Hot Hot Heat interview: Frontman Steve Bays on the band's final album, building his own studio, and high expectations

When it came to the moment of deciding that Hot Hot Heat would put out their final record, frontman Steve Bays says the band started "the same way they would any other" - arriving back from tour and heading into the studio.

But the band faltered during production, the album was put away, brought out and dusted off, then put away again, until Bays completed a record with his other project, Mounties, and decided to approach Hot Hot Heat’s work in a similar way.

"I really have no idea what it means to put out a record out in 2016. It feels like we're getting a warm reception so far, and not any kind of… 'what are you doing here?' vibe," he says, speaking after a run through his favourite forest in Ontario, Canada.

"It felt like Hot Hot Heat was slowing down its intensity, because it was all we did since 1999. That was our main focus. So it was all good vibes, but it was slowing down. Then we recorded it a second time, and it felt like the old Hot Hot Heat came back to life."

By revisiting that sense of youth and energy present in 2002’s Make Up The Breakdown and 2005’s Elevator, there’s a cyclical feel to the new record. You can hear the enthusiasm in Paul Hawley’s drums on the dancehall-esque 'Midnight Sun', and Luke Paquin’s grinding guitar notes on the album’s first single 'Kid Who Stays in the Picture'.

"I seem to do my best work when I’m having fun," Bays says. "So I’ve been moving all the things that aren’t fun from my life, and I wake up and have fun until I go to bed, and I’m making lots of records - but my aspirations aren’t world domination any more.

"Being from a small town and always being in punk bands, putting on these DIY shows wherever we could find a space - it was a hobby. Then when it became a job, it exceeded our expectations, and some of us had to update our goals."

Bay sounds unconvinced about whether Hot Hot Heat will tour this record, admitting he’s the one being "violently pushed out the door" when they go on the road.

open image in gallery

"When you’re being asked if you want to go on tour for another three months after you just got home, you need a full band of people going 'yes, let’s go!'. There was a period when we were like that, but after a certain point I became unsure about how much longer I wanted to go on.

"But once I get out there it’s my favourite thing," the 38-year-old concedes. "And my girlfriend’s looking at me right now reminding me that she really wants me to tour this record - which is pretty awesome. There’s a family dynamic here, and I don’t think I could do this without that feeling."

His bandmate Hawley gave an interview in 2004 where he was admirably frank (some would say cocky) about how he wanted the band to achieve international success. At this moment, Bays says, he and Hawley were "extremely aligned" on what they wanted to do.

"We’d write songs and drink tea and watch this Beatles anthology over and over, and we fell in love with the idea of making challenging music that sounded fresh but still appealed to a wide audience. It’s such a fine art. And I think that’s when Hot Hot Heat is best, when we’re doing that - a bit punk, a bit pop - and this record feels like the right balance."

Elevator is a curious, pivotal moment in the band’s history. For some fans, and many critics, it swung too far in the direction of guitar-focused rock, with the latter group accusing the band of playing it safe - a consequence, it was claimed - of signing to a major label "too soon".

For others, it was a development of a band who showed a promising ability to adapt when it suited them; featuring some of the same abrupt tempo changes and raucous guitar sheets, whilst also including more tracks that had potential for mainstream radio play ('Bandages', the top 20 single off the band’s first LP, was banned from UK radio in 2003 amid growing concerns over references to war and bloodshed). It also proved to be a good business decision.

"There’s a certain amount of money to do the next step if you want to reach more people," Bays says, and you can hear the shrug in his voice. "It was a numbers thing - so we signed to a label with a good track record, cool bands…

"To be on Sub Pop [the band’s first label signing] was a bit of a badge of honour in an underground sense - you could be an indie band but as soon as that logo was on your posters more people were turning up. We supposedly sold the most records on Sub Pop next to Nirvana, so for me it was like a natural jump to a major label."

Hot Hot Heat’s contemporaries were making similar moves - in 2005 the Strokes had just signed to RCA and The Hives became Hot Hot Heat’s label mates at Sire - the American label owned by Warner Music Group.

"Those guys wanted to reach more people but still keep their credibility, like us," Bays says. "But loads of articles were like 'oh, signed to a major, that was quick'. Personally I couldn’t care less."

Contracts were signed, and Hot Hot Heat had offers from producers who Bays feels were too keen to make drastic changes with the band’s sound. After they began to work with Rick Rubin, Bays was uncomfortable at the direction they were being led in, so they opted to have David Sardy [Jet, Wolfmother, Oasis, Ok Go, Marilyn Manson etc.], who’d studied under Rubin but also performed in various punk and rock bands, work on Elevator instead.

"Maybe for some people it was too pop," Bays says. “For others it’s their favourite record. It’s my girlfriend’s favourite, and that made me happy… but it definitely was a turning point."

What’s wonderful about Hot Hot Heat is that you can pretty much always tell which record a track comes from - each album has a unique sound and style, which, while it wasn’t necessarily intentional, perhaps best shows how the band stubbornly resisted pressure to put out another 'Bandages'.

"I remember reading an Ice-T quote, which was something like 'Figure out what people love from you and never change'," Bays says, laughing. "And we kind of did the opposite, but I do remember thinking, ‘he’s probably smart’. We’d like to hear the Weezer Blue album, the first Strokes record… unfortunately making a record there’s so many variables, so many stars that have to align, and it takes the pressure off."

“Part of the reason why I built my own studio is because I became increasingly aware of how much the people you hire can make or break you. And that became scary." Bays says the band turned down a half million dollar advance from Warner to make their next album. Instead he taught himself how to record, and began working on the band's new material.

"Maybe in retrospect it seems kind of silly to have done that, but it means now I can make records all the time and have them sound how I want," he says.

"I didn’t like the part where you had to beg a record label to give you money at every stage in your life. There had to be this approval process where they’d be like ‘we’re not sure if you should record that one’, and you’d be like 'what?! You can’t tell me what to do'."

Not wanting anyone to tell the band what they could and couldn't do creatively, Bays says their self-titled swansong Hot Hot Heat is a move back towards the DIY production that worked so well on their early releases - the dirty sounds that they’ve been figuring out over the years, along with additional emphasis on the songwriting.

For the latter, Bays found inspiration in childhood friends, particularly on 'Kid Who Stays In The Picture'.

"There was a friend of mine I grew up with - we played in bands together for years, and I always thought he was gonna be a famous comedian, or a famous actor," he says. "And he ended up going in a completely different path - grew up to be this humble, serious fella. The same thing happened with another friend, who was this crazy nut job comedian, then there was that turning point where he just became a totally different person and moved to the countryside.

"I’m at a time in my life where I’ve been noticing that a lot - it’s not a bad thing, but for someone who’s tried to stay a big kid for so long… even in the band - Paul’s become a man, he just had a baby, and you realise the life you’re living now won’t stay that way forever. I still feel like a teenager in some ways. But also like I’m 60 in others."

open image in gallery

For fans who have been with the band since the beginning, it will surely be impossible for them not to make the link between this friend and Hot Hot Heat’s own story; the expectations of worldwide success and the reality, which is something the band can still be proud of. And at least, it’s put to Bays, they were never a band to have one hit before doing a disappearing act.

"The way that the music industry is right now is that it’s really good at promoting one song to the entire world in a massive way," Bays nods. "It’s like trying to put lightning in a bottle - to try and manage and maintain that. And maybe that’s why I built the studio - you’re really at the mercy of so many factors when you have a hit song.

"And unless you can create that level of success every time you put out a single, it may not be a sustainable career. It is weird. Especially with the speed with which listeners consume music now. you used to save up and get one album and sit and listen to it - that’s the way I listen to music."

He pauses and doubles back on himself. "But then I did just get into streaming - my girlfriend’s always sending me songs. I love that I can be out jogging and she’ll send me something - 'listen to this!' - and that can make my entire day.

"It’s really up to the artist to think outside of the typical milestones for success to judge where they’re at in their career. I don’t think you should be in a band if your goal is to have hit singles and make money. If you have a hit it should be a bonus, and if you don’t sell records or get a record deal… that shouldn’t stop you. I’m looking at the Hot Hot Heat vinyl right now," he adds. "The 12” is sitting there, and that feels like an accomplishment - to me the process of making the album is the hardest part."

Bays is clearly in love with the idea of building things - his studio, the new record - and so it makes sense that he feels so passionately about continuing to produce physical works that serve as a kind of proof of the effort that went into them.

"I don’t necessarily want to make music with the expectations that go with a Hot Hot Heat album - it feels easier to write when nobody’s paying attention," he says. "To me all the matters is figuring out how to get the best results, creatively, out of yourself."

Hot Hot Heat’s final album is out now - order on CD, vinyl or digital download here