Todd Michael Hall, best known as singer in Riot V and Jack Starr’s Burning Starr expands on his singing career and what the future holds with regard to new music and live gigs.
Who were your influences in the early days and have you always wanted to be a singer in a band?
I have always loved singing, ever since I was a little kid singing along to 8-track tapes in my mom and dad’s car on family trips. We had choir in grade school, so I was around singing growing up, but I didn’t really think about singing in a band until my older brother, Jon, started playing guitar and putting bands together. I would have been about 11 or 12 years old at the time. I first performed live with my brother’s band when I was 15 and I definitely had the bug at that point.
I have had a lot of influences over the years mostly from the pop, hard rock, and heavy metal genres. After going through puberty and needing to learn how to sing high all over again I overdosed on quite a few metal singers from the day like Tony Mills from Shy, Tony Harnell from TNT, Parramore McCarty from Warrior, James Neal from Malice, Ronnie James Dio, to name a few. Probably my two biggest influences were Geoff Tate from Queensryche and Eric Adams from Manowar.
Apart from Riot V have you ever auditioned for the vocal spot in any other notable bands?
Well, I had to audition for Jack Starr’s Burning Starr. Joey DeMaio from Manowar was producing the album and he selected me to be the singer, which is how I got in the band. When Iron Maiden was looking for a singer I mailed in a CD, but was never contacted. I recorded audition performances for the progressive metal band from Italy called DGM a long time ago. They liked my voice, but felt it wouldn’t work to have a singer from the USA, which makes total sense to me.
Was it an easy decision to join Riot V considering their troubled history?
When I first heard that Riot was looking for a singer, I thought about the fact that Mark Reale had passed away. I knew he was the founding member of the band, so I thought that would be the end. When I spoke with Donnie and learned more about he and Mike’s long history with Riot and their close relationship with Mark, it made sense to me that they would want to continue. We didn’t spend a lot of time talking about it though. I got right to work on recording audition songs, then two demo songs for the new album, and then writing lyrics and vocal melodies for other new songs. Within about six months of joining the band I had written lyrics for 8 of the 12 songs on our first album together.
Do you have a favourite era of the band with regard to singers where perhaps the songs are more comfortable to sing?
I am very blessed by the fact that my vocal pocket matches up well with the previous singers of Riot and my tone is very similar to both Guy and Tony, so it is like a match made in heaven for me. My tone does not sound much like Rhett or Mike, but the range is okay for me and I do my best to match their style on their songs. My favourite era is a toss-up between Guy and Tony, but the entire catalogue is great.
From a musical perspective we know what you’ve been involved with over the last twenty years but what were you up to prior to this?
As I mentioned previously, I performed in my brother Jon’s cover tune band for the first time when I was 15 years old. It was called Wrought Iron. It was only about a six month stretch and then I took a break, during which I learned how to use my head voice. I started working with my brother again just after turning 17, but this time the band was called Harlet and we were writing original music. We independently released an EP called “Virgin Wings” in 1987 and a full-length CD called “25 Gets A Ride” in 1988. We played nightclubs in Michigan mostly. I was attending college at the time and graduated in 1991. The music scene changed a lot that year. We played cover tunes for a few years in the early 90’s and independently released another album in 1994, but after changing the name of the band to Pulling Teeth. About a year later, my brother wanted to do a screamo style of metal and I was incapable of singing that way, so we parted ways, musically speaking.
I had been working part-time in our family business (manufacturer of bar and restaurant equipment, sheet metal fabrication) since 1984 (when I was 14 years old) and full time since 1991. When Jon and I split ways I started taking guitar lessons, but otherwise, I was not doing much on the music side of things. Most of my time went into work. I got married in 1999 and started a family. In the early 00’s I started thinking about getting in a band again and looked for opportunities. In 2004 I auditioned for Burning Starr and was named their new lead singer. However, the first of my three albums with Burning Starr were not released until 2009. While in Burning Starr, I formed another band called Reverence with a guitar player named Bryan Holland. Reverence gave me the opportunity to have more creative control since I handled all the lyrics and vocal melodies and we released two albums together. I joined Riot V in 2013, so for a time I was in three bands, but Riot V required more of my time, so I ended up having to leave the other two bands so I would not take too much time away from my family.
Have you any plans to release another solo album?
Yes, actually. Kurdt Vanderhoof and I have been working on a new set of songs for a couple of years now. It has taken a while to get them finished because we both have other responsibilities. The album is done now and we are putting together all the promo material for a release on Rat Pak Records in the later part of 2024. Musically speaking the style is very similar to the hard rock approach we took on my “Sonic Healing” solo release, which was also written and recorded with Kurdt.
Are you still a member of Reverence and is there a possibility of a new album?
I am not still a member of Reverence, but Bryan Holland and I are still friends. We interacted on a couple of songs a couple of years ago when he asked if I wanted to give some input. I am really proud of the two albums we did together. It is not out of the realm of possibility that we would work together again, but the biggest challenge is finding the time. It is a lot of work to write an album worth of material and I don’t know where I would find the time at this point.
I have noted that you were on Season 18 of the US version of ‘The Voice’, how was this experience for you?
It was a great experience and I believe that is the best way to describe it. I went into it knowing that it was going to be temporary and I just wanted to enjoy the experience and see where it took me. The people associated with the show were professional and kind and all the castmates were really nice also. We all went through the experience together, staying in the same hotel for a few weeks at a time, so we have a special bond. It was very interesting to see how a national music television show is put together. We spent a fair amount of time on the Universal Studios lot. We felt kind of like TV stars because we would go to wardrobe, hair, and make-up. We were driven around to the different locations, and obviously, getting to perform on TV a few times in front of millions of people was pretty cool too. I have a lot of great memories from my time on The Voice.
Some vocalists are on strict dietary regimes or gargle with special liquids. How have you kept your voice in tip-top shape all these years?
I have a personal desire to stay fit, eat well, and take care of myself. I am sure it pays dividends on the singing side of things too, but that is not my primary reason for doing it. When I am on tour, it is nice to have hot tea with lemon, ginger, and honey, but that is not usually around, so it is mostly water. I warm up a little before each show, but nothing extensive and nothing loud. I do not practice singing in full voice very often, almost never. My practice mostly consists of listening to the music to memorize the lyrics, melodies, and the timing. It is nice to practice a new song with the band a couple of times before performing it live, but once I have performed a song live, I don’t usually feel much need to practice it with the band again. At least not in full voice. I will sing along lightly while they rehearse, as we sometimes do this in hotel rooms. I am not a really loud singer. I do my best to control myself during live performances. I want to sound as much as I can like the original version I recorded, but I cannot overdo it or my voice will not last for 22 songs a night and for multiple days in a row. I try not to speak much right after a show and I am careful not to overuse my voice in everyday situations, E.g. hanging in a club, driving in cars, talking on the phone, etc.
Do you still get the same buzz out of singing live as you did in the past?
There are different kinds of “buzz” one feels from playing a live show. There is the stressful kind, where you are not well-prepared, you know your voice is in bad shape, or the situation is unfamiliar, but there is the “fun” kind, which just means you are feeling the excitement of getting the chance to perform. I still experience both depending on the situation, but certainly prefer the later. If I am well prepared and in good shape then I do not usually get nervous. I do still get excited at the opportunity. Especially, if it is a packed house.
Are there any musicians that you have not worked with, but would like to in the future?
It is hard to say, because I might like someone’s music but that does not necessarily mean we would get a long in a band scenario. I would love to be in a band where everyone in the band can sing really well though, so I’d love to perform with Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades.
Have you or would you consider producing other bands?
I don’t have a burning desire to produce other bands. I will give my opinion on things, but I am even hesitant to do that, because it really comes down to the vision of the creator and if I don’t share that vision or like different things, then my “advice” might be inappropriate or unhelpful. Besides, it seems like producers nowadays are the guys twisting the knobs (not literally since we use computers) and that has never been my thing.
With the live circuit back up and running, is there a possibility of seeing you perform in the UK again?
I really hope so. The UK market has been tough. I remember playing a few shows with Reverence in the UK back in 2012 and we had fun, but didn’t draw very many people. Riot V has played a few shows there and one show opening up for Primal Fear in London, but otherwise we have not had very many opportunities. I’m not sure if that is because we do not have enough fans there or if we are just not in with the right people.
Do you have anything else in the pipeline at the moment that you can share?
I already mentioned that I have a new solo album coming out, so nothing else to add at this time. Thank you for the interview and a special thanks to anyone taking the time to read this interview or listen to our music.
Interview by Stuart Dryden
