homepage	Pale Halo was formed in 1993 when, during Stop the Car's long hiatus, guitarist Mark Utley moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and began playing with drummer Bryan Krodel, whose 4AD-influenced band, Ora Del Nume, had just broken up. Krodel suggested inviting a friend, bassist Jason Bender, and former Ora Del Nume guitarist David True to practice with them. One practice was all it took for the foursome to realize something very special was happening. The music produced by the foursome was intricate and beautiful, haunting and intense, even transcendent at times in its hypnotic power.   An ad in a local Cincinnati weekly brought Joyce Templeton into the band, and her melodic viola and keyboard parts added another level to the lush soundscapes that became the band's signature. Pale Halo boasted three strong songwriters in Utley, True, and Bender, each of whom usually sang on their own compositions. The band gigged regularly throughout 1994 and 1995, garnering a small but loyal following even though its music (dubbed "Bliss Rock" by a local columnist) was the polar opposite of the noisy, lo-fi indie-rock bands that ruled the day.
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Spring of 1995 saw the release of the band's debut cassette, "Belle Fleur de Tristesse", recorded at Caveman Studios in CIncinnati on various weekends throughout 1994. Cincinnati CityBeat called it "a mesmerizing representation of the quintet's expansive, dark sound. Like an oceanic dream, the group floats through tracks like "Swell" and "Some Quick Silver" with rare finesse. The resulting hypnotic daze is slightly reminiscent of bands like the Cocteau Twins, especially with their etherial intent." The band also landed a track, "Silence It Seems", on Deary Me Records 1995 compilation CD, "Cincinnati's Local Music Scene, Vol. One".   Unfortunately, what was one of Pale Halo's greatest strengths, its many songwriters and vocalists, also played a direct role in the groups demise. After recording a new song, the Sisters of Mercy-inspired "Valerie", at Audiocraft Studios in late 1995, tensions within the band came to the fore. With different members calling for the band to go in different directions, and with the three main songwriters writing in three increasingly different styles, the writing was on the wall, and by 1996, Pale Halo was no more.   Currently, all five members of Pale Halo are still performing in the Cincinnati area. Mark and Joyce were founding members of the short-lived Long Black Veil (which took a temporary, then permanent, vacation due to the reunion of Stop the Car). Joyce now performs with the Celtic-inspired folk band Collins Gate. David opened Sure Tone Recording Studio and formed the band Metanoia. Jason enjoys current local success in the popular band Horselover, and Bryan, after a short stint of his own in Horselover, now drums for the Dayton, Ohio-based band Morella's Forest.   Below is an archive of Pale Halo's flyers, from their first gig as "Belladonna" in 1994 to their final performances in early 1996.