When guitarist Jackery Benjamin and his bandmates decided to start Hello Amora, they did not waste a second of time focusing on all of the adulation they would receive after gathering a large fanbase. If you have only heard Hello Amora, it might take some deep internet digging before you understand the members of HA! are playing vocal driven post-hardcore tracks. While envisioning the band, Jackery wanted to ensure that the members had the following qualities: friendship, trust, reliability, dedication, financial-stability, talent, knowledge of instrument, stage presence, and a person willing to invest and sacrifice. HA! is a seven piece band hailing from London, Ontario, and here is their story…..

Pre & Post Hello Amora

Elliot Lake is accredited as the birthplace of Hello Amora’s founding member Jackery. He describes it as “ a small town of 13,500 people. Civilization was 2 hours in every direction. Any new music came into town from people who discovered it during their summer holidays or Top-40.  “I was always somewhat of a drifter,” he says. “I had maybe 2-3 close friends, and then i just kind of stumbled from group to group. I played music in high school, but in such a small town it was really hard to find a full group of driven musicians to play with.  My mother didn’t mind me playing music, as long as I didn’t piss off the neighbors.”

For Troy, his teenage life was spent being the town’s local pariah who had bigger dreams than the local teengers who spent every weekend getting wasted and partying. Vocalist Joe grew up in Orillia, Washington, a small town of 30,000 people. Despite not being, Joe made sure he was was everyone’s friend. At the age of 15 he began playing the drums. In the early years of the band, the lineup altered frequently, but with all of the speed bumps they never gave up on their dreams. Guitarist Jackery said, “We are very happy with our line-up today.”

Vocalist Troy was the final member of the band who had a mission to recruit and rebuild from existing friendships. Joe got into the band by showing up early to be an extra in one of their music videos. When Hello Amora’s previous vocalist parted ways with the band, Joe was offered to try out after moving back to London. All experiences proved that each member of the band would create aggressive music was to be appreciated.

How did the name “Hello Amora” stick?:

Settling on a band name was even harder than creating post-hardcore driven songs or new riffs. During March of 2012, Hello Amora were knee deep in their first photo-shoot, but they lacked one essential thing: the name of the band. A previous member of the band used an alteration from the magic spell “Alohomra” (credited to the Harry Potter series) as the spark for the band’s official name. Troy stated, “We later realized that the Spanish ‘amor’, or Italian ‘amore’ translates to the English ‘love.’ It fit perfectly and conveniently as the band’s name, for we send out a very positive message and hope to inspire love in others.”

Vocalist Joe stated “I know there are people out there who think we’re crazy for pursuing a career in this industry, and doubt we’ll make it anywhere; but we’ll make it anywhere. By I’m in this for the fun/adventure of doing what I love.”

Shows:

Over the years, Hello Amora has conquered many tours, captured a great fanbase and released their most ambitious album yet. And they are not apologizing for breaking rules and bursting out of the “cookie-cutter” image. They are here to stay with their exasperated aggression sound and of course their aesthetically pleasing looks.