Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
Andy: Randy Morano approached us on Twitter!
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Andy: We all originate from the Ipswich area, in south-east England. Alex and Alex went to high school together and started playing together at 12 or 13 and I met them when we were all 16-18 years old. We’ve been playing together since then – nearly ten years now – and we’ve been going by the name Habu since September 2011.
I was always creatively inclined as a child, initially with writing and poetry – the will for music was there, but I never really took to the keyboard or the recorder. When I picked up a guitar at age 13 after being exposed to popular rock music of the time, it wasn’t long before I began to come up with my own music and songs.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Andy: Alex B, our bassist and main lyricist, is a huge aeroplane nerd. The SR-71 Blackbird, known to some as the SR-71 Habu, is one of his favourite planes. We searched the net and couldn’t find a band already named Habu – so we went with it. I think it’s a great name, it’s memorable, it’s short, it looks good in print, and in finest rock tradition we already have a song featuring it! (SR-71)
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Andy: It’s a double-edged sword. It’s great on paper to be able to access such a wealth of music so easily and at no cost – but for artists who rely on their music for a living, piracy has made things tough and the industry has undergone a lot of changes as a result. We’re fine with streaming our album online for people to listen to, because we feel that our music being accessible is the best way to build a fan base and maximise opportunities for our band. And there are still things you can’t download, like the 20-page glossy booklet full of artwork that comes with our album.
Alex D: There are really good and bad points with this. For an up and coming artist it will be essential to give away music for free in order for people to have a risk free way of seeing what that band is all about. As soon as that music starts having a negative effect on the band, which it inevitably will if there are no album sales, then this is pretty bad.As an artist and an avid music fan I understand the importance of supporting a band even financially but doing my bit and buying a cool album or t-shirt.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Andy: Engage with your audience. Build rapport. Be interactive. Do something every single day to further the cause – 30 minutes of email, dropping in to local venues, speaking to other local bands about potential support slots. And if you’re just starting out playing live and want to get gigs, it’s essential to have something recorded!
Alex D: Go out, have fun and play the music you want to play. Be persistent by contact lots of venues and just don’t give up!
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Alex D: Never. Apart from the times when we forget what we are supposed to be doing… wait, what are we doing?
Andy: I watched Queen at Live Aid the other day and Freddie Mercury’s voice cracks a bunch of times, but I’ve never heard anybody talk about it. If you take it in stride and just carry on people hardly ever notice!
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Andy: We’ve never yet toured, unfortunately. It’s definitely on the cards for some point in the future – it’s just difficult when you have mortgages and full-time jobs!
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Andy: As artists do, we gather inspiration from anything really – usually whatever music we’ve each been listening to that week, or something that’s been happening in the world or one of our lives, or any other matters of interest – history, philosophy, aviation, science fiction.
Usually we’ll roughly finish composing and structuring a song in one rehearsal, then go back and trim/tighten the whole thing up next week.
Alex D: Usually Andy and Alex B will come up with a cool riff or starting point and we just develop it as a band from there. We try to keep it a band thing rather than one single song writer. I also often have a volatile hatred for songs in the writing stage, which can cause some amusing (usually for Alex B) arguments.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Andy: We have a strong online presence and can be heard and reached at the following:
Bandcamp: http;//habu.bandcamp.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/habuUK
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/habuband
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/habuUK
Official site: http:// www.habuband.com
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Andy: I’m quite partial to big lighter-waving mum-rock power ballads, and more than a bit of ABBA. What can I say, great pop is just great pop. I’m also quite a fan of early Kate Bush and The Cardigans, but that’s not embarrassing, they both have some fantastic albums.
Alex D: I like some really cheesy horrible 70s and 80s stuff, but I’m not embarrassed about it whatsoever. I also tend to listen to it on vinyl.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Alex D: Obviously record the greatest album in the history of mankind!
Andy: And get fat.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Alex D: We currently record with Punch Studios in Ipswich and I understand they recently have some new equipment in, so we are looking forward to going back and using that.
Andy: We did our early demos ourselves on a digital recorder, but yeah, we have an arrangement with Punch Studios now.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Andy: Social media is the way forward in this day and age – our plays have shot up since we’ve made a concerted effort at gaining followers on Twitter and Soundcloud!
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Andy: I think our dream band to play with would be Rush. They’re the band we get compared to most often, and definitely the single biggest influence on our sound. Apart from them – Dream Theater, Fish, Marillion, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Queen, Blue Oyster Cult, Yes.
Alex D: RUSH! Massive heroes for all 3 of us and I think we would go down brilliantly with their fans.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Andy: We’ve been writing new songs and drafting the track listing for our second album, which we’re aiming to release in late 2015/early 2016.
