Ed Hale

A personal message from Ed Hale

As many know, I just recently returned from a 15 day peace delegation to the country of Iran. The trip was eye-opening to say the least. It was also exhausting. Hence my absence over the last two months since my return. Had to get my head on straight. I have written hundreds of pages about the experience and yes as always I have gigabytes of video footage and photos to share. This will come in time.

In the intervening weeks since my return I have been more than busy. Besides countless interviews and lectures regarding the recent Iranian trip, the band is in the midst of signing a two album deal with Caroline/EMI Records to release out two new albums this year, so yes to all of your gracious and much-appreciated inquiries, the new albums are going to be released. As soon as we have a release date we will let you know. I have also been finishing a book which we will announce very soon.

I have also been busy with two new non-profit projects, www.TuneInTurnOnHelpOut.org, and www.PeaceWithIran.com. Your presence here is welcomed and appreciated. And it would be greatly appreciated at both or either of these two new sites, which both have noble goals. To speak a bit about the impetus about the peacewithiran.com website project, I want to caveat by saying that though “war is imminent” or “military strikes are imminent” may be an idea or thought or belief that many are carrying around today in regards to the United States and Iran and even Israel, I do not personally hold this thought or idea or belief myself.

Yes I certainly see the news being released everyday about the various issues, and I recognize that parties on all sides feel very passionate about these issues; whether it is the threat of a “nuclear Iran” on one side, or a ”bullying America” on the other side, or a “fearful and hostile Israel” on yet another side. I also certainly understand the potential dangers that all three countries pose against the others and truly against all living beings on the planet today. But I believe that what we think about, what we give energy to, is what we create. We have seen it time and time again. As soon as a country starts beating its war drum, it is only a matter of time until it decides it’s time to “go to war.” Regardless of the loss of life, liberty, respect in the world community, or the burden it places upon the rest of the world. Throughout human history, there has always been one country or another “ready to attack” another country.

The truth of the matter is that this is bound to continue until mass human consciousness changes to the point of what might be called “critical mass” in a way that these people who see “war” as the only answer for “peace” simply no longer exist. In time this will be our reality. It might take our total annihilation and extinction and subsequent reincarnation in yet another form for this to happen, but let us hope not. Let us hope that those of us who see “peaceful means” as the only means available to us to achieve “peace” win this historical battle of wits that is being played out on the world stage.

With that said, let us take it for granted that for the next few months or years even we will have ample opportunity to read about “war” and the “threat of war” in regards to Iran and the United States and Israel if we so choose to. There are plenty of people who find the time and enjoy searching for the latest article or report on what “so and so” said bad about “so and so” and of course in the end it is really nothing but talk leading up to more “war” – even if their intentions are good – meaning that they don’t want “war” – but in fact that is exactly what they will create. Some people have just not evolved to the level of understanding of the “mechanisms of consciousness” yet to the degree that they realize that if they spend all their time thinking and reading about it, they will indeed create it. Whether they claim to want it or not. They are creating it simply by focusing so much attention on it.

But that is not what this particular website is concerned with. Our goals with the www.PeaceWithIran.com website is to show an entirely different side of US/Iran relations and to the country of Iran itself, and the Iranian people. The idea is to literally ignore that pink elephant in the room that at various times is called “war” or “threats of war” or worries or concerns about nuclear energy programs or WMDs or any of that lower-mode primitive-minded nonsense. Because God knows we have plenty of people already giving plenty of energy to those ideas in today’s world.

Remember elementary school? There were always those one or two kids in each class who were the bullies, who picked fights for the slightest reason or for no reason at all, who made fun of other kids, who tried to make us laugh at the expense of others, who tried to pit one classmate against another for the sheer wicked enjoyment they got out of it. Though this isn’t elementary school anymore, it sure seems like it sometimes. Those kids have now grown up. And if we aren’t careful and vigilant to our cause - the safety and survival of our species - these grown up kids could blow us all up simply because they haven’t fully matured yet as most of us have, and also because we haven’t done enough to speak up and tell them to back the fuck down.

It’s too bad we weren’t able to do that in regards to the United States Government’s invasion of the sovereign country of Iraq. Lord knows plenty of people from all over the world tried. But no one was brave enough to really stand up and say “no.” And so in the last five years we have watched in horror over one million innocent people die. It is also equally regrettable that we have thus far been unable to stand up against the Chinese government in regards to how they are slowly but steadily killing hundreds of thousands of Sudanese people right before our eyes.

Of course, the issue of Iran is a bit more complex than Iraq or the Sudan. Both countries were radically unstable and not much of a threat nor a strong foe to begin with. But Iran is a very different matter. The people of the United States of America should feel very lucky that the Iranian people are such a strong, busy, and resilient people that up until this time they have not taken the constant beating of the American war drum by the few barbarians in Washington who do not understand the basic principles of diplomacy too seriously. Instead they choose to just continue on with their lives and hope that eventually America finds someone else to bully. For unlike Iraq or the Sudan or Tibet for that matter, Iran does have the potential to pose a serious threat as a formidable enemy if they ever felt so inclined to. Not only do they have a very proud and loyal populace since their own revolution, they also have the backing and allegiance of many other countries around the world. Luckily for all of us, they instead choose to do their best to just keep on trying to move forward with their day to day lives.

So instead of focusing on war and threats of war and who has the biggest army or the biggest guns or who said what about whom each day in the international press, those of us on the light side need to start focusing our energy on Peace and on People. After all, Iranis a country full of people. So is the United States. And in a nutshell, war isn’t good for people. Nor has it ever done much good for “peace”.

It is easy to find ourselves upset at the US Government, just as it is easy to find ourselves upset with the Iranian government or the Israeli government or the various factions within the Palestinian government. But it isn’t going to do us much good to focus on these feelings of upset. Let us instead choose to focus on Peace itself. Let us instead focus on discovering how many millions of Iranian/Americans we already have living here in the United States who still have family “back home” in beautiful Iran. Let us instead develop a curiosity for this rich and ancient and historic land once called Persia, now called Iran.

Let us instead develop a place online and in our hearts where we who care can share photos, films, books, movies, art, and music from the fascinating cultural exchange that is taking place right this very minute between our two great countries. Iranians love Americans. There is much to like about us. And they can see that. And though many don’t yet know it, Americans love many famous Iranians. Iran has contributed much to the planet in its five thousand year history. Our very own Constitution is said to be inspired by the Persian King Cyrus the Great and his drafting of what many believe to be the very first “constitution.”

PeaceWithIran.com is a story of hope. It is a place to learn and to share. The goal being to add some balance to the already nauseating clutter of war-related stories coming out from the hawks and bullies of the world - and the hapless media lapdogs who follow their every step. We made a grave mistake with Iraq. We never bothered to even look these poor people in the eye before we attacked them; because our hearts were heavy from the events of September 11th, and our minds were confused by falsified “intelligence reports” coming out of Washington. But we will not make that same mistake again.

Let us take a look at the face of Iran – since after all, Iran is a country full of 70 million faces. Our goal is that not one of them is touched, hurt, injured, attacked, maimed, deformed, put out of their homes, or killed by anyone. Just as I am sure most would agree that we have the same goal for ourselves. Let us hold it for our Iranian neighbors as well.

In the meantime, there is much to learn about this truly fascinating people and country. Take your time and look around the site. And if you have something to share, please feel free. This site is open to all who have something to contribute, even if it is just a photo, a comment, or a message of hope or inspiration. Most of all, share the space in your hearts that we finally acheive that seemingly ever evasive goal of peace not just in words and rhetoric but in actual practice.

Sincerely,
Ed Hale

Ed Hale, lead singer for the rock group Transcendence stated: “On March 19th, 2008 people all over the world took actions of all shapes and kinds to protest the fifth anniversary of the United States Government’s illegal invasion of the country of Iraq. There were protest marches, candle-lit vigils, lobbying and petitions in Washington DC, and of course thousands of telephone calls and emails to the US Congress and the White House. Our idea was a simple one, and coincided with an observation I had made that disturbed me a few weeks prior while taking a shower. We live on a very busy street in a very busy city — New York City to be exact. And two or three times a day those BIG RED NEW YORK DOUBLE DECKER TOUR BUSES drive tourists from all over the world around the beautiful city of Manhattan. It bothered me greatly to realize that your average visitor to NYC would not see much anti-war sentiment in this very progressive and otherwise intelligent American town. So what to do? Simple: hang a giant flag outside an apartment building for tourists from all nations to see as they drove by and snapped photos for their scrapbooks that had a simple message: WORLD WE’RE SORRY! As long as the US stays in Iraq, the flag will remain. The hope is that at least a few foriegners can go home and report to friends and family that there are at least some Americans who are aware and truly sorry for all the innocent bloodshed and lives lost.”

View a slideshow of the photos here.

View and download photos here.

Monday, February 25th, 2008
by Keith Hannaleck

Transcendence lead singer Ed Hale has been chosen to be one of 14 delegates going on a Peace Delegation to the country of Iran with The Fellowship of Reconciliation.

New York, NY, Feb 25, 2008 – 14 delegates chosen from across the United States will be going on a Peace Delegation to the country of Iran with The Fellowship of Reconciliation, the world’s oldest peace organization headquartered in over 40 countries worldwide and started in 1914 in Switzerland to prevent war in Europe. College radio darling Ed Hale, lead singer for the rock group Transcendence has been chosen to be one of the 14 delegates.

Along with 10 others the group also consists of writer Larry Beinhart, best known for his infamous book turned movie Wag the Dog and Searching for Truth in the Land of Spin, Carah Lynn Ong, Policy Analyst for the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation in Washington DC, and journalist Robert Dreyfus, contributing editor and writer for The Nation, Rolling Stone, and The New Republic. The group will tour Iran for two-weeks, primarily focusing on the major cities of Tehran, Esfehan, Shiraz, and Qom and holding formal meetings with the country’s leading government and religious leaders in an unprecedented move since the Islamic revolution almost 30 years ago to discuss US/Iranian relations. The group of 14 Americans will also visit schools, universities, newspapers, radio, and TV stations to foster more peace, harmony, and solidarity between the American and Iranian people.

They will meet with three reigning Ayatollahs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the United States, the Minister of Culture, and with the former two-term Iranian President Mohamad Khatami. The Fellowship of Reconciliation is a non-religious, not-for-profit organization that has been sponsoring trips such as these for over eighty years all over the world. Their primary mission is to foster peace and understanding between peoples of different cultures during times of high conflict in order to attempt to prevent war.

Ed Hale is the lead singer in the rock band Transcendence (Universal) and is also known for his outspoken human rights and peace activism and volunteer work around the world. He just returned from two weeks of home building in Africa with Habitat for Humanity (see YouTube) and made two separate trips to the Gulf Coast last year to help rebuild homes for Hurricane Katrina victims in Biloxi, Mississippi. He and his bandmates have two new albums coming out this year, The Great Mistake, and All Your Heroes Become Villains.

An interesting sign of the times, the funds to help pay Hale’s expenses were raised entirely online using social networking sites such as MySpace, the band’s fanbase, and something known as the ChipIn widget. Fans and friends were encouraged to post comments and donate anything they wanted to. The “widget” tracked the progress in real-time so all could log-on at anytime to see how much money had been collected and watch as the goal was reached and read comments from fans from around the world.

Hale has been keeping a blog about the trip online and will continue to post reports while he is in Iran. Upon his return he will be speaking at various events around the country about the experience and will be available for television and press interviews about the experience.

To learn more about the Fellowship of Reconciliation organization and how you can become involved click here.

For more information http://edhale.chipin.com/ ed-hale-goes-to-Iran-with-peace-delegation 

By Bill Sommer

The blog is by its nature an extremely ego-driven endeavor. The things written in a blog are to be seen by others. And hopefully, whether the blogger admits it or not, the blog will be adored by its readers; or more exactly, the blogger will be adored by its readers. So as I proceed with this blog (let it be known that will be the last time the fucking word ‘blog’ — somehow made pretentious for this writer ((by this writer)) will be used). This writer admits that this writing is being done for both private and public reasons.

Though probably unremarkable to those accustomed to it, if such folks exist, writing on a laptop on the sidewalk in the East Village on a chilly spring night after seeing mediocre jazz and watching the brand new fresh out of the editing suite “trailer” for a friend’s reality TV series about himself is novel to me.
Allow me to explain. Today I had the opportunity to hang out with Ed Hale, lead singer and songwriter for a rock band I play in called Transcendence – though we are more a collective of many revolving around our shared love of certain musical styles and our excitement about what we create when we jam together. I am the drummer in aforementioned group. We have been together for six years. Though ever since his move to the Big Apple and my move to Atlanta, we don’t get to see each other as often as we used to. Pretty much only in the studio when we are tracking a new album that may or may never be “officially released” or when we tour, which as of late as been infrequent at best. Ed Hale is in his early 30’s. He recently returned from Biloxi, Mississippi, where he and a church group were helping to rebuild homes devastated by something known now as Hurricane Katrina – as if it were a living breathing entity. To the victims it certainly was I am sure.

Ed was a team leader because of “a basic knowledge of carpentry” acquired in his youth. This is strange. One doesn’t think of Ed Hale as a “team leader” on a christian mission trip to rebuild home. Nor does one consider him a person who “acquired basic carpentry skills in his youth.” In his ”unofficial” online blog The Transcendence Diaries, at last count over fifteen-hundred pages - of which he makes no apologies - he dedicates countless entries vehemently asserting “humanity’s need to free itself from an unhealthy addiction to the belief in Gods and Goddesses,” and yet he attends this church that he is a loyal member of religiously, forgive or admire the pun. In this, as in so many other examples, Ed Hale is a walking contradiction; except for the fact that it is entirely in line with his nature, so much so that one gets accustomed to it rather quickly. And therefore his contradictory nature can actually quite quickly seem normal – which is a frightening thought.

He smokes cigars. He is in his early thirties, sings in a rock band, dresses and looks like he sings in a rock band, but smokes cigars This makes no sense. Before concerts or recording sessions, he can be found in cigar lounges around Manhattan with the usual assortment of cigar chomping old men discussing of all things real estate and the stock market, subjects he is obsessed with; but he punctuates his impassioned discussions about these topics with equally passionate diatribes about his love for the newest Strokes or Rufus Wainwright albums coming out. A fact that certainly must confound the other patrons at these cigar lounges who are usually well past age fifty and spend most of their time talking about sports or something called “the markets.” This is very strange.

He is a guy who quotes Ron Burgundy from the Anchorman movie to the server at the restaurant at lunch and who will then turn around and want to talk to you dead-on seriously about the Gnostic Gospels or quantum physics or “super-string theory;” all in one breath. He will then end the discussion by casually mentioning that he believes Wedding Crashers is the best movie of the year. And you get a sneaking suspicion that he just might mean it. This is strange.

He fronts a rock band whose members live in three different cities, and who haven’t played a show together in over a year. Yet he funnels a significant amount of money into making records with this band. He flies from New York to Miami to record with them. He flies from New York to Atlanta to play one show with them simply because I currently reside here. He sees no problem with “taking some time off from touring with the band” so we can “record two or three or more albums.” He has no idea how or when these albums are going to be released. We are offered “record deals” (if you can call them that in this day and age) for each of the albums that we record and it takes Ed years to make up his mind about which deal to choose. This frustrates the other band members. But not Ed. Because by the time we have reached the point of negotiating a record deal for album A, Ed is already hyped up about album B, C, or D that he can’t wait for us to “record” and has forgotten entirely that we have still not released album A. It is strange. Besides the obvious fact that it is also maddeningly frustrating for the rest of the band who wouldn’t mind releasing any album any time in the foreseeable future - since after all we are a band. But Ed seems more interested in us recording than he does in anyone ever hearing what we recorded. Or perhaps he simply forgets and gets sidetracked with new inspiration. Either way, it is strange.

He is reasonably competent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian. I do not know how a person accomplishes such a feat. Especially an American. I have seen him have entire conversations with servers at restaurants in Polish, though he claims not to speak Polish. I find myself wondering why he knows Polish — of all things. He claims he has conversations with God while in the bathtub and he is almost unfailingly kind, a trait not missed by those who are closest to him. And there are many of those. Because of this fact, he is called “the Ambassador” by his friends – an aspect of his life that has taken on such ironic authenticity – though it is in effect still a joke to him and others, that he was recently offered a chance to become a “Civilian Diplomat” and travel to the Axis of Evil world of Iran in order to negotiate peace with their government leaders. Ed Hale is actually seriously thinking of going to Iran and thinking that he will indeed be able to create more “peace.” Despite what most would consider obvious and numerous reasons to turn down such an offer. This might be mentioned or it might not be in between casual conversation with Ed revolving around various other topics that he might find more inspiring in that moment. He often refers to himself in the third person. Strangest of all perhaps, he has spent the past year and a half filming a reality show — mostly about himself, which is called “Transcendent Television.”

During our time together in New York, we stopped in a restaurant on 5th Avenue the other day for me to pee. After the beautiful French hostess informed me where the bathrooms were and I headed towards them, he casually told her, “I’m his gay lover by the way. I have to wait for him while he pees.” There is no discernable reason why he said this. It is strange.

He wears black jeans or black leather pants most days of the week. In fact, he is almost always dressed in black. Even in summer. It is strange. Ed Hale has built and sold three successful businesses “as a hobby” he says in the last ten years in between recording and releasing six moderately successful albums. He claims to be “flat broke” and yet he appears by all accounts to live like a millionaire. Unlike the rest of us who actually are flat broke, I have come to believe that Ed Hale doesn’t know what “flat broke” really means. It is strange.
He often switches topics in the middle of a sentence, unable to defer a new thought that has popped into his head. One often feels as though they are having ten conversations at once with him. From what we know he is not “on drugs.” This is actually how he is. And yes it is strange.

Now bear in mind two things: one — Ed Hale is not the strangest person I know. But he comes damn close. Perhaps because I consider him a friend it is the only reason that I do not classify him as the strangest person I know, because he certainly comes close. Number two: I only point these various and admittedly trivial characteristics of his out to prove a point in a grander scheme of things. That point to follow here now.

Ed Hale would be considered by almost anyone from anywhere a strange individual – “eclectic” or “quirky” or “eccentric” come to mind. So do “odd” “weird” and “out there.” These words usually have a negative, or at most, a guardedly positive connotation. Guarded because we are all afraid of people different from us. Probably necessary for some evolutionary purpose, our distaste of those who are different kind of sucks when it comes to loving our fellow humans. It is hard to love that which makes us uncomfortable.
Every characteristic or action of a person falls into one but no more than two of the following categories: good, bad, and meaningless. Each of these traits come alone or can be combined with the independent element of “weird.”

As a quick illustration:
Cheating on your spouse, beating your children, being a Cubs fan – bad.
Giving money to the poor, being diligent – good.
Preferring iceberg lettuce over romaine, using a PC instead of a Mac – meaningless.

Certain actions like the ones above fall neatly into one category. But others add “weird” as a qualifier. (Note: Things that are good or bad can’t be meaningless, and good and bad at the same time is also impossible (in real life—no “you must kill the president or the terrorists will kill your family” scenarios, thank you)).

For example:
Jogging while listening to the same Gloria Estefan song on repeat — weird-meaningless.
Giving a homeless guy some money and letting him use your shower — weird-good.
Killing kittens and throwing them out a window at schoolchildren (weird-bad).
Dipping donuts in iced coffee, sitting down in the shower — habitual activities by the aforementioned subject of this article, Ed Hale – weird-meaningless. But weird nonetheless.

It is late now and the streets of the east Village are getting quieter. I am reflecting back on my friend and fellow bandmate and the things I shared about him and about how one might react to them at first glance. My point in all this is to suggest that when we look at a person, let us try to redefine where some of the “weird” things go, and to see more and more of those things as “weird-good” instead of in the other two categories. See if we can forgive their strangeness. Embrace their strangeness. There is a certain “morality” to strangeness. We can attempt to see the beauty in imperfection. So I end with this: Treat the weird as good until proven otherwise.

In regards to whether or not our band will actually release the two new albums that we finished recording over a year ago, I would be remiss to not at least admit to sympathizing with fans and friends who want to hear them as badly as we do. All we CAN say is that we have two new albums coming out this year. But life itself is strange. We said those same exact words last year from what I remember. Stranger still, Ed is now in the recording studio recording two new solo albums, though why they are called “solo” albums since the same band members are playing on the album as on all previous Transcendence albums is beyond me. One being the 24 song long ”girls” album that is comprised entirely of songs with girls names in the titles. And another one that is “just noise and nothing but noise — no music or anything resembling music allowed.” Yes, this too is strange. But in its own special way, it is a good strange if one chooses to view it that way.

Bill Sommer
Originally published February 18th, 2007 here

Ed Hale Transcends Iranian Conflict
2008-02-08 11:30:32.993,
Story by: Joshua Pressman for CMJ

Ed Hale, lead singer of New York-based rock and roll outfit Transcendence, will partake in a peace delegation to Iran. Hale will be part of a 13-person envoy that was hand-chosen by the Fellowship Of Reconciliation (FOR) to serve as ambassadors of peace. FOR—a Switzerland-based organization that has sponsored preventive measures against war since World War I—has arranged visitations to schools, universities, newspapers, and TV stations with hopes of bridging the cultural gap between American and Iranian people. The funds for Hale’s mission are currently being gathered by way of a ChipIn widget, which enables fans and friends to contribute financially to the peaceful vision.

To join in or read comments from fans and friends who are contributing to the mission or to read Hale’s personal blogs about the endeavor click here. 

www.edhale.com
www.forusa.org

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