Interview | Hotspit

Rapid-fire Questions

1. What have you been listening to lately?

Lots and lots of M. Sage

2. What’s the best way to fake my own death so I don’t have to keep paying off my student debt?

Have you seen the movie gone girl

3. When I die can you play a cover of 'Butterfly' by Crazy Town as they lower my casket?

yes

4. If you could send a message telepathically to everyone on Earth simultaneously, what would you say?

hehe hi(:

5. My friend Taylor is a fan of your music. Make him cry.

Hey Taylor! Thanks so much for being a fan. Unfortunately we’re actually at capacity as far as our fanbase goes. Do you have another indie rock band you could reach out to at this time?

6. Explain NFTs to me in 4 words

I cannot do that

7. What is the most paranormal thing that you’ve ever experienced?

My coworker showed me a scary ghost video the other day that really got me. I’ll link it at the bottom of this email.

(We'll add the video at the end of the interview)

8. On a scale from 1-10 how is this interview going so far?

I’d say a solid 9.3

9. What is your hottest take when it comes to music?

I don’t know but what if you got to heaven and god said “but first here’s my clean tone”

10. Any local Richmond bands that we should check out?

She, Alice Blue, VV, Tennishu, Post 65

To start things off, can you introduce/tell us a bit about yourself for those who may not be familiar with you?

Howdy(: we are Hotspit and we make sad songs for angry people and angry songs for sweetie pies

What first sparked your interest in music and what has your musical journey looked like so far?

My parents were both musicians in their own right. So there were instruments around the house when I was growing up. I think realizing music as a form of expression, as a form of processing emotions, was what really felt like the beginning. The journey has been really one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever known. Collaboration is a crazy thing, especially when you’re working with personal subject matter. But I’m so happy to be where I am right now.

When did you first start putting out music as Hotspit?

I think we dropped our demos in 2019

Had you recorded and put out music before then?

I (Avery) had not no. I had been a guest on some songs prior but nothing that was as personal.

Was there anything that first inspired you or pushed you to start putting out music?

We made the demos I think in two days so we could apply to Macrock 2019. And after that we figured we should actually put some time in to record.

What was it like coming up in the Richmond music scene?

It was not what I expected honestly. I remember before I was part of the scene seeing shows at Strange Matter and thinking that’s the pinnacle. That’s all I wanted to do was play on the Strange Matter stage. And then we came onto the scene and I think our second show was booked there. No one came but it felt like we had tackled something big, at least in my mind. But it’s a really inspiring place. There are so many talented people in Richmond and it’s nice to bump elbows around town.

The first song of yours I heard was “Wane Mouth”, can you give us some background on that song?

Wane Mouth used to be called Snail Mail before we had the official name for it because it sounded so much like a Snail Mail song, and that’s why we all loved it. I think I wrote the lyrics in practice, and that’s pretty much it. I remember writing that tiny riff and I don’t think everyone was as stoked as I was about it haha. When we were releasing the live sessions onto streaming platforms we had still called it Snail Mail up until that point, and I had to come up with a name quickly. Thus wane mouth was born.

Talk to us a bit about your latest release “CC”

CC was recorded at the end of 2019. We actually recorded an entire album during the session, but everything came out too slow, so we picked our favorite four and sat on them for two years lol. It took us a really long time to figure out what to do with it, whether we even wanted to release it or not. But I’m happy we did. CC the song was one of the first songs I had written for this project, so it felt natural for it to be the title. All of the songs are relatively old (to us at least) so it feels really good to have them in the world finally.

When you first started working on the EP did you have a clear vision of what you wanted your EP to sound/feel like?

Yes and no! I think it really started coming together once we started adding overdubs.

I think my personal favorite track off of the EP is Epitaph. Can you give us some background on that song?

Epitaph is about feeling lonely. I wrote it about a time in my life where I felt like I was spinning out in space just screaming. You know that scene in Midsommar when Dani is crying and all the women crowd around her and start crying too. That’s what I wanted the ending to epitaph to feel like. When we added the overdubs Kurt actually wrote that wonky piano lick on his casio and it stuck.

I hate the cliche “what is your song writing process” question, but I’m genuinely curious if you have a specific approach when it comes to creating music? Is it different every time? Do you just kind of feel it out as you go along?

I definitely don’t have a regime when it comes to songwriting. I have my acoustic guitar next to my bed at all times, and I usually play to decompress. Songs come out of that sometimes. Or other times I come up with a melody when I’m driving around and songs will come out of that. I’ve noticed I usually can’t write lyrics first. Those always have to come second.

I think something that always stands out to me is how personal and vulnerable the songwriting feels. How do you balance still writing about something personal while also not feeling like you're exposing too much? Is that even something that you think about?

Yes absolutely. There is a line of exposing yourself while also wanting your music to be somewhat relatable. The latter I don’t usually pay attention to but I think it’s still there in the back of my mind.

Is there anything in particular that you want to transmit through your music?

Not necessarily. I just want to be able to be expressive. I always wanted to be a writer but I was always too embarrassed. I feel like with music if they don’t care/don’t like the lyrics at least they might like the music. So I don’t feel as exposed.

Can we expect a full album anytime soon?

No (: We are going to start recording and releasing singles. I’m not sure when we’ll make it to an album, but we will have songs coming out very soon.

You were also on Audiotree Live not too long ago! What was that experience like?

It was lovely and terrifying. They are very sweet people over there in the windy city.

I saw that you (Avery) also release music under your own name and another project called Wifi Password. Can you talk to us a bit about those projects?

Yes! I’m also in another project called Desper Hollow (shoutout) with my friend Justin Belote. My solo work is just a fun way for me to mess around with recording and engineering. It honestly just feels like a stressful video game. But it’s nice to be able to do whenever I’m in the mood to. Wifi Password absolutely rules. Brandon Davis is the lead and he writes insane songs. I get to play lead guitar which is a brand new thing for me. It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of that project. Desper Hollow is really nice because Justin and I have been friends for a few years now but he doesn’t live in the city anymore. So it’s a slow burning project, and collaborating with him is a lot of fun because I think he’s a genius. The songs he writes are really truly beautiful to the core.

Also shout out to all of Hotspit’s offshoot bands - Castalia, Mazarine, and Addy <33

Can we expect a tour anytime soon? I guess specifically to Texas.

We have two small east coast tours coming up! (I’m so sorry)

What do you consider your coolest/favorite musical accomplishment so far?

One time we got to open up for Black Belt Eagle Scout in Delaware. That and the Audiotree feel like our biggest hitters.

What can we expect to see/hear from Hotspit in the near future?

We are getting in the studio asap. So you can expect some singles from us. Some brand new merch. Some really really tight shows with touring pals, and sooooo much spit.

Is there anything that you want our readers to know? Literally anything.

The FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds.

And to wrap things up, do you have any questions for me?

What is your favorite color(:

I think it's green. I haven't thought of that in a while.