These guys moved all the way from Brisbane just for the chance to rock out Sydney. They’ve practised their songs inside and out, and are 100% ready to rock out at the Factory Theatre on the 19th of October. They’re soon to be featured in MX magazine and the Inner West Courier as a means of promoting the band, but before those others guys get them, Emergenza has a chance to sit down with they band and get them to answer a few of our questions.

FOR THOSE WHO DIDN’T GET TO SEE YOU IN THE FIRST ROUND, CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT WHO RIVER.STONE.HAZE ARE?
River.stone.haze is a five-piece rock band originally formed in Brisbane but now living in Sydney. We are just five guys who love music, all different types of music. We are all from very different musical backgrounds but when we write together it just works for us, so that's what we do.

HOW DOES THE NAME OF THE BAND TIE INTO YOUR SOUND?
We think when you hear river.stone.haze, as a band name, you expect a rock band. I don't think it sounds like a metal band's name or an acoustic roots band's name... it’s just rock.

WHAT’S YOUR APPROACH TO YOUR ONSTAGE PERFORMANCES?
We rehearse our songs until we know them inside and out. It just means that when we play them live we know the songs and have nothing to worry about from a musical point of view, which ultimately leads to us being free to move onstage. It just means we can have more fun with the performance.

WHAT WAS THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE FIRST ROUND FOR YOU?
The highlights for us would of course be getting through to the next round, but also the energy from the crowd! They really got into it, which of course pumps everyone in the band up.

SO HOW DOES IT FEEL BEING ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EMERGENZA FINALS?
It feels great. We know what we have to do in respect to the level of performance that we know we can operate at for a show. We just have to wait for the night and do it!

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO BETWEEN GIGS AND WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT PHASE OF THE COMPETITION?
Between gigs it’s rehearsal as usual, but we have also been doing heaps of work on new songs. We are getting them to a point where we are happy with them, up to our standards and what we expect from ourselves. As for the next phase of the competition, we have just been trying out new set lists and deciding on the best set possible for the night.

HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO PROMOTE FOR YOUR UPCOMING GIG?
We are doing the social media sites as we do for any gig that we have coming up, but we are also going to be in MX magazine and the Inner West Courier to promote, not only ourselves, but the Emergenza Festival as a whole. This festival gives a really good opportunity to bands like us to get themselves out there.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST ABOUT THIS ROUND IN THE SEMI-FINALS?
I think we are hoping to take it up a notch from the heats. Bigger stage, bigger crowd and a bigger performance. Plus we are only 1 step away from the finals, so we will be doing everything we can to play The Metro!!