THE SPIRIT OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL IS ALIVE AND WELL
A CONVERSATION WITH HAZEL GAZE
It is an understatement to say that New York City is home to many talented bands and musicians. However, in such a lively music scene, it can be hard to stand out. What separates Hazel Gaze from the plethora of other NYC bands is its distinct songwriting and diversity of sound. The seven-member band is comprised of Hanz on lead vocals, Russ Soper on guitar, keys, vocals, and songwriting, Mary Jo Verruto on keys and vocals, Spiros Arnakis on drums, Konrad Payne on bass, and Molly Klein and Nicole Riolo as backup vocalists. The band recently released Hazel Gaze II, a sequel to their 2017 self-titled album. We caught up with Hanz, Soper, and Klein to talk about the album and what the band has in store for the future.
Originally, Hazel Gaze started by chance after Soper heard Hanz singing Led Zeppelin covers at a charity concert. The two were friends for a while but had never collaborated on music until that fateful evening. “After [the concert], we started talking and he’s like, ‘dude, I need to write music for your voice’ and I was like, ‘Well that’s great because the kind of stuff that you write and record and produce is really the kind of stuff that I really want to be doing’. And that is how Hazel Gaze was born”, said Hanz, recounting the incident. At the time, Soper was living overseas and decided to move back to the US to start the project. He quickly realized that most musicians were either too focused on “trying to make it” or had given up on producing a polished product completely. Like Goldilocks, his partnership with Hanz yielded the perfect mix of maturity and passion, and they released their first album soon after.
A few years ago, the pair wanted to expand the band and bring a wider array of sounds to the table. Around the same time, Molly Klein was scrolling Facebook to find new opportunities in music. The talented backup vocalist had tons of singing experience, including being featured on Kidz Bop CDs for 15 years. She sent the band a message and was invited to jam, the rest is history. Klein also recruited fellow vocalist Nicole Riolo to Hazel Gaze from an Instagram story.
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The early 2020s lent Soper some extra time at home. As a result, he started recording demos in his home studio, sharing them with Hanz and Konrad Payne. “I really wanted to raise the bar from our first album… Anything in life, it’s about continual improvement, so I wanted to be able to capture the sounds better. I wanted the songwriting to be better, so I really just wanted to improve everything, frankly. So, part of that included upgrading the recording gear to commercial grade level, which I did, hiring a producer who [you could] work with, you know, really, he’s a proper producer, you know, Grammy-winning guy to help me up my game in engineering to capture the sounds better, to craft the songs better, give me songwriting ideas”. The producer Soper mentions is none other than Oscar Zambrano, an assistant professor at the Berklee College of Music who has worked on five Grammy-winning albums and more than 30 Grammy-nominated projects. Soper described hearing his genuine praise as “really heartening”.
Soper had recorded around 20 demos before finalizing the nine songs that would go on to form the album. During the interview, Hanz had nothing but praise for Soper’s ability to write songs around the sound of his voice. “He wrote all the lyrics, he wrote all the music, and we just whittled down the ones that we wanted, and it was a combination of things. What went well together, what do we think we could, you know, flesh out, and for me melody wise, what could I embody, deliver, make it mine, sell it, you know? That’s kind of how the process went. We did record stuff …demos that didn’t make it on the album. It is highly likely that we’ll revisit those you know, mess around with them a bit, change them, and some of those may come on the next album.”
With raving reviews and local reception, the band is now scheduled to play at multiple venues across NYC. Several members of the band have deep ties to the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, making them well-known in the city’s music scene. Their first gig is at The Bowery Electric on Sept. 21, doubling as a sort of album release party. The band does not want to limit itself though. Klein, Hanz, and Soper all expressed interest in playing larger venues as well as more intimate shows. For now, though, they are focused on venues around New York City but seemed eager to play some shows out of state, including in Toronto.
Soper and Hanz emphasize their camaraderie and the general good vibes that come with this band. “Everybody is not only very talented and good at what they do, they’re just a really wonderful person. And so, I couldn’t, I couldn’t ask for another six people on the planet that I’d want to be doing this with. So, I think that’s probably the most rewarding aspect of it”, said Soper. Adding to that, Hanz exclaimed, “There are no dicks in this band”.
Hazel Gaze says their third album is on the horizon, and they are looking to take things even further in terms of production and diversity. As they continue to push the boundaries of rock music, the band proves that the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll is alive and well, resonating with fans old and new.
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