With sweat from his golden 'fro drenching the audience, Hot Hot Heat front man Steve Bays was the definition of high energy at their Baltimore show Monday night. Such enthusiasm is thrust into all the band's endeavors, a common desire to "rock out" being its source, guitarist Luke Paquin said.
While the Vancouver band formed 10 years ago, only in the past few years has it tackled the charts and the hearts of critics with the band's intensely dance-able singles "Talk to Me, Dance With Me," "Middle of Nowhere" and "Bandages."
Influenced by all types of music, Paquin said their own eclectic tastes are what create such a unique sound.
"Personally, I come from a different background than the other guys," Paquin said. "I'm more into country music, like Johnny Cash and Willy Nelson, while they like a lot of '70s punk and new wave stuff. The sound came out really interesting because there's no one influence."
Hot Hot Heat's latest release, "Happiness Ltd.," is a little louder than their last album, he said.
"At some point in the '90s, the word 'rock' kind of became a dirty word because there's so much cheesy [stuff] out there," Paquin said. "So for a long time bands were afraid to say they wanted to rock out. We're getting comfortable with that now."
Hot Hot Heat hoped to have the album out a year ago but was delayed in that endeavor. Most of it was written on the road and in hotel rooms during their last tour. Traveling became their inspiration.
Although, it is nearly impossible to stamp a categorical name on the variety of songs featured on "Happiness Ltd.," Paquin said it can best be described as keyboard-driven, high-energy rock. His favorite song to play off the new album is "Harmonicas and Tambourines."
"I'm just excited to be playing new songs, finally," Paquin said. "The audience obviously still wants to hear certain songs, but we're looking forward to playing stuff we haven't played a million times."
With the parallel successes of Canadian indie musicians like Feist, The Arcade Fire and Metric, Paquin said he does not mind being lumped into a "Canadian" category but wishes it was not such a typecast.
"There are a lot of great bands from Canada, but people tend to make a big deal out of the Canadian factor," Paquin said. "Canadian or American, we just want to rock out."
Hot Hot Heat have toured with bands from north and south of the Canadian border, from The Killers to Bedouin Soundclash. The band they were most comfortable hanging out with backstage, however, was longtime rockers the Foo Fighters, Paquin said.
"Dave Grohl is just such a nice dude and with so much fame, that's huge," Paquin said. "He doesn't have to act like that."
Of his band's live show, Paquin said that audience members "can expect to see one of the best rock shows you've seen in a long time," and he was right. The success Hot Hot Heat has experienced thus far is only the beginning for this already decade-old band.
