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Hot Hot Heat Information
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'Hot Hot Heat' is a Synth pop/Dance-punk rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The band is currently comprised by Steve Bays (vocals and keyboards), Paul Hawley (drums) and Dustin Hawthorne (bass). Luke Paquin (guitar) is currently touring with the band.
Biography
Hawthorne and Bays had been in many different bands together since 1995 and met Hawley in 1998. In 1999, Hawley bought a Juno 6 keyboard and asked Bays to try playing it, as no one else knew how. Hawley took over the drums from Bays and Hawthorne played bass. Matthew Marnick, who was a friend of the band, sang vocals.
In 2000 the band changed direction to a more melodic, pop-influenced style, losing Marnick and adding guitarist Dante DeCaro. Strongly influenced by the New Wave sound of 1980s bands XTC, The Clash, and Elvis Costello and the Attractions, the new lineup, with Steve on vocals, quickly released a series of 7" singles and toured extensively in Canada and the American Pacific Northwest, joining up with similarly-styled indie rock bands such as Les Savy Fav, The French Kicks, Radio 4, Ima Robot, and Pretty Girls Make Graves, and opening for established Canadian rockers Sloan on a national tour.
The band's touring exposure attracted the interest of Seattle record label Sub Pop, who signed Hot Hot Heat in 2001, leading to the early 2002 release of EP Knock Knock Knock, produced in part by Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie. That release was followed up quickly by the band's first full-length release, Make Up The Breakdown, produced by Nirvana and Soundgarden producer Jack Endino.
That album quickly found critical acclaim, and its singles "Bandages" and "Talk to Me, Dance With Me" received regular airplay on MTV and radio, including influential Los Angeles, California station KROQ, on whose charts both reached No. 1.
However, their track 'Bandages' was removed from commercial radio in the UK, namely removed from the playlist at BBC Radio 1, in the light of the war in the Middle East. This was thought to have hindered its position at #25 in the UK charts.
The track had been on the B list on the station, guaranteeing 15 plays a week and a potential audience of millions. It was removed because of a "prevalence of the word 'bandages' in the song", a spokesperson said.
In 2003 the band released a full-length album of tracks recorded prior to their Sub Pop recordings, Scenes One Through Thirteen, on the OHEV Records label. Reflecting the band's transition period between their original sound and the present, and thus very much unlike what fans had heard on Knock and Breakdown, Scenes met with mediocre sales.
In 2004 Make Up The Breakdown won "Favorite Album" at the Canadian Independent Music Awards by popular vote. Guitarist Dante DeCaro announced his departure from the band in October 2004, but stayed to complete Elevator. Dante handed over to replacement guitarist Luke Paquin when the band started their 2005 tour.
In 2005 Dante Decaro joined the ranks of Sub Pop artists Wolf Parade.
Discography
Albums
* 4 song 7" single (April 2000, Ache Records)
* Split (split 12" LP with Red Light Sting, 2000, Ache Records)
* 3 song 7" single (January 2001, Monoton Studios)
* Scenes One Through Thirteen (recorded 2001, released April 2003, OHEV Records)
* Knock, Knock, Knock (EP, April 2002, Sub Pop)
* Make Up the Breakdown (October 2002, Sub Pop) #35 UK
* Elevator (April 5, 2005, Warner Bros.) #34 UK
Singles
| 'Year' | 'Title' | 'Chart positions' | 'Album' | | US Modern Rock | UK Singles Chart | | 2003 | "Bandages" | #19 | #25 | Make Up the Breakdown | | 2003 | "Talk to Me, Dance With Me" | #33 | - | Make Up the Breakdown | | 2004 | "No, Not Now" | - | #38 | Make Up the Breakdown | | 2005 | "Goodnight, Goodnight" | #27 | #36 | Elevator | | 2005 | "Middle of Nowhere" | #23 | #47 | Elevator |
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