Born in Gainesville in the 90’s, Hot Water Music brings a brand of punk that is distinctly their own.
With 10 albums to date, the group are heading back to Australia for a night that’s sure to pack a punch. 2024 saw the group drop record number 10, VOWS, which was responded to quite positively by fans.
“The whole release process has been pretty easy,” bassist Jason Black notes.
“I don’t really have any complaints about it. We’re giving this one a little bit more breathing room and pushing it a little harder.
“It’s been fun for us too, and people seem to be down with it and reacting well to it. We’ve been integrating like four/five songs into the set list, and everything’s been going over well.”
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For a band like Hot Water Music, 30 years of music mean setlists are always a tough feat, there’s many people to try and please. Black notes the process the band goes through to get a solid setlist together.
“We try to just play everything that’s a focus track, because they resonate the best, like they still get the most attention from people. But there are songs that we will try and sometimes they don’t feel right in the set.
“It gets trickier and trickier, because we have so many records, it’s the same as putting a track list together for a record, where if we’re trying to winnow the songs down, and we have two that sort of occupy the same space, or kind of feel the same or have the same vibe, we chose one that fits more.”
You’d be hard pressed to find a live performer in 2024 that’ll jump on stage and play their music exactly like it is on the record. Instruments come and go, sections are extended, and songs take new lives once they hit the live realm.
“If we put together a set list of the top 20 streaming songs or whatever, it would be really boring. But there are times when we do think about if we’re working on a song or something like, “Oh, this feels like it’s going to be really cool live”, or “this part might be awesome live”. Let’s try to build it up more, or something like that.
“I always am the worst person about it when we’re in the studio. Someone’s like, “we’ll never be able to pull this off live” and I’m like, “it doesn’t matter”, because when you go to the show, you’re hearing the record in your head anyway to some extent, right?”
Hot Water Music will be coming to Australia alongside The Flatliners, fronted by Chris Creswell, Hot Water Music’s guitarist.
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“We love those guys. They’re all great, great humans, and the show feels cool together, musically, we work really well together.
“It’s funny, because when we did that show Chris was playing so he was actually stoked afterwards. He’s like, “Man, I just did that whole Flatliners set”, and then we got up there to play, and I was like, “Oh yeah, I don’t have to stand in the middle and sing the whole time”,” Black adds with a laugh.
“We obviously haven’t toured with them a lot since Chris has been in the band, because it’s kind of, it’s a little tricky, so it’s cool to be able to pull it off, especially down there. I think it’ll be a real, real special run.”
This tour marks 6 years since the group have been on our shores, with Black sharing his love for playing here.
“It’s been so long since we’ve been down there, it’s like a vacation whenever we come. I’m comfortable here, but if you told me I had to live in Australia, I don’t think I would be mad. I don’t think any of us would be. It’s kind of like if you took Florida and California and made a whole country out of it.
“Everyone’s always been really nice, all the cities are super cool. My favourite place is probably Melbourne, because that’s kind of The Rock City or whatever. But I don’t dislike it anywhere there. We’re all just super stoked to get back!”
Hot Water Music play Melbourne’s 170 Russell on Friday 21 February and the Torquay Hotel on Saturday 22 February.
Find tickets here.
