issue #02 pdf - Razorcake

on stage became an absolute, hilarious loon
who encouraged all takers to throw fruit as
hard as they could into his open mouth,
charged passer-bys on a rolling chair, and
ended the evening breaking open his nose,
while attempting a head stand into a 33 gallon
trash can, then yelling, repeatedly, "I'm
sick as fuck and I'm fuckin' sick," until
someone gave him a big hug and a fresh
towel for all the blood gushing from his
face.
HOT WATER MUSIC
Hot Water Music has crowd control
down to a science. They're not filling stadiums
on the West coast, but at every club
I've seen them, the band controls the bouncers
and it's not from direct confrontation,
which almost always backfires. Take, for
example, the Troubadour - a place that I'd
have to take both shoes and socks off to
count how many times I've seen people
taken out of there in choke holds. Although
there was rough but respectful dancing and
a couple of songs where the audience borrowed
the microphones, the bouncers stayed
to the wings. I can make the assumption that
the meat sequoias (aka bouncers) weren't
chained to their stations.
The reason is a core philosophy of the
band. Sure, it sounds cheesy when I'm sitting
at a desk typing and you're reading it
off of newsprint, but Hot Water Music
demands respect. Not for themselves, but
for the audience amongst themselves.
They're cognizant that they're playing fast,
aggressive music, and that, shit, it's easy to
jump around like a hotfooted raccoon,
jacked up, surrounded by a fire. Instead of
insisting that people remain calm when
they, themselves, freak out while playing
their instruments, it's all about the unity that
comes with a lot of people flailing around.
Have fun, but if you start taking swings, the
music will stop.
The main difference between Hot Water
Music's and Leatherface's live show is how
much HWM bounce around and the number
of times they have to use towels to wipe the
sweat off their instruments. (4)
Let me make this clear. Some bands
jump around because they feel like they
have to, because it's in the marketing plan
(along with product placement t-shirts,
super-obvious tattoos, and sexy/constipational/dipshitinal
sneering. Poo like New
Found Glory and everything that Drive-
Thru Records (A + M's official farm team)
puts out, comes instantly to mind.) But Hot
Water Music differs. They're physical
ciphers. Just as the reaction of a needle on a
piece of vinyl actually vibrates in a groove,
you can hear the motion in the music and
see it get acted out in muscle and gristle,
right there in front of you, by four guys
pouring themselves out, note by note.
Another thing about Hot Water Music: I
believe that they believe in what they're
singing about - and their belief is as rugged
as it is poetic. Years back, they were
singing about unity. After endless tours,
they couldn't even stand themselves. Rather
than pull a Journey - where it's all hugs and
kisses on stage and sharpened knives for
back stabbing offstage - they took the honorable
route. They broke up with no plans to
rejoin.
After a six months lapse of decompression
and beard growth, games of pool,
pitchers of beer, the band came to a simple
realization - playing music together
is what they do best, it's what gives
them happiness.
"You don't want this war anymore.
See what was wield, and it
shines on back to what blinds me.
I don't want to be blinded."
-Hot Water Music, "Translocation"
Hot Water Music is rock'n'roll: that simple,
elusive beast that's summoned by
unlikely heroes beaten into an inch of their
lives, only for the heroes to come back with
an even finer edge to their songs. If you
latch on to the sloppy modifier "emo,"
you're mistaken. They're not singing songs
about their man pussies getting twisted into
their Fugazi-patched backpacks, yet they're
nothing like straight-up street punk bands
that simultaneously champion the working
class while putting down minorities. They're
both tough and tender - not giving an inch
on either - like a baseball glove, a leather
jacket, a perfectly worn pair of Chuck
Taylor Converse (American production,
RIP), or a long fight with someone who you
know will remain your friend after the last
blow.
I'll end at the beginning. The first time I
saw Hot Water Music was at a music store
that has long since closed. They played their
live set in the 7" section, between the Ms
and Zs. I'd heard of them, but I was there to
see Discount. I remember the beards and
that George, the drummer, looked almost
exactly like my best friend with slicker hair.
I remember thinking that they'd damage a
lot of the records in the store, not from
jumping off the stands, not by play-action
smashing their guitars against the glass
cases, not by disrespecting the audience, but
by the enormous heat and sweat that poured
out of 'em. I thought they'd warp the album
covers. Get them mildewy.
Who'd of thought it was the beginning of
a musical warp in my mind.
FOOTNOTES:
(1) Leatherface was duped. A "major
that wasn't a major," courted them and then
turned out to be just that: a self-interested,
money-driven business that sold musical
product and thought of it solely in terms of
units. "Mush" - what is widely considered
their masterpiece - was released on Seed, an
imprint of Atlantic that had the longevity of
a donut in a cop's hand. It's reported that
between 10,000 and 20,000 records were
pressed. There was no college radio hit. The
band was shelved, along with the masters
and publishing rights, which Seed holds to
this day. That's the problems with the major
leagues of the music industry.
Semi-authorized bootlegs of Leatherface's
shows (in Dublin and Oslo) have been
released through Rejected Records, by a
man that Frankie refers to as "that fat
fookin' bastard."
Everyone in the band seems happy with
their current label, BYO, which has supported
them through several tours and
recorded "Horsebox" (their first full-length
in seven years) with.
Hot Water Music's "Forever and
Counting" CD on Doghouse Records (the
recording arm of Lumberjack Distribution)
is in and out-of-print. During the last tour in
California, it wasn't available, and according
to Jason, the merch guy, it's a common
occurrence. Some Records, who put out
their penultimate CD, "No Division," suffered
from promising too much and delivering
too little. Tour support was scant and
friends of the band would be bumped off of
live show lists in favor of record industry
types. Although it is true that it's neat that
one of the guys that runs Some was in
Gorilla Biscuits, that in itself didn't assure a
smooth operation.
The one constant light on the porch for
Hot Water Music is No Idea Records. A
true and diligent DIY label that knows
exactly what it can do and does it without
fail, Var and Jennifer have kept a long list
of Hot Water Music releases in print, at reasonable
prices, just a mailorder away.
Their next album is going to be released
on Epitaph and there's a plan for two years
of touring to support it.
(2) The backs to the Leatherface t-shirts
all had the number "12." When I asked
Leatherface's tour manager Chris Schaefer
why the number "12," he said, "The goalie
is always number 1. The backup goalie is
number '12.'" It's fitting for Leatherface.
Seldom the opening superstar, but always in
the game.
(3) Leatherface: In the time when
Leatherface broke up, Frankie Stubbs was
in the bands Jesse and Pope. Leatherface
has shared members with Snuff. Frankie
Stubbs has also released a solo album.
Lainey was and still is the drummer of The
Cockney Rejects. Dickie Hammond went
on to a band called Doctor Bison.
Hot Water Music: Chris and George are
in The Blacktop Cadence. Jason Black
joined with Bill (formerly of Discount) and
Jason Rockhill (roadie extraordinaire) and
formed Unitas. Chris and Chuck are in
Rumbleseat (a stripped-down country outfit,
in the vein of early Johnny Cash). Chris has
hooked up with the drummer of Radon and
formed the band with the best name of the
year: The Cheryl (Cro)Mags.
(4) Although, this time, Chuck seemed to
be doing most of the jumping. Chris felt a
pull in his knee and was being cautious with
it. Although Jason's wearing a
knee brace, he spun around a lot.
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