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By MELISSA SCHNEIDER
Staff Writer

It's never as simple as it seems. You think being in a band is playing an instrument and having the balls to get up on stage and perform for a crowd of people you don't know. That's not all there is to it though. It's easy to claim 'I'm in a band.' Being in a band means talented musicians who are committed to rehearsal every week, writing new songs that the public will enjoy and making sure you're good enough to claim you are the band.

Half-Cab Hailee is one of the bands that can be proud to claim they are musicians.

Consisting of four memebers: Laurence Morden, 23, lead vocalist and guitarist, Chris Ledroit, 28, guitarist and back-up vocals, Chris Arenburg, 27, bassist and Chris Spicer, 26, drummer, Half-Cab Hailee are a Toronto based band who want to make it big and are enjoying every step along the way. The name Half-Cab Hailee was originally inspired by the fact that half the band members had no other way to get to rehearsals other then taking a cab. Now it's just a unique name for a band looking to promote their Punk Rock roots. Only Arenburg, Ledroit and Morden were available for an interview and so we conducted it in their practise space.

Half-Cab Hailee has 10-15 original songs and Morden says "we are always working on honing our skills and adding that extra something in every new song we write." Morden says the lyrics he writes seem "pretty straight forward" and Ledroit and Arenburg agree.

When asked if Half-Cab Hailee had an advantage being a Toronto-based band Ledroit gave a "yes and no" answer. He says "Obviously this is where you have to be to make a career and get the attention of the people whose attention you need, but there's also a lot of competition" to him it's the "big fish in a little pond vs. little fish in big pond scenario." Morden says "many great bands have come out of Toronto and the facilities and venues are far better then other places."

Arenburg, Ledroit and Morden are all proud to be Canadian and look forward to taking their Punk Rock lyrics to a variety of venues. Morden would most like to join "the warped tour" because he has always "been in the crowd stunned with awe just from the energy of the crowd." Ledroit would like to play "bigger clubs in pretty much any city across Canada" while Arenburg "wouldn't mind playing anywhere."

Half-Cab Hailee might just be one more small Canadian band looking to make it big but the band not only offers originality and a toe-tapping beat but "energy, an entertaining time and musicians that can play their own instruments." Ledroit says he "is sick of 3-chord pop punk tunes" so Half-Cab Hailee is looking to add "more bridges, tempo changes, interesting chord progressions and complex guitar lines" to their music.

As musicians, if it came down to a choice between money and music Arenburg, Ledroit and Morden say you need them both. Arenburg says "you need to have good music in order to make good money."

Each of them strongly believes that when you start a band you need a mixture of friendship and musical talent. Ledroit says "there's no use in playing with friends who can't play" while Morden says "a mix is what it takes, any band needs skill but they also need those stupid moments where nothing makes sense." Arenburg says "you need to be able to work together to achieve the ultimate goal of global music domination."

As it stands right now, Half-Cab Hailee have performed at most of the bigger clubs around Toronto- The Horseshoe, Club 360 and the Phoenix.

Keep an eye out for Half-Cab Hailee, with their plans for global music domination you never know when and where they'll punk-rock in a city near you.