Hasty Page has been quite visible within the local music scene over the past few years, which makes it hard to believe all three band members are still in school.
The band’s name has been on the setlist for high profile gigs, Tulip Fest and Pearlpalooza both immediately come to mind. The latter of the two was no small task. The trio of students from the College of Saint Rose’s prestigious music program beat out a cadre of local bands in a month-long battle of the bands competition. They earned the spot in a two-way tie with Front Biz to open upstate New York’s largest one-day festival. The annual block party often features the best up-and-coming alternative acts in the country, and they were on the bill, too.
Two years after releasing their debut LP “Distance,” Hasty Page is about to drop its follow-up LP, “Things to Do Before I Die.” They do so with an album release performance set at The Linda WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio on Friday, June 21, with Gabby Hammond and El Modernist. For drummer and vocalist Josh Morris, the new release takes the band right where it left off with Distance two years ago.
“The concept behind it is kinda where we are in our lives right now,” said Morris. “We’re stuck in the middle of college right now.”
The album was recorded in August of 2017 with the intent to release it a year later. “Body Shots,” the album’s first single, was released on Spotify last June followed by “Vices” a few months later. While introducing listeners to new music, new ideas, and new styles with this release, the band stays true to who they are by continuing to write honest, heartfelt lyrics, as well as rock-driven guitar riffs and catchy pop hooks.
Hasty Page is an alt/indie rock power trio from Queensbury. Morris, Zane Agnew and James Paolano formed the band in 2015 as the three were still in high school. The sound in which they’ve pioneered is without any boundaries; crossing genres, taking risks and writing how they feel. Morris said “Things to Do Before I Die,” was put together at a time in which the trio was challenged. The three were separated as academic studies drew them overseas through distant learning programs.
Paolano was the inspiration behind the name of the band’s first album. He was left behind in high school as the other two went off to college. “Distance,” literally, called to his separation from the band. He goes to school at Berkeley. Morris and Agnew attend Saint Rose. When the band competed to play Pearlpalooza, they hired the services of another musician — Will Fredette, of El Modernist.
“It’s kinda ironic because our bass player is even further away right now,” said Morris. “He’s 3,000 miles away, in Spain.”
This distance creates a “complicated” dynamic, said Morris. All three are dedicated musicians with a “get your work done” attitude, he said. The band tries hard enough to write songs together, but the distance makes that difficult. Instead, they continue to write songs on their own. Sometimes, he said, those songs work out as a side project. Morris recently started playing drums with Dark Honey.
“As a band, we’re kind of in a confusing place right now,” said Morris. “We kind of take it as it comes.”
Despite the challenges, “as it comes” has earned the band success. “Vices” has been placed into four different Spotify playlists, amassing over 4,000 streams. The band has also seen a 663 percent jump in Spotify streams with a total of 3,000 monthly listeners and climbing. Now with a new music video to support the track, things appear to be taking off for this young band. Last December, the band played at Saratoga’s First Night festivities.
Close the distance between these three and it would be a wonder to see what they could accomplish without the obstacles they now overcome.
