A spotlight interview with Saz, Sadie and Daiz of Hissy Fist, ahead of their appearance at LOUD WOMEN Fest Bristol this summer.
How did you choose your band name?
We wanted to subvert the misogynistic and patriarchal ideas that having an emotional response and calling shit out that made us feel uncomfortable wasn’t ‘hysterical’ or ‘too much’ but actually represented strength and being in touch with ourselves and our humanity!
Who’s in the band, and what do you all do?
Sadie – Vocals, writes lyrics, designs our logo, some of our outfits and promo
Daiz – Guitar and vocals, writes guitar riffs and lyrics, mixes our tracks
Saz – Drums, writes drum parts and occasionally lyrics
Collectively we all create songs together and come up with performance ideas, design and create merch and content! We do as much as we can DIY and also love collaborating with others in the wider music scene because we know we can’t do it all alone.
Where do you call home (geographically and musically)?
Bristol is home to our band and our creative ideas. Musically we have our roots in soul, blues, punk, riot grrrl, hip hop, folk, dnb, nu metal, pop and rock. We draw on our influences across genres, subcultures and underground scenes such as DIY scene, activist spaces and queer spaces to create our sound and to make sure our message hits, we’re constantly learning and growing. We are most at home making music that helps us process and speak out about the atrocities of the world, while honouring our softness and vulnerability.
Describe your sound in three words.
Noisy, Raw, Ethereal
Tell us about your music
We will be releasing our first single, Shiny Boots, at the end of June! It’s a cheeky, raging anthem against police brutality, we wrote because we are fed up of inhumane treatment of people at the hands of the police. It came out of some of our own experiences (including at community spaces and fundraisers) being unjustly targeted and violently dealt with. Shiny Boots draws on rap and breakbeat with a ferocious punk energy that will have you stomping your feet! Combining humour and rage! We wanted to give a ‘nah, nah, nah, nah, nah!’ school playground mockery vibe to it. ACAB forever.
Fans often connect to ‘Demons’, a song written by our drummer Saz about intergenerational trauma. The lyrics “I cry for my demons, I cry for yours too” resonate with just about everyone who has experienced cross generational pain. Saz wrote these lyrics to process how each generation’s trauma shows up in their behaviours and can end up continuing the cycle of triggering others’ pain and how we can be both a victim and perpetuator of trauma unless we consciously address it. We love how fans have connected to the song’s message and find their own experiences reflected.
What’s your local scene like — and how do you fit in, or stir it up?
Our scene in Bristol and the South West is incredible! Its a really welcoming space where bands generally uplift and support each other. We are so lucky to have cornerstones like Punka who tirelessly put on incredible queer nights, support bands and genuinely make an impact in people’s lives. With our genre non-conforming music style, we tend to stand out from a lot of punk and hardcore scenes, but feel at home in mixed genre line ups. We know our unique combination of influences along with our strong message is what people love about our sound! We would love to see more diversity in the hardcore and wider punk scene – we have been working hard to support and amplify marginalised POC and queer voices as much as we can and want to encourage more people to start a band!
If you could rip up the rulebook of the music industry, what’s the first thing you’d rewrite?
The idea that you can ever be ‘past it’! I (Daiz) used to get scared that there was a certain age I wasn’t going to be allowed to do music any more because of the shaming that used to happen of people who started bands when they were older. That’s bullshit! I hope to carry on making music for ages, maybe even still after I’m dead. There are so many artists now using the gorgeous wealth of experience that comes from being older to make amazing music. I hope to be one of them.
What’s the wildest/strangest thing that’s ever happened at one of your gigs?
Before Saz joined and made our lives a million times better, Daiz and Sadie were writing songs and did some acoustic shows for a bit. There was one gig we played that was for a community fundraiser at a squat (these shall both remain unnamed). After some bands had played, riot police showed up, broke the doors down, tear gassed, pepper sprayed and assaulted us. That was a pretty wild and strange end to a beautiful night.
What’s the proudest moment you’ve had so far as a band?
Playing the Trinity Centre 50th anniversary Garden Party was a huge moment of pride for us. It was one of the biggest stages we had ever played, and to perform at one of Bristol’s most historic community and arts venues was a dream come true. We especially loved playing alongside a mix of other artists, including soul artists, reggae and dub bands and dance music. An iconic moment was seeing children with their families in the front row jumping around to our songs! Did we create some tiny punks??
Dream lineup: you + three other acts (alive, dead, or imaginary). Who’s on the bill?
CLT DRP, Bob Vylan, X-ray Spex, Sinead o Connor! It’s our line up so we’re gonna do 4! Haha if we must, We’ll give up our spot and get in the pit!!
What’s next for you?
We will be playing a single release party on 27th June alongside some incredible bands THWACK! and Broccoli Boy so very much looking forward to that. We’re working on mixing a number of other songs and hoping to release a couple more singles followed by our first EP later this year. We are also playing Garageland Festival in Brighton on 25th July and of course Loud Women Fest at Exchange, Bristol on 22nd August! We also have some fundraiser gigs planned in Bournemouth and Stroud and would love to get back on tour and play more festivals! So get in touch!
Catch Hissy Fist at LOUD WOMEN Bristol on 22 August at The Exchange – presented by Punka
