What sets Hazaiah apart from other bands?
It’s nobody’s first band, so the level of experience and musicianship is pretty decent. We all have different musical backgrounds and influences which we bring to the team - in a band where all members love the same band, then all their songs can sound similar and in that vein. We have the ability to write a variety of different songs that all still sound like us, and that is exciting as we never know what the next song will sound like.

What do you find to be your biggest challenge both musically and in terms of performance?
Time – we often come up with great ideas while jamming, but have to keep prioritising as there aren’t enough available hours in the week to construct complete arrangements for all of them. We just identify the ones that we love instantly, give it a “danceability” rating, and if it scores high we get it finished so we can start playing it live. With regards to performance, there are many temptations for recording overdubs when it is just guitar, bass and drums, so we always keep that in mind when writing to ensure the songs sound similar live to what’s on tape.

What are you most looking forward to for the April show at X&Y Bar?
What are your plans for the performance? We will be playing to people who have never heard us, so we will play songs that show our flexibility and range that also highlight our musicianship. Guaranteed to keep your feet tapping and rump shaking. Also playing for the Emergenza team, as you never know where these opportunities may take you.

What are you hoping to get out of your participation in the Emergenza Music Festival?
It’s all about opportunity – opportunity to play with other bands we haven’t met, which is golden for networking and future gig possibilities; the opportunity to play in front of people not yet familiar with the band who may like what we do and become fans; and of course the opportunity to perform for the Emergenza team and those associated, because you never know who may be in the room that can give you the chance to go large!

What are some of your tried and tested promotional means?
We have utilised online sites and social media as our main methods of communications thus far, however we have recently created an image that we will look to use on posters and merchandise. Word of mouth through these avenues is pretty good, but we will need to look at bigger promotion for future gigs. Doesn’t matter how good your band is if nobody knows you are playing.

What would you like your fans to know about the band?
We are very approachable, and we are massive music fans ourselves. We have a very wide range of influences and you might be able to pick things up when listening to the tunes, however we always put the Hazaiah stamp on everything we do, which is something we are very proud of. Everyone in the band adds something to the mix, there are no passengers.