Hot Hot Heat

By: Debbie

popYOUlarity:What did you want to accomplish with the album?
Dustin:To not get dropped from our record label (laughs). I don’t know there were a lot of things, like not working with a producer we did not like. We wanted to make it more of a collaborative effort this time around. We wanted to make it a little more on the upbeat side, and a little darker than the last record. I think we achieved all those goals.

popYOUlarity:Do you look back at songs and see what you were thinking about at the time?
Dustin:Somewhat. That is a tough question. I can probably think of things that were going on in my life at the point, but I don’t know if that actually reflects on the songs that are written. Maybe something like what bands I was listening to would reflect on what I did in that point in time.

popYOUlarity:What genre of music would be torture for you to listen to for an hour? Dustin:Basically anything before 1978. The Beatles. If I had to listen to them for an hour I would have to probably cut my throat; I just opened a whole can of worms there. I don’t like country. I find country monotonous and boring; it all sounds the same to me. That is pretty much it. The Beatles, please, not even for one second.

popYOUlarity:What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten from a song?
Dustin:F**k the police. There you go, that’s a good lyric. However, that being said, I have never had a run in with the law in my life.

popYOUlarity:How much pressure did you place on yourselves to make this album a success this time around?
Dustin:I think a lot. It is always like that with every record you do. You’re always thinking that this could be the last one if we blow this. You’re always striving to achieve excellence regardless of when or where it is.

popYOUlarity:How do you, when you have a collection of songs, know you have reached a point where you say okay, this is our record?
Dustin:We actually had close to twenty five songs written and recorded for this record. It actually took a long time to weed it and take out the ones that we thought were not good enough. We sequenced it probably like twenty times. It just didn’t feel right until we went and recorded three more songs to replace songs that we were not totally sure about. This one was a lot harder to make it sound good start to finish and have it flow properly. The first record we did we only had those ten songs to record and only five days to record them, so it wasn’t like we had a choice. It just depends on the circumstances that you are in, and how much time you have.

popYOUlarity:Did your parents taste in music influence your taste in music?
Dustin:None. My parent’s weren’t really into music growing up. My parents really only listened to the radio in the car sometimes. I don’t think I even had a stereo when I was growing up. My mom only started getting into music when my band started to become popular. There was albums lying around, LPs. I don’t really remember listening to them. I think my neighbour had some cassette tapes that I listened to as a kid. My parents did buy me music when I was like twelve though. I asked for it specifically, it is not something that they went out and just bought.

popYOUlarity:How do you feel that you’ve changed since the last time you recorded an album? And how has that changed the music?
Dustin:As time passes you’re going to change regardless of what you’re doing. I mean, every time we put a record out we go on a whirl-wind world tour. We see so many things in a condensed amount of time. You’re bound to change just because of that. Also, just getting older and wiser. Maybe also a little dumber because we drink so much on tour. A lot of life experience is gained from being in a band and going on tour. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if I did not even start doing this. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I had never seen the Eiffel Tower. Definitely as time progresses you become different, for sure.

popYOUlarity:Is there anything you learnt from the previous albums that you applied to this one?
Dustin:Not to work with a producer you don’t like. It just makes for an awkward situation. We learnt that recording a record over three months isn’t the best thing to do. It gets really drawn out and the life kind of gets sucked out of it.

popYOUlarity:When you’re picking a producer now, what do you look for?
Dustin:Compatibility. Someone who is more of a mediator more than anything.

popYOUlarity:Is it frustrating because a song you make tomorrow might not see the light of day for a year or two?
Dustin:It does actually. You write songs and record them and then you have too much time to dwell on it and start to second guess everything that you have done. You kind of get bored of them after a while too.

popYOUlarity:Do you believe in the saying that hard work pays off in the end?
Dustin:Absolutely, with the amount of stuff that we have accomplished. The band has been together for less than ten years. Everything that has happened to us is definitely proof of that for sure. Writing songs, relentless touring; but if you work hard at anything you will succeed no matter what.

popYOUlarity:When you look at music today—is it amazing to you, someone that is in the industry, how fast fads are cycling—almost yearly?
Dustin:Kind of but not really. When we started the whole garage rock thing it was kind of popular. The bands except for those who were actually good such as The White Stripes and the Strokes have all come and gone. Electro-clash was in for about thirty seconds and now its not. If the bands are good they will stick around regardless of what genre or trend they are in. I think the UK is actually bad for that; things just come and go so fast. Sometimes you see a band that has music that may be kind of catchy and in six months are out the window because people forget about them.

popYOUlarity:Good music is like an onion-- it has many layers to it. Agree or disagree and why?
Dustin:I totally agree. There are so many things you can analyze. A good example is a band that I like called The Maccabees. Every part of that band, the guitar, bass, and vocals all totally intertwine together. If one part wasn’t there it would not be the same.

popYOUlarity:Does it just blow your mind to know so many people are enjoying Hot Hot Heat’s music?
Dustin:Yeah. It is cool. Not saying that we are absolutely huge, but everything is so accessible now.

popYOUlarity:Do you have anything you would like to say to the readers of popYOUlarity?
Dustin:Don’t listen to The Beatles (laugh).

+ February 5, 2008

Photo: Denise Fettback

Links:
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