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Arts & Entertainment

Local Band Releases Second Studio Album

Drummer and East Meadow resident Rob Capace gave Patch an inside look.

Before 2009, if you asked East Meadow resident Rob Capace if he expected to soon be recording tracks in a studio, chances are he could have never guessed.

Capace, a 2002 graduate of , joined a Lindenhurst-based reggae-rock band in the summer of 2009. The foursome has recently taken their career to the next level with the band's second studio album, a self-titled record, 'Hazmat Bay.'

"I wasn't in the band for the recording of the first album," Capace explained. "I joined the band, and my first performance with them was their record release party when they debuted 'The Red Tide'."

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Capace began on the drums at the early age of five, but was put on a near 20-year hiatus when his parents wouldn't allow a drumset in the house.

"I only started playing regularly a few months before my daughter was born [in 2009]," he told Patch. "I've never taken a lesson in my life."

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Hazmat Bay was originally founded in 2008 by Lindenhurst natives Jesse Nissenbaum and Erik Schmidt who hoped to change the face of the Long Island rock scene with their mixture of rock and reggae sounds. As of today members are Nissenbaum, lyricist on the guitar and vocals, Capace on the drums, Jeff Lockhart - the newest addition - on the bass and Matt Gaudio spinning on the turntables.

After nearly one year of playing live and riding the road with the "The Red Tide", Hazmat Bay announced in 2010 that they planned to start recording a second album.

"This album is a culmination of about a year and a half of studio time," said Capace. "I really think that we have grown together as musicians."

"I definitely think that I have become a better musician and been able to gel with the guys so we can make music that comes from the soul," the drummer added.

Through years of touring, the Long Island band has shared the stage with musical legends like The Original Wailers at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale.

"That was an awesome experience," Capace said. "We got to meet Allen Henderson and the rest of the guys.  I thought, 'Wow, you guys were in the presence of Bob Marley,' and that was enough for me to be awe struck."

Though their new record is much different from the music they have produced in the past, their roots of reggae-rock shine through more than ever. From day one, the band has been inspired by artists such as Sublime, Phish, Bob Marley, 311, Incubus and countless others.

Their self-titled album, recorded at SRS Studios in West Babylon, was released April 20, when Hazmat Bay headlined a record release show organized by Club Loaded at the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre.

"We're stoked to finally be able to get it out to the public, and we hope you all dig it," Capace said of the new work.

Tracks from the latest album are now available on Reverb Nation and the full record can be purchased through PayPal by e-mailing Hazmatbay@gmail.com.

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