This is an amazing story that needs to be told. It’s a story of how I came to know of one of the greatest bands I have heard in years, The Hot Sprockets.
On a recent trip to Dublin, Ireland, my friend Peter was approached by a local elderly man. The man asked Peter if he would mind helping him cross the street, since he was a bit slow. Peter gladly obliged. They started making small talk and he ended up walking with the man for four blocks. Along the way, the man gave Peter an unsolicited history lesson about the local area. One of the places the man mentioned was “a Secret Record Store,” called Freebird Records.
Since I have some of the greatest friends in the world, Peter remembered my love of music on vinyl and went into the record store to purchase me a wax gift. He asked the store clerk for “the best new band you have available on vinyl that we probably haven’t heard in the states.” Without hesitation, the guy behind the counter picked up The Hot Sprockets vinyl, Brother Nature. He played it over the speakers in the record store for Peter. Within seconds of hearing the bluesy opening track, “Quarter Roam,” Peter knew it would be the perfect gift for me.
When Peter returned from Ireland, we got together at my place to share some beers he had brought back from O’Hara’s Brewery. He had previously told me about the beers so I was already excited for that but I was completely surprised when he handed me a bag containing a copy of The Hot Sprockets’ Brother Nature on vinyl.
I opened it immediately and threw it on the turntable, anxious to hear what these guys sounded like. All I can is that my friend Peter knows me well because I love every single track on this album. This album has everything from straight up rockers like “Boogie Woogie” and “Shake Me Off” to slow jams like “Homeslice”. After a few listens, the song that got stuck in my head the most was called “Comin’ On.” This song is very catchy and full of soul (Check out a live performance of “Comin’ On” below).
By this point I knew that we had stumbled upon something great, so I texted my friend Nathan who I knew would dig The Hot Sprockets. Within ten minutes he texted me back saying “I checked them out on their bandcamp site and they sounded pretty rockin’ so I went ahead and bought their LP, only 200 pressed.” This came as a surprise. I couldn’t believe only 200 copies of this album were pressed and I owned one of them! To top it off, when Nathan received his copy in the mail, the band gifted him stickers, a copy of their first album on CD, and a handwritten note thanking him for buying the album (See pic below). What other band does something so incredibly nice like that?
I knew that I needed to share my love of The Hot Sprockets with anyone who would listen, so I brought the album back to Mitch’s house after a Shows I Go To Staff Meeting. We listened to the album several times over the course of a few beers, and many new fans were made that night. People came and went throughout the night and they all had something to say about the music. The most common phrase we heard that night was “Who is this? This is awesome.” Check out this sweet performance of “Homeslice” from Brother Nature below.
When I got home that I night I decided to pay it forward and buy a copy of Brother Nature for Mitch. With only 200 copies being pressed, I knew this was an album that he needed to own on vinyl. I hadn’t received the album after a week and to my surprise I received an email from The Hot Sprockets front-man, Soper, who assured me that my record was on its way along with a few extra goodies. He apologized for the wait because the band was in Spain in hopes of a record company releasing the album there. I was blown away at the fact that this guy took the time to write me a personal letter explaining the whereabouts of my album, without me even asking. The record arrived soon after along with CD of rarities and a tote bag with The Hot Sprockets logo on it. After I told him what we do at Shows I Go To, he even offered to answer a few questions for us (Check out the interview below).
The Hot Sprockets Interview
Shows I Go To: You have cited MC5 and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion as some of your main influences, what other bands have helped influence the sound of The Hot Sprockets?
Soper from The Hot Sprockets: We love Beck, Rory Gallagher, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Meters. The influences are very vast. We started with a blues sound because of our parents record collections and it’s what we dig… rock’n’roll! But we also like going into other sounds and genres it keeps listening to a record interesting and opens us up as musicians and song writers.
SIGT: How did the band originally come together to form The Hot Sprockets?
THS: Joe, Tim, and I are child friends from school and we met Franky from skateboarding the streets of Dublin. We met Andy from the gig scene.
SIGT: You mentioned that you played some shows in the states in the past, what cities/venues have you played? Is there a particular venue/event that you have always dreamed of playing?
THS: Yeah, we played Boston, Chicago and Kansas City it was a small tour, went really well. It gave us a nice taste of the place. It is tough to tour over in the states without big promoters that are working long time over there but we are confident we can get back over, supporting a bigger band seems the best way, that be nice, love to play Lollapalooza or Coachella BIG TIME! Our promoters are currently looking into different ways we can get back over to the states — they’re looking into Why Prism is good for promoters, which artists are looking for support acts, stuff like that.
SIGT: What was the most memorable show you have played so far? Have you played any European music festivals?
THS: Vicar St in Dublin last December. It was our own headline show and our biggest to date so far. It was a special night for us. We just got back from one in Spain called Anfirock, great fun! We Play Zwarte cross in three weeks it’s Holland’s biggest festival, looks crazy. We played a few here in Ireland and one or two over in the UK too.
SIGT: What bands/artists have you been listening to lately?
THS: Been listening to Matthew E.White‘s new record, T.Rex, Bjork, and Grinderman. Been going back listening to some Rory Gallagher. I’m learning one of his Bill Broonzy covers off for a solo show i’m doing. Good fun. He was a great player and a huge legend over here in Ireland.
SIGT: When can we expect a new album from The Hot Sprockets?
THS: Next year. We will record after summer. This year we have some labels and a great promoter hooked up so 2016 we’ll go hell for leather.
SIGT: What would it take to get you to play the states again?
Make sure to check out all of The Hot Sprockets’ music at their Bandcamp site. It looks like there are a few copies of Brother Nature left from that original pressing of 200 left. Help spread the word so we can bring these guys to the states! 🙂
The Hot Sprockets Interview by Trevor Bosmans.
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