, ‘I’m not sure how this part fits,’ and we’ll brainstorm different phrasings until it works. We are all fully invested, tearing apart and rearranging until it fits.”

On the recording front, Halo Bite is focused on creating enough tracks for a full-length release in the spring of next year. In the meantime, their main focus is performing live. Along with the Fuze Box show, Halo Bite will be at No Fun in Troy on August 9th before embarking on a series of shows in western New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Guitarist Langevin aspires to play shows every month on the weekends.

Hanusik mentioned that Langevin’s previous touring experience with other bands and Kaiser’s connections from booking out-of-town acts for basement shows in Albany have made managing logistics and securing gigs relatively straightforward. It also ensures the band maintains a consistent level of activity.

“Going from organizing and hosting shows to performing them is incredible,” Kaiser added. “Approaching bands and saying, ‘Hey, I hosted you in my basement in 2019. Can we come play with you?’ has been an amazing journey.”

“It’s great to be with proactive people who have a vast network of connections and a passion for playing,” Langevin expressed.