A QUICK DOZEN with LEIGH BAINES, SHIVA & the HAZARDS

Shane | 15 April 2018 | Reply

A QUICK DOZEN with LEIGH BAINES, SHIVA & the HAZARDS
By Shane Pinnegar

Shiva & the Hazards recently released their exotic video clip for East India Empress, featuring old movie footage from the subcontinent, so we got drummer Leigh Baines to throw down a Quick Dozen.

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material that only diehard fans might pick up on?

Queen Without A King references Going to California by Led Zeppelin, but that’s about it.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realised you wanted to be a musician?

It’s probably Marty McFly playing Johnny B Goode in Back To The Future.

3. Who would be your main five musical influences?

We all have our own favourites which give our sound our own unique twist, but collectively, we can all agree on The Verve, Oasis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Tame Impala.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be?

Kanye West.

5. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before?

Above, all mixed together, with some added vitamin A.

6. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Perspective.

7. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

We haven’t cooked together as a band, but I’m usually the one who brings the tinnies to rehearsal. I also have a habit of segwaying whatever it is we’re talking about into song.

8. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Self funded retiree.

9. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep, or you would like to be able to “do over”?

None that I will admit to until the book is out.

10. If you were made ruler of the world, what would your first orders be?

Ban phones for one day week. Tax the criminals, pay the artists.

11. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Exile on Main Street. That was rock and roll bohemia. I think a lot of people think they aspire to that, because they bought the t shirt, the leather jacking, and wear the shades, but probably don’t actually realise how rock and roll that band was, and probably aren’t prepared for the darkness that comes with it. They weren’t faking it. That lifestyle probably isn’t for me to that extent, but I’d love to have been a fly on the wall, or sung some backing on Tumbling Dice.

12. What, for you, is the meaning of life??

You can fool others if you have to, but don’t waste it fooling yourself.