Hot Flash Heat Wave Plays To Hometown Crowd And Gets Turnt

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA- Hot Flash Heat Wave has been a band I’ve been dying to see live since the beginning of this year. They were on my list of acts to catch at SXSW this year, but for reasons beyond my control, I was unable to make it to the performance I had intended to attend. I rectified the omission at Outside Lands.

This would be a pretty special performance for Hot Flash Heat Wave as it would be a hometown performance at a festival they all dreamed of playing one day. Consisting of guitarists Adam Abildgaard and Nathanial Blüm, bassist Ted Davis, and drummer Nick Duffy, these longtime friends took the stage with glee and treated it like home. The performance was casual, entertaining and filled with the kind of raucous energy that only a hometown could imbue.

What was really evident on stage was the bond that these guys shared on stage. As cheesy as it sounds, you could tell that these dudes were best buds, playing off each other with a casual ease that’s totally enviable. I got the chance to speak with the fellas after their gig, and the impression I got of them manifest itself in person.

NOTE: In my audio recording, I couldn’t tell who was differentiate who was talking when, so their response below are hereby deemed “collective”…

Hot Flash Heat Wave [Portrait] @ Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival 8/12/18. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.

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I know you guys expressed your happiness playing in front of your hometown crowd, how is that feeling performing at a big festival like this?

It’s surreal… surreal and it’s lovely.

Yeah, it’s really great because, I mean, we’ve been on the road for a while, and coming back and having a really warm welcome is really special, so yeah, it’s cool. And Outside Lands is like an OG San Fran festival, so it’s really great.

So are you guys done touring for the rest of the year or no? Cause you have been touring since at least March, I know that.

Far from it… We’re still in the middle of tour. Tomorrow we’re going to driving to Los Angeles and then we’re going to play, San Diego and Orange County and Phoenix, Arizona and then the tour is over. Then we have three weeks off. Then we have another tour, a national tour, with The Frights and Honey.

Oh, that’s fun.

Can we announce that yet, Garrett?

Yeah, we’re good.

Okay, cool.

What? Come on, bro!

I didn’t know.

We announced it on IG. Ha Ha!

Hot Flash Heat Wave [Portrait] @ Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival 8/12/18. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.

Are you guys going to start recording anytime soon? Or you going to wait until your done?

We are kind of in the middle of recording an EP right now. We’re almost done. We were aiming to finish it before this tour we’re on right now, but we couldn’t do it in time. Once this tour concludes on Friday, we’re going to have three weeks before the next tour starts, and we’re going to knock out recording and finish that up and then we’re kick it into mixing after that. Definitely have it out later this year, sometime.

And when you guys are writing the music, is it like a communal effort or is there somebody who actually writes the songs?

It depends. I mean, there’s typically a primary songwriter at this point. Someone who kind of writes the majority of the tune and then brings it to the collective and then we all tweak it together, but it really depends on the song. Sometimes it’s more collaborative in nature and sometimes it’s more solo in nature.

Once you’re on your break and you go out on tour with The Frights, I mean, is there something you are looking to hone while you’re on tour? You guys’ sound really polished live, I really like your presence and everything.

For me, personally, every show is different. Every show, obviously the crowd hears one thing and we hear a different thing on stage, but one thing I’ve been trying to get good at, is just to forget what it sounds like to us and to put on a good performance. Because it’s just fun if you can enjoy yourself on stage and not worry about… just trust what it sounds like out there… you know?

Do you gauge your vibe on the audience reaction to the music while you’re playing?

Well yeah, for me, it goes beyond the sound and it’s more like putting on a good performance because obviously you want yourself to sound good, but if you are so concerned with what it sounds like to the audience, then you won’t maybe put on as good of a performance. That’s me, personally. It’s something I’ve felt.

…And I agree. I feel like it’s always as you are touring and playing a lot of shows, it’s good to meld to with the audience as much as possible and kind of bridge the gap between stage and audience and make it more magical and it’s just a fusion of energy. When that really happens, when the audience is really pumped and you’re pumped, that’s where the fun really happens.

Hot Flash Heat Wave [Portrait] @ Outside Lands Music And Arts Festival 8/12/18. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.

So other than your hometown crowds, is there a particular city that you really look forward to playing again?

Florida.

(Laughter)

Florida’s insane.

Florida’s crazy as fuck.

What’s up with Florida?

I mean… they get down.

We were there for the first time ever, and we walk on stage to tune our guitars, and they were like fucking standing ovation, screaming their minds out…

How did your music get out to Florida? Just social media kind of stuff?

Who fucking knows? It might just be turnt.

Florida’s turnt.

(Laughter)

The alligators, the swamps love it.

Swamp Rock.

Swampy Dreamers.

I know it’s the sunshine.

We’re trying to fill the swamp. Trump is trying to drain the swamp; we’re trying to fill the swamp.

(Laughter)
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What are your goals for the rest of the year?

Watch my figure. Not get a beer belly.

Trying to meditate at least two hours a day, until the end of the year.

Put out some new music; make everyone happy, that’s it.

And fucking fill that swamp up, right?

Yeah, we’re going to fill the swamp. We’re going to overflow it.

We’re going to fill the swamp.

Aye yo, low key though, we tried to go to a gator petting facility in Florida, it was $20 a piece and we couldn’t afford it. But next time we’re in Florida, yo, we are going to be at the gator petting zoo, and we’re going to be really enjoying ourselves. So Florida, see you soon, baby!

(Laughter)

I’ll take it!

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