SOLIDAZ: Banging out the tunes at Bang Bang

SOLIDAZ is the resident band at Bang Bang, Sky Garden’s flash, live music club, right in the middle of the Kuta super-complex.  These Kiwis have been serving up the top 40 hits for a long time and are now back in Bali after a 13 year hiatus. They know how to entertain the crowd with solid sounds and a great stage show and are doing it five nights a week at the classy Kuta venue. The Beat caught up with drummer, Kristen Hapi to find out what’s up with the band right now.
TB:  Give us a brief history of Solidaz? How did you get started?                        
Kristen Solidaz: The band won a NZ TV talent contest and came up to Asia in 1997 playing their first gigs in Hard Rock Cafe Beijing and Shanghai. Since then the band has been on the road 19 years straight playing 5 star hotels around Asia and the Middle East. From the lineup that first came to Bali in 2000, four members are still present and after the last eight years in China, we are well pleased to be back in Indonesia.
So any changes in the band for this gig?    
Yes, we have 26 year old Sinahi De Los Angeles, and the band has found not only an amazing singer, bass and flute player, but a seriously sexy kick-ass frontperson. This Venezuelan stunner brings a new, fresh vibe to SOLIDAZ, one that everyone seems to love.
In that 19 years what changes have you seen in your side of the music business – namely being a cover band?   
For sure music continues to evolve, but the funny thing we have noticed is that a lot of songs that we used to play decades ago have come back. The other night we were asked to play some Shaggy by young kids. Wherever we go we learn the latest greatest current hits, but we find that people still like 80’s pop and rock classics too.
How was Bali back in those early days?  If you can remember…
The party scene was so alive back then, or at least it seemed to be for me. Pre first Bali Bomb, we were out almost every night of the week, checking out different bars and usually ending up in Double 6, with an occasional encore at Scandal!
Woo-hoo! So what changed? 
Nothing, it’s still the same, but way much more of it. The Bali nightlife is still crazy if you want to be part of it.
So who’s in the band now? 
Chris Toal – keyboards lead vocal, Mark Tamati – bass, lead vocal, Sinahi de Los Angeles – lead vocal, flute, bass guitar, Campbell Hapi – lead guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, Kristen Hapi – drums, vocals.
How about Bang Bang, what kind of crowd are you getting there?  
Mainly people that come in out of curiosity are the ones who like it and stay all night!  We have a lot of people that do like the band and come every night while they are here in Bali on holidays.
And for what reason do you think they stay?
The band is sounding pretty awesome right now, and Sinahi’s vocals are really good, and she’s hot! (Boom!) Bang Bang is a sanctuary from the madness of the Dome. In our venue you can hear mainly R&B from the DJ, and one of the only international bands on the island.
And they are great at what they do!
You can catch SOLIDAZ live every Tuesday to Saturday from 11pm at Bang Bang, Sky Garden, Kuta.