Hot Girls, featuring two members from the band Desmond Jones, makes its SpeakEZ Lounge debut on Friday and let’s face it: No one knows just what might happen on stage. The Local Spins back story.
Bowling Over Fans: Hot Girls proclaim that every show is different … and goofy. (Courtesy Photo)
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The sorta punk band Hot Girls is in a basement rehearsal space in Wyoming, running through a few of their upbeat, surf-rock tinted songs while in character as the “fame-chasing,” “chart-topping” trio.
They’re going over which of their lyrics need to be excluded from a radio performance later in the day before diving into the set list.
John Nowak clicks a tempo with his drumsticks and the band launches into a riff while chanting “UGA BUGA” in unison. Kyle Seasly holds down the bass while Isaac Berkowitz strums electric guitar.
“This band is just very silly, and we like to be very silly. It’s easy for things to get green lit in this band, and I think that’s nice because we’re all friends and enjoy each other’s perspectives and abilities,” says Nowak, who along with Berkowitz, has long performed with the Grand Rapids jam band Desmond Jones.
“It’s been fun to be a little bit more free in the songwriting process for this band. Everyone’s kind of on board to just rock it out.”
Hot Girls performs at SpeakEZ Lounge for Local Spins’ winter concert series on Friday (Dec. 12). The show begins at 8:30 p.m., with West Michigan’s Wilson Ave. opening. (A $5 surcharge is added to patrons’ bills to help pay performers. Show details here.)
LISTEN: Hot Girls, “Huge Loads”
LONGTIME PALS JUST AIMING TO HAVE FUN
The songs are short and punchy, comedic and often participatory. With a catalogue that includes titles like “How to be a Bean,” “Swamplords” and “Rat Soup,” Hot Girls are committed to the bit, which is not taking themselves too seriously.
But the music itself is driving, full of punk-rock energy and quirky moments of showmanship.
The three musicians met in the 8th grade, quickly forming a bond through their shared interest in music. They started one of their earliest bands together. From there, they contributed to other musical acts such as Desmond Jones out of Grand Rapids and Big Power out of Chicago, before forming Hot Girls in 2019.
It’s their history and the ability to let their guard down around each other that is a driving component.
“The three of us have been incredibly close friends since eighth grade. I think we became a unit in eighth grade. And we’ve been playing music on and off, whether we’re in bands or just jamming since then, pretty much regularly,” says Berkowitz.
“The first band that all three of us were ever in was together. So it was fun to experience the early stages of learning how to be in a band and then all of us kind of went our own ways for a while and had experiences separately. Then we came back together with both of our previous experiences and individual experiences. It makes this a band where we can just kind of have fun and use those years to make some exciting things happen.”
Audience interaction is also an important part of the show, whether the audience “gets it or not.”
Once, during a show at Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids, the band called musician Jesse Ray to the stage. Instead of recruiting the rockabilly singer and guitarist to sit in with his instrument, they simply had him sit in a chair with his back to the audience for the duration of a song.
“There’s an element of people not knowing whether or not we’re joking too, that I think makes it even funnier, at least from my perspective. It’s funny if people laugh, but sometimes it’s even funnier if people don’t laugh,” says Nowak.
“We’ve got some bits that we do for every show, but it’s always different and off the cuff, and will happen even if there’s only one person in the crowd.”
LISTEN: Hot Girls, “Rat Soup”
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