Canada is the birthplace of great musical artists like Joni Mitchell, Alanis Morrisette and Corey Hart (famous for the 80s classic "Sunglasses at Night"). Canada also is home to an emerging indie scene. The Constantines, The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene all hail from our northern neighbor.
Hot Hot Heat is one Canadian band that has quickly gained popularity at home and abroad. You might know them for their U.S. hit, "Bandages."
The group was founded by lead singer Steve Bays, drummer Paul Hawley and bassist Dustin Hawthorne. After a recent change at guitar, the band added Luke Paquin and now tours with their eclectic combination of alternative, synth-pop, rock and dance music.
Hot Hot Heat will play Starr Hill this Sunday, so if you can put off Mom's pumpkin pie and some well deserved rest for an extra day, you won't regret it.
tableau: What was it like working with Dave Sardy (who has produced albums for The Walkman, Jet and Red Hot Chili Peppers) on Elevator?
Steve Bays: Dave did some weird things. He would have really out-there ideas that would sometimes work. Other times, he would just help us look at things in a new way.
Sometimes, he would help settle conflicting thoughts about the music. He was definitely interesting to work with.
How do you think the band's music has evolved since Knock Knock Knock?
We are always changing. We are always on the road and constantly writing.
We have guitars everywhere we go, like backstage or at the airport, and we just sit down and write whenever there is spare time.
We listen to new music that inspires us. It is all a constant process of growth, especially being a touring band, because there is so much to see. And we get better as musicians through the touring -- our performances have improved.
In what ways have the changes in the band's lineup affected the band's music?
We lost our guitarist Dante; it took us about a year and a half to find a replacement. We're still cool, though, there are no hard feelings.
We were always asking other bands if they had heard of anyone. Then, while we were at The Echo, someone suggested Luke, and it worked out perfectly.
He is an amazing guitarist, and the band has really changed with him. He brings a whole new sound, and makes it so easy to write new songs and record.
We are constantly recording now, [where] before there was a much bigger gap between the albums.
How do you decide which bands will be part of the tour?
We are constantly listening to new music. We are 100-percent involved in which bands we tour with. They are always ones we love. We just constantly buy new albums and explore different bands.
Do you think it's more difficult trying to break into the music scene in the U.S., being a Canadian band?
No.
I think if you really love it, you will do everything to make it happen.
If people like the kind of music you do, it doesn't matter. People will seek [you] out no matter what.
America is a beast -- it takes a lot of energy and focus on any band's part. Actually, Canadian artists don't tour Canada nearly as much as the U.S. because of that, which is kind of sad.
After this tour, what's next?
We are focusing really hard right now on touring -- like it is a really long process, and we practice two hours a day before every show. So that is our main goal right now. But we are actually probably going to be releasing a new album in April that we are in the process of recording right now. Most bands don't release albums so quickly, but we are just writing so much, and have so much more material.
A lot of that has to do with the addition of Luke. Luke has really given us a whole new perspective and has some great new ideas. But we are really excited. It has a whole new sound we have been working on.
Read the rest online at cavalierdaily.com/tableau.
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