Band: Hot Water Music
Label: Epitaph Records
Official Site: Click here
Date: November 20,2003
Conducted by: Ryan Palkovic

TMF: I haven’t been able to find a bio for Hot Water Music anywhere.
JB: Really?
TMF: Yeah, there hasn't been an official bio posted as far as I can tell.
JB: There's one up on the Epitaph site, they have a publicity section with bios and pictures and stuff.
TMF: I see, I see. Well give me a quick bio anyway.
JB: Oh wow!
TMF: Oh come on, just the 30 second version.
JB: It's really boring man. We're from Florida, we've been friends for a long time, and...
TMF: That's basically it eh?
JB: That's about it, yeah man, there's no [really deep story to] the band. There's nothing really crazy.

TMF: I get ya. A lot of artists feel a lot of culture shock when they leave home, where'd you feel that the most?
JB: Japan.
TMF: I didn't know you'd toured in Japan!
JB: Yep!
TMF: Right on! How was that?
JB: It's great... It's a lot more, alien. I mean you can't read anything. It's a completely different set of characters from the alphabet, you know what I mean? Everything is just completely foreign, so much more than most anywhere else - stuff like that.

TMF: A lot of people have described "Forever and Counting" as sort of an extension of your previous album, as opposed to quote, "taking it to the next level." Do you ever consciously try to take things to the next level or do you just sort of...
JB: No, we don't really have a game plan when we write. We try to make each album a little different with hopes of something better, but there's not a goal in mind when we sit down to make an album.
TMF: So you're just out there to play music?
JB: Yeah, totally.

TMF: That's rad. Hot Water Music is the title of Charles Bukowski collection as I'm sure you know. Why that one? JB: It's not... We didn't have a name, and one of the guys was reading it at the time and it seemed like pretty good band name, but there's no real correlation between our music and Bukowski; it's strictly a name.

TMF: How many interviews do you do on a weekly basis?
JB: Well the albums been out for a while now, so not all that many really, but when the album first came out we'd do like three or four per show.

TMF: Depending on the way you answer this question will determine how I tell you I found out about your music. How do you feel about the RIAA's recent decisions [to go after p2p users]?
JB: I'm really split on it. [Pirating music] is definitely stealing, because we make so little money off the records in the first place. I mean the bands make two dollars or less per album sold no matter how much you pay for it. And while it's kind of a neat thing for the consumer, it's fucked up for the bands. Now, it doesn't really affect us personally because we don't sell enough albums for it to really add up. But it has affected the music industry so all the labels are laying off vast numbers of people.
TMF: You think that all can be attributed to internet piracy?
JB: Yeah, definitely. Everything, every label... there's been like 5000 layoffs.
TMF: Are you serious?
JB: Yeah, it's killing the fucking industry as it is right now. I think it would be really great if everyone restructured everything, but the fact remains that even if CD prices come down, which they should, the bands are going to get less money per album. It's always gonna fuck the bands in the end no matter what, and the labels are never going to get fucked. I mean, they're fucked right now, they're not making as much money as they're used to because they make such an incredible profit margin on album sales And really, because it's such a large profit margin, they're never really going to be screwed in the end. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t care if people download music at all but I mean, overall, it really has affected the music industry. Seriously, record sales are at al all time low almost, and, I don't know. On one hand you're going to have some major labels trying to rethink the way they do things; they're going to make things more affordable and more audience oriented because you don’t.. You have to buy the album to get that one song, and they don’t want to have a bunch of albums with only one good song on them. But yeah, I think a band like Metallica going after them was pretty ridiculous. But at the same time it takes a band that size to actually go after them, and that's just kind of the way it goes. So yeah, I am really split on it. I think the fact that they're targeting 12 year old people is simply fucking ludicrous. They're going about it in the totally fucking bulldog.. they're going about it in the way that major labels go about everything - totally fucking lame. Alright, it's not totally fucking lame, I just think that they could just ...
TMF: Go about it in a better way?
JB: Yeah. I mean 9 out of 10 times I don’t think there's this evil corporate guy, I just think they don't fucking get it. I mean come on! You just sued a fan of music. They're going to remember that for the rest of their lives, and so is everyone else. I mean, do you really think that person is ever going to buy another record from your label? You see what I mean?
TMF: Totally. Do you think the labels guerilla tactics are going to throw more fuel on the fire?
JB: If it were me? Sure! I mean it's like fuck you man. You're going to sue a 90 year old lady who barely knows what e-mail is? But yeah I’m really split on it. I think they way it should be is you have to pay a fee to download a song.
TMF: Kinda like what I-Tunes is doing?
JB: Yeah. I think that's totally awesome and that's the way it's gonna go; like actual packaged cds and packaged records, it's sad to say, but they're going to go out the window, and that sucks because a lot of artists put a lot of time an energy into coming out with a fully finished product. It's not just an album, ya know? It's the lyrics and the artwork that they want to get out there. It's a work of art, their work of art.
TMF: But there's always going to be the people that buy albums, probably for the same reason they do now; they want the packaged deal.
JB: You're right, and you know what? Even if I burn a cd I'll go out and buy it if I really like it. I don't want blank cds laying all over my house and whatever.

TMF: I don't mind the burned CD look. So I sense a little bit of distaste towards major labels coming from you, how do you like Epitaph?
JB: I love Epitaph, and it's not really a distaste for major labels it's just...
TMF: The way they handle things?
JB: The way they handled [internet piracy] definitely. But, I don’t know. There's a lot of really great labels out there and one of the greatest ones was just bought out and it's kind of getting to the point where there's just one, and I don’t think that's the best thing in the world. I mean there are a lot of faults in the way they do things. It's kind of like they don't want to put you out because they think you're good, they put you out because they think they can make a few bucks off of you. But then again that's kind of the way it works. I'm gonna sell my shirt to you for seven dollars, because if I don't then I can't pay my fucking rent. and if I can't pay my rent then I can't go on tour and that's just the way it goes. But, I really don’t know. I've never worked with a major label so I'm kind of talking out of my ass. But, while I haven’t, a lot of my friends have, and a lot of them have had really great experiences, and a lot have had really piss poor experiences.
TMF: And that's just kind of the way it goes.
JB: Yeah basically. I mean of all the bands that get signed, so few of them are actually going to make it long enough to be around for more than one record, and I can see how it's not really a risk worth taking with a lot of bands. I mean if you're gonna sign, sign a good contract and then you don't really have anything to worry about as long as you perform.
TMF: Do you think a lot of people just don’t really read the fine print?
JB: A lot of people are so young when they sign that all they really care about is getting the money, and they don’t realize that that's not their money, they have to pay it back to the label when they go on tour and put out their album. TMF: And that's all they get.
JB: Yeah like, there's no real guarantee that they're going to release their record - there's so many things that can go wrong it's just ridiculous.

TMF: Wow. You know, I don’t really have any interesting segways here, just sort of a list of questions.
JB: Heh, that's alright man.
TMF: Well then. I know it's kind of cliché, but do you guys, well, you specifically for that matter have any real influences that you can contribute your...
JB: No. Well, yeah millions, but no one in particular. I think we're influenced more by the people we know more than the music we listen to ya know what I mean?

TMF: That's probably the best answer I've heard in a while. Do you have a favorite band to play with?
JB: I cant really give a straight answer without feeling like I'm leaving out like a million of my fucking friends, so I’m gonna say that every band we've played with has been awesome.

TMF: You guys seem to be in somewhat of a genre of your own. How do manage to keep, at least to me anyway, an original sound when everything else is sounding more and more alike?
JB: Well that makes me want to sound even less like it, obviously, and I don't know. I mean, we always kinda have an idea of what we wanna hear when we play, and the rest just kind of comes out naturally. There really isn't any purpose other than to make it good and to have fun. You know? So that kinda makes it hard for people to get into us, we're not an easy sell band. But i kinda like that. Most of the records I really like I don't like freak out on right away, I have to listen to them a few times before I really get into it.
TMF: That's kind of what I found happening with me. I downloaded just about everything I could and just let it play. After a couple of hours I just sort of, I mean I don't know any names or any lyrics.
JB: I still don’t even know all the lyrics.

TMF: But that's okay because you play the bass. What do you go absolutely crazy about not having when you're on the road, and what do you have to have as soon as you get home?
JB: Nothing really. Well no, alone time, but that's about it. You know what I mean. Everything is else is just kinda of whatever.

TMF: Alright then, I'll get out of here and leave you by yourself.
JB: Really?
TMF: Not just yet. How many guys do you travel with?
JB: 8 usually, including us.
TMF: In just one RV.
JB: Yeah.
TMF: That's a lot of people in one RV. I'd go nuts! I've heard that you guys are going back in the studio...
JB: Yeah, probably in April is what we're shooting for right now, but we don’t really have any solid deadlines at the moment, but that's the next thing on the list.
TMF: Individually speaking, what contributions have/do each of you put into the writing process?
JB: It really depends. I can't think of the last time someone came in with a song from beginning to end that didn't get changed. It's a pretty organic process. Certain things are like this is going to go like this and that's going to go like that, but then it gets figured out from there. It all just sort of comes together on its own.

TMF: Is there any song that you all just hate to play that people tend to like?
JB: A lot of the older stuff because it's old, but not too much more than that, I pretty much like to play everything.

TMF: Is there any amount of money that a label could offer you, fame and fortune basically, but you had to get rid of someone in the band?
JB: No. Not at all. We're in it till the end.
TMF: And you can say that honestly?
JB: Oh yeah. There's no way. I mean, we've been friends forever; no amount of money is going to buy that from us.

TMF: I know this is kind of personal, but I’ve heard that your girlfriend just moved to upstate California.
JB: I'm single now.
TMF: Ahh the single life.
[off the record conversation]

TMF: If a group of your biggest fans could go back in time to relive three of your defining moments, what moments would you chose for them to go back to?
JB: That's easy. Writing our first song, playing our first show, and putting out our first record, those are the best things that have happened. I mean as far as being in a band goes; those are the biggest things to do. After that, you're just sort of going back over the actions.

TMF: Good point. Everyone sort of goes through the phase where they think nothing can touch them, what finally snapped you out of that?
JB: Wow. It's been so long since I was there, I just- But you know it happens all along, all the way through your life. There are a number of things. Every breakup, every bad show, every bad day- the terrible job you've got; they all kind of remind you that, "Hey! Reality is really here."

TMF: If you could change one thing about yourself, one thing you regret the most, what would you change?
JB: I honestly don't think I'd change anything really. Anything that I regret doing is worth learning something from, and that way you won’t end up doing it again.
TMF: Make sure history doesn’t repeat itself.
JB: Exactly.

TMF: That was more of a poignant answer than I was expecting, kind of caught me off guard. Moving on, so when you're not on the road, who do you spend most of your time with?
JB: It's pretty much the same guys we hang out with on tour; the band, the crew; that's pretty much it. We've been friends for so long, that's kind of how it goes.
TMF: Well that's all I’ve got, so I guess this is it. Thanks a lot for letting us interview you, you were great.
JB: It's not a problem. I hope you enjoy the show!