Today we’d like to introduce you to Regina Tolley and Allen de la Rosa.
Regina and Allen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Regina: We met back in 2012 at a live show at this random bar in Hillcrest. One of Allen’s friends, Katie, knew the same guy in the band that was playing as I did, so we all got to talking. After the show, Allen invited me and the friend I came with to karaoke at the Lamplighter in Mission Hills, and it was there that Allen and I came to realize that we were both musicians and had a handful of mutual friends.
Allen: Yep, and the next year, I joined the band Regina started with my brother. We played for years together (me on bass and her on violin, of course) and toured in the U.S. and internationally.
Regina: And we were actually in that band when the idea of Better Half was born. We were hanging out outside during a break between sets of a show we were playing. Somehow, we got to talking about the music we listened to in high school + beyond, and we came up with the idea of starting a duo cover project. A year later, here we are!!
Has it been a smooth road?
Allen: Our journey in this new project has been pretty smooth, actually. I think it’s because we know each other really well from being in a band together for six years. I’d say Better Half is as easy as peanut butter and jelly!!
Regina: Haha, exactly!! I think it’s easy for us *because* we’ve both put in the time and effort to get to where we are now – we’ve literally both been playing music and refining our skills for decades. And now we’re both full-time musicians living in San Diego, which I think is an amazing feat!!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Better Half story. Tell us more about your work.
Allen: Better Half is a violin + guitar duo that pulls on your nostalgic heartstrings.
Regina: Yes, we give you all the feels!!
We can play a bunch of styles (I’d say that Allen and I are both very well-rounded musicians), but we specialize in emo/pop-punk/indie covers. So our repertoire includes songs from bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Death Cab for Cutie, Panic! At The Disco, blink 182, etc. – basically all the good stuff from the 2000s.
Allen: It’s been really cool to play just the chords and melodies of these songs, and hear people immediately sing along. The crowd participation has been fun for us to experience.
Regina: As of now, Better Half has played acoustically, but we’re working on an electric show, and will be incorporating drums and bass into the mix for certain performances, too.
Allen: And I think our musical chemistry is very rare, and it sets us apart from other artists or bands. No matter what style or project, we trust the other person and just have a lot of fun performing together.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Allen: That’s a good question. I think I’m more about being in the moment and putting my energy into working on a badass show now, and not thinking about what’s to come in the next five years.
Regina: Totally. I do think how artists receive royalties or what specific platforms we use to consume music may change over time – but ultimately, music is an emotional, connecting part of the human experience and there will always be musicians performing live.
I just played a show opening for The English Beat, and there was an amazing sold-out crowd dancing and singing along to music that came out three to four decades ago. I think the emo and pop-punk songs that we grew up within the 2000s (and that Better Half performs) have that lasting quality about them, too – I predict that people who grew up listening to this music will still be rocking out to it in 2030 and 2040. (We’ll have to see about the moshing and crowd-surfing, though).
Contact Info:
- Website: www.betterhalfduo.com
- Email: betterhalfduo@gmail.com
- Instagram: @betterhalfduo
Image Credit:
Hanam Do @handonam
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