First off, I have to say that I'm one of those guys who, the minute one of their underground bands starts to get big and gain traction, has a tendency to hate on them and stop listening to their music. I did that with Hot Water Music. The last record I bought from them was "A Flight and a Crash." Man, that must've been around 2001. I was one of those guys constantly going to see Hot Water Music play. When "Fuel for the Hate Game" came out, Hot Water Music played in front of maybe 100 to 150 kids at the show. Maybe the show cost me five bucks to get in. But when Hot Water Music shows started to become pricier, and I started to see them in mainstream magazines, mentioned a few times on MTV, and going on tour with some pretty big bands—mainly when the goofy emo kids who were listening to My Chemical Romance started rocking Hot Water Music shirts—I bailed.
Yes, I know, I know. You're sitting there thinking to yourself, "Man, this guy is an idiot," and you're right, I am. I missed out on so many good records from so many bands over the years just because I thought they had gotten off the path. But now, yes, now I am older and wiser. A friend of mine sent me a link to the new Hot Water Music record, "Vows," and said, "You gotta listen to this." Now that I'm older and much wiser, I did give it a listen, and I'm gonna tell you, this record is phenomenal. It's not the same as that old Hot Water Music sound from the late '90s and early 2000s. It's different, and different isn't necessarily bad. For me, this difference is really good, maybe because their music has matured as I have matured as well. Either way, this record is definitely something that's in my playlist on a weekly basis now. It’s also sparked me to go back and look at past records from Hot Water Music, and I’ve found some amazing stuff.
I am very sad that I missed Hot Water Music here in New York on this last tour they came through. Even in my old jaded age, I still couldn't shell out $75 to see them play. Maybe it was just on principle because I'd never paid more than eight dollars to see them in the past. Maybe I'll regret that later on, but either way, this band is still as amazing as they were when I first heard them back in '97-'98.