By By: Sandieganliz
On December 1st, I checked out Hazmatt, which is a local band with members mostly coming out of North County, San Diego, and one member from Hawaii.
I met Trace, the drummer, who told me the band plays reggae/rock/ska. Boy, do they play that style! Obviously influenced by the original Sublime band, they played Sublime’s “89 Vision†to lyrics they created, as well as the song “Youth Are Getting Restlessâ€, which they did a great job on.
Hazmatt is a very good dub band. With a horn player, guitarist/singer, bass player, drummer, and an extra percussionist packed tightly at the Encinitas Daley Double Cocktail Lounge, they mix their instrumentals with easy-going singing. Songs were good, but heavily covered older reggae/rock songs, especially that of Sublime. When I brought this up to the bass player, he told me those songs are fun to play; no kidding – they looked like they were having fun and grooved the small-venue crowd. I enjoyed myself; however, I would appreciate more original work from them. I feel they have the potential…and the positive vibes!
