According to a recent press release: "Pop powerhouse Ben Hazlewood is ramping up to his new EP, EOS, with the release of a new single, the catchy and impassioned "Sail Away" which premiered with Impose Magazine."  With the single out about month now, we get Ben answer our 10 Quick Ones...

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

It’s a song about letting go and moving on, trusting someone to help you get out. In the dark times there is always a light that you can follow. I wrote this song for my sister.

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

I grew up around it. It was always a passion of mine. I think once I wrote and performed my first original track that was when I knew this is what I wanted for my life, sharing my emotions and story with people.

3. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Fleetwood Mac, Rolling Stones, U2, Jeff Buckley, and The Civil Wars

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

Stevie Nicks - Have been a huge fan of hers since I was a kid and she is one of the reasons why I started writing.

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

Powerful, Intense, Emotive, Honest.

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

Being on stage with my band playing live. It’s why I do this.

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?

Ah no one really cooks but the guys are constantly spending hours creatively making coffee on the bus with this whole coffee making travel kit. I don’t drink coffee so I really don’t get it! It’s a pretty elaborate process. I am definitely the first to pull out the drinks. I am the one to blame for the hangovers! Katie (backing vocals and keys) would be the one to start the singalong. I don’t think you can go an hour without jumping into a vocal jam she has instigated.

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

If I wasn’t a musician, my dream job would be to be one! Ha! I am seriously lucky that I can do this as my job and never really had a back-up plan. It’s worked out well.

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

Writing my first EP, Loveless. I love what it came to be, but I wish that I was more focused on just writing for me and who I was as an artist rather than trying to fit into an already established box. But through that I have learned to always create for me and let the truth and emotions be the drive.

10. 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?

The session in NY with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger when they were recording “Gimme Shelter”, especially when Merry Clayton recorded those insane backing vocals on the track. It’s one of my favourite tracks and such a powerful moment in music history.

BEN HAZLEWOOD LINKS:

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