Weshampton Band Uses YouTube to Promote Itself

A homemade video created by Haunted Hacienda, a Western Southampton-based, punk band has generated over 500 hits on YouTube since it debuted late last week.  Band member Brendon Henry hopes that the number of hits will continue to rise in an effort to promote the band.

“We were looking for another way to get our music out there and express it better,” said Henry.

The video, says Henry, who is the founder of the Westhampton BeachFestival, features a song that friends of the band, say is the “catchiest.”

“We asked a lot of friends and they said this song is the one that gets stuck in their head,” said Henry.  “So, we went with it.”

Called Juanita, the song, said Henry is about a guy who met a girl at a party, but lost her.

“They had a connection,” said Henry. “It is boy meets girl, boy lost girl, boy finds girl.”

To create the music video, Haunted Hacienda, enlisted the help of a friend, Adam Baranello, who works for the Town of Southampton and owns a production company, called AJB Productions of Ronkonkoma.

The video was filmed exclusively in Henry’s house and shows where the band holds practice.

“We all sat down and came up with a story board.  Most of the guys had some crazy ideas, but we had no budget so for sets we used parts of my house and our actual practice area. It’s true to form.”

The featured song, which includes lyrics, such as, “Have you seen her, have you seen her,” put to a catchy tune, is just one of many that Haunted Hacienda has produced over the past four years.

Henry says the majority of the band’s original songs, which reflect the band-member’s lives, are short at three and a half minutes apiece. 

“Our sets are usually forty minutes top,” said Henry, “ and we play twelve songs in a set.”

Among the band’s members are Henry, who hails from East Quogue and plays bass and sings; John V, an East Moriches guitarist; Dan Heim, a drummer from Center Moriches; and Seth Farrell, a Westhampton Guitarist.

Haunted Hacienda, will be playing locally on Saturday, April 9 at Casey’s in Westhampton Beach at 10 p.m.  There is no cover for the event, however, you must be 21 years or older to attend. 

The band will also be featured at the Long Island Punk BBQ on July 31; in Shirley at Candy’s Magic Pub on April 22; and at Fisherman’s Quarters in Hampton Bays on April 30.

To view the band’s video, which may not be appropriate for children, click here.