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POPULAR rock band Hot Laser has been heading into the recording studios to work on a sizzling single for their growing army of fans in Bahrain.
The 1980s-inspired outfit made up of Ash ‘Trey’ on drums, Joe ‘Danger’ Dalton on bass guitar and backing vocals, Daryl ‘Dynamite’ Bustos on lead guitar, and Rob ‘Jungle’ Jennings on keyboard and vocals, have been electrifying audiences with a series of live gigs across the island.
Rob, a Brit who works in educational supplies, said: “We are taking things one step at a time. We are playing as many live gigs as we can to promote our original songs and we have started the recording progress for our debut single Narcissism.
“Once this is done we will create an accompanying music video here in Bahrain and from there continue recording for our full debut album. The next step would be our Middle East tour and from there on, who knows.”
The single is a topical soul-searching look at the ‘selfie’ photo craze with an unforgiving hard-driven punk-style rhythm.
The band was formed in the summer of 2013. As most rock bands are formed, the idea of them coming together occurred at a party.
The founding members were Rob and Joe. They knew Ash played drums and invited him to join. When previous guitarist, Rob Cecil left for Qatar, they invited Daryl to join.
It has been a rollercoaster ride ever since. Hot Laser has played at Coral Bay, Al Dar Islands, Farm Fest and recently at the Brazil Lounge alongside The B-Side, The Tinkerbelles and The Tax Dodgers. The band’s most notable gig was playing in front of a massive crowd at the Bahrain International Circuit just before a fireworks display last December.
The band members are all seasoned performers around the 30 mark in age. Bahraini Ash works in the media, Irish Joe is a water engineer and Filipino Daryl is in telecoms.
Each member has his own unique influences, but together they rock. Ash described his drumming as ‘progressive rock’ and enjoys acts like the Periphery, the Deftones and I See Stars. Joe, on the other hand, comes from a punk, metal and rock background. His influences include bands such as Stiff Little Fingers, who he reckons were ‘the best punk band to come out of Ireland’.
Daryl likes Velvet Revolver, Pantera and Cannibal Corpse and describes his guitar playing as ‘psychedelic’. Rob’s musical tastes, however, are more main stream and he likes listening to Aerosmith, Motley Crue and Guns N Roses. “Melodic rock is my preferred sound,” he said.
The name of Hot Laser’s planned album has not yet been set in stone, but the members are keen on Singe or Don’t get Burned. The album will have 10 tracks with the promise of ‘a great variety of sounds’.
Rob said: “We have a fast tempo song called Sinking Ship which was inspired by the tragic events of the Titanic and explores the feeling of loss of control.
“There is a melodic love ballad called I Want to Live. Of course, our single, Narcissism with a punky-bass line will be on the album and this song addresses the issue of ‘selfies’. Is this a healthy new trend or a dangerous path for both children and adults?”
The band is recording their material with Hani Taqi at Studio 77 and aim to finish in around six months.
“Hani has lots of experience with rock bands and we are very excited and privileged to be working with him,” added Rob. “We would be delighted for the album to be ready for sale in spring 2015. It will be available on iTunes and on CD.
“We want to say a big thank you to our fans who have supported us so far. We hope we can keep delivering rocking shows and a great CD in the near future. It is a pleasure to be part of Bahrain’s music scene.
“We encourage young musicians to express themselves through original music and not hold back as music is its own reward.”
* If you want to keep up to date with Hot Laser visit the band’s Facebook page and don’t forget to ‘like’ it to keep up to date on gigs. Virtual Avatars of the band members may also feature in a new Rock Band themed app soon.
