Interview
Hot Water Music at the House of Blues
- Author:
- Review Date:
- 3/18/2005 14:36:05
Hot Water Music is a band out of Gainesville, FL who describes themselves, on their website, as “mainstream punk”. They are currently on the Guinness Green 17 Tour with headliner Flogging Molly. I had a chance to sit down with Hot Water Music’s bass player, Jason Black, before their recent show at the House of Blues in Orlando, FL. HWM drummer, George Rebelo, made a brief appearance as well.
Before I get to the Q&A, let me just say that the show was sold out, and the place was packed. One might naively assume, self included, that most of the people were there to see Flogging Molly, but I definitely saw and heard a lot of people singing HWM lyrics during their set. And just by looking at the crowd, it was certain that they were having a good time. Hot Water Music put on a hot show.
SS: So, how does it feel to be playing at the House of Blues tonight?
JB: Kinda the same as it has every other time, but I really like this [location] a lot. Out of all the ones we’ve played at, this is my favorite one. And it’s cool to be playing with the Molly’s.
SS: Being that we are in Orlando, which is so close to Gainesville, will there be a lot of friends and family here tonight?
JB: I hope so. I mean, you never know when you do support tours. Especially with the Molly’s because they’re so big, and most of these shows have been selling out so quickly. These tickets are a lot more than our shows are usually, so it depends. My mom and my step-dad are here, and we have a bunch of friends coming down. I don’t know how many people are going to come out just to see our show, but Orlando is always a good time for us. And, I’m sure we have a lot of fans in common [with Flogging Molly], too.
SS: Are all four members originally from Gainesville?
JB: No, we’re all from all over the place. We kinda grew up in Sarasota, and we moved to Gainesville where we started the band.
SS: Do you all still live in Gainesville?
JB: Chuck lives in Los Angeles, but the rest of us do.
SS: How did HWM come together as a band?
JB: Sort of just from around town…when we grew up, a bunch of us worked next door to each other, and we’d see each other at shows…nothing spectacular.
SS: It just came together?
JB: It just worked out that way. There’s no magical story to the beginning of it.
SS: You recently headlined your own tour in Europe. How did that go?
JB: It was a lot of fun. Europe’s always really good. We did do a few supporting shows with New Found Glory in the UK. Europe, especially the UK and Germany, are always really quality shows for us.
SS: How do European audiences differ from US audiences, if at all?
JB: They’re kind of the same, but I think that they’re a lot more direct over there. They’ll just tell you, flat-out, that they think your show sucked.
GR: [German accent] Last time I saw you, you were great, but tonight you were a bit shit.
JB: You’ll hear that a hell of a lot more over there than you will here. Other than that…it’s all people to me. They either like it or they don’t.
SS: What’s the craziest and/or most interesting thing that happened while over there?
JB: George fell on his ass while playing the X-Box mounted on the wall.
GR: Shhhh…you don’t want to tell the world that. I don’t make mistakes like that.
JB: That was funny, but it wasn’t crazy.
GR: That was pretty funny.
JB: It was totally funny. It was a pretty mellow tour, actually. Crazy things don’t really happen, on tours, that are our fault anymore. It’s usually just happenstance shit.
SS: How is this tour, with Flogging Molly, going so far?
JB: It’s going great. The crowd response has been really good, and all of the shows have been really packed. It’s been a lot of fun so far. We’ve been friends with Flogging Molly for like four or five years now. It’s cool for us because we genuinely like them, and we really actually like their band, too. That doesn’t happen too often. You don’t usually get to tour with bands whose music you really like.
SS: What do you miss the most when on tour?
JB: Nothing really. It doesn’t really bother me one way or the other.
SS: What do you enjoy the most about being on tour?
JB: Getting to play at a different place everyday.
SS: What can a person expect at a Hot Water Music show?
JB: It depends on the night.
SS: Do you play any other instruments besides the bass?
JB: I play guitar and piano.
SS: If you could be a master of any instrument, what would it be?
JB: Probably the piano or the drums.
SS: Tell me a little bit about the song-making process within Hot Water Music. Does everybody contribute, or does one person typically write lyrics while another typically writes music?
JB: It differs from song to song and from record to record. It could be anything. For example, if somebody writes an entire song, vocals, melody and music, it has to pass everybody before we let it go. I just depends on how they start falling together.
SS: What was the first album that you can remember locking yourself into your room and listening to over and over again?
JB: The soundtrack to Miami Vice took up a lot of my time when I was little.
SS: Who are your musical influences?
JB: That changes everyday, really.
SS: Ok, then…looking back, was there anybody that impressed you so much that you simply had to make music?
JB: No, I just kind of fell into it, really. I started out playing in orchestra, and I picked it up from there. There are definitely bands that I really like and that really impress me, but they don’t really stay the same for very long.
SS: If you could play with anybody, alive or dead, who would that be?
JB: Probably The Cure or The Replacements. It depends on the day.
SS: What’s on your iPod or in your CD player right now?
JB: There are like 6,000 songs on my iPod including The Cure and The Replacements.
SS: Ok, so what band or song has been running through your head today, for example?
JB: Well, I had my “on the go” mix on today, but The Cure was the last thing we listened to on the way here.
SS: The latest album from The Cure?
JB: Yes.
SS: If you weren’t playing bass in a band right now, what would you be doing?
JB: I really don’t want to think about it.
SS: That might be why you are playing bass in a band.
JB: Exactly. It would probably be something extremely boring.
SS: Paper or plastic?
JB: Plastic.
SS: Coffee or tea?
JB: Coffee.
SS: Night or day?
JB: I’m going to have to split the difference on that. I do way too much of both.
SS: Dog or cat?
JB: Cat.
SS: Carnivore or Herbivore?
JB: Herbivore [I eat meat, but carnivore sounds gross.]
SS: Mall or thrift store?
JB: Mall.
SS: High speed or dial-up?
JB: High speed, definitely.
SS: Republican or Democrat?
JB: Democrat.
Before I get to the Q&A, let me just say that the show was sold out, and the place was packed. One might naively assume, self included, that most of the people were there to see Flogging Molly, but I definitely saw and heard a lot of people singing HWM lyrics during their set. And just by looking at the crowd, it was certain that they were having a good time. Hot Water Music put on a hot show.
SS: So, how does it feel to be playing at the House of Blues tonight?
JB: Kinda the same as it has every other time, but I really like this [location] a lot. Out of all the ones we’ve played at, this is my favorite one. And it’s cool to be playing with the Molly’s.
SS: Being that we are in Orlando, which is so close to Gainesville, will there be a lot of friends and family here tonight?
JB: I hope so. I mean, you never know when you do support tours. Especially with the Molly’s because they’re so big, and most of these shows have been selling out so quickly. These tickets are a lot more than our shows are usually, so it depends. My mom and my step-dad are here, and we have a bunch of friends coming down. I don’t know how many people are going to come out just to see our show, but Orlando is always a good time for us. And, I’m sure we have a lot of fans in common [with Flogging Molly], too.
SS: Are all four members originally from Gainesville?
JB: No, we’re all from all over the place. We kinda grew up in Sarasota, and we moved to Gainesville where we started the band.
SS: Do you all still live in Gainesville?
JB: Chuck lives in Los Angeles, but the rest of us do.
SS: How did HWM come together as a band?
JB: Sort of just from around town…when we grew up, a bunch of us worked next door to each other, and we’d see each other at shows…nothing spectacular.
SS: It just came together?
JB: It just worked out that way. There’s no magical story to the beginning of it.
SS: You recently headlined your own tour in Europe. How did that go?
JB: It was a lot of fun. Europe’s always really good. We did do a few supporting shows with New Found Glory in the UK. Europe, especially the UK and Germany, are always really quality shows for us.
SS: How do European audiences differ from US audiences, if at all?
JB: They’re kind of the same, but I think that they’re a lot more direct over there. They’ll just tell you, flat-out, that they think your show sucked.
GR: [German accent] Last time I saw you, you were great, but tonight you were a bit shit.
JB: You’ll hear that a hell of a lot more over there than you will here. Other than that…it’s all people to me. They either like it or they don’t.
SS: What’s the craziest and/or most interesting thing that happened while over there?
JB: George fell on his ass while playing the X-Box mounted on the wall.
GR: Shhhh…you don’t want to tell the world that. I don’t make mistakes like that.
JB: That was funny, but it wasn’t crazy.
GR: That was pretty funny.
JB: It was totally funny. It was a pretty mellow tour, actually. Crazy things don’t really happen, on tours, that are our fault anymore. It’s usually just happenstance shit.
SS: How is this tour, with Flogging Molly, going so far?
JB: It’s going great. The crowd response has been really good, and all of the shows have been really packed. It’s been a lot of fun so far. We’ve been friends with Flogging Molly for like four or five years now. It’s cool for us because we genuinely like them, and we really actually like their band, too. That doesn’t happen too often. You don’t usually get to tour with bands whose music you really like.
SS: What do you miss the most when on tour?
JB: Nothing really. It doesn’t really bother me one way or the other.
SS: What do you enjoy the most about being on tour?
JB: Getting to play at a different place everyday.
SS: What can a person expect at a Hot Water Music show?
JB: It depends on the night.
SS: Do you play any other instruments besides the bass?
JB: I play guitar and piano.
SS: If you could be a master of any instrument, what would it be?
JB: Probably the piano or the drums.
SS: Tell me a little bit about the song-making process within Hot Water Music. Does everybody contribute, or does one person typically write lyrics while another typically writes music?
JB: It differs from song to song and from record to record. It could be anything. For example, if somebody writes an entire song, vocals, melody and music, it has to pass everybody before we let it go. I just depends on how they start falling together.
SS: What was the first album that you can remember locking yourself into your room and listening to over and over again?
JB: The soundtrack to Miami Vice took up a lot of my time when I was little.
SS: Who are your musical influences?
JB: That changes everyday, really.
SS: Ok, then…looking back, was there anybody that impressed you so much that you simply had to make music?
JB: No, I just kind of fell into it, really. I started out playing in orchestra, and I picked it up from there. There are definitely bands that I really like and that really impress me, but they don’t really stay the same for very long.
SS: If you could play with anybody, alive or dead, who would that be?
JB: Probably The Cure or The Replacements. It depends on the day.
SS: What’s on your iPod or in your CD player right now?
JB: There are like 6,000 songs on my iPod including The Cure and The Replacements.
SS: Ok, so what band or song has been running through your head today, for example?
JB: Well, I had my “on the go” mix on today, but The Cure was the last thing we listened to on the way here.
SS: The latest album from The Cure?
JB: Yes.
SS: If you weren’t playing bass in a band right now, what would you be doing?
JB: I really don’t want to think about it.
SS: That might be why you are playing bass in a band.
JB: Exactly. It would probably be something extremely boring.
SS: Paper or plastic?
JB: Plastic.
SS: Coffee or tea?
JB: Coffee.
SS: Night or day?
JB: I’m going to have to split the difference on that. I do way too much of both.
SS: Dog or cat?
JB: Cat.
SS: Carnivore or Herbivore?
JB: Herbivore [I eat meat, but carnivore sounds gross.]
SS: Mall or thrift store?
JB: Mall.
SS: High speed or dial-up?
JB: High speed, definitely.
SS: Republican or Democrat?
JB: Democrat.