POZ Gallery: The Revival Tour
Features: Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause, Jenny Owen Youngs, Rocky Votolato
Location: The Bell Room - Brooklyn, NY
Photos By: Rebecca Reed
PropertyOfZack had the chance to speak with Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music a few weeks ago for a great interview. We discussed Hot Water’s cycle since the release of Exister, an upcoming tour, taking an extended break from the band, The Revival Tour, other plans, and much more. Check it all out below!
Hot Water Music had a pretty busy summer and fall, following the release of Exister. You also had a stint on Warped Tour. Would you say the months following the record have been as great as the band could have hoped for?
Yeah. Absolutely. We had some great shows. It was a good time getting out and playing the new material. We did quite a bit of shows; a lot more shows than we had initially planned on doing. It was a good time. It was a blast. We had a great opportunity to tour with some good friends and went out to support Gaslight Anthem and Rise Against. That was fantastic as well. We’re looking forward to wrapping that all up with this January-February headlining tour across the US with The Menzingers and La Dispute.
Surely there was fan excitement for Exister, given that it was the band’s first release in a long time. But there were probably nerves as well, regarding how the album would sit in with fans. From what you could see, we’re most fans pretty responsive to the record?
For me personally, it was the complete opposite. I wasn’t worried about it at all. That’s always the goal. I feel like if you ever focus or end up worrying too much about what people are going to think or how people will accept what you are doing, that’s kind of heading in the wrong direction. We had a ton of material, and we were really confident with it. When we came together initially in Fort Collins and got in a room a few days before we went into The Blasting Room, we had already chosen a batch of songs to start digging into. Once we started just barreling into them, it all started coming together really quick. We had a good time putting the songs together and everyone was really open-minded. Honestly, there wasn’t a whole lot of pressure. You would think it would have been the opposite of that because it had been so long since we had done a record. I just think that over the years and with the time apart, everybody had definitely grown quite a bit within our own craft. We just kind of put the pedal down and handled it.
The band is going to be releasing a new live record through No Idea in January. Will that be nice timing for the winter headlining tour?
A live record? Yeah I guess so. Maybe I’m a little out of the loop there.
The headlining tour was announced a few months ago with La Dispute and The Menzingers. That’s a little bit different of a lineup than people were expecting, but people are excited to have a different sounding band like La Dispute on the bill. Was that a choice made by you guys? Was it nice to have more diversity in the lineup?
First and foremost, we’re fans of both of those bands. We had the opportunity to play some shows with The Menzingers overseas, some different festivals. We met them for the first time and they’re all really nice young gentlemen. Then we took La Dispute out when we were overseas a while ago and we had a great time touring with them. They were a fantastic band and great guys. We really enjoyed them. Not to mention that each band kind of draws a different group of folks. We’re going to be able to rally a bunch of people that normally wouldn’t be at the same show it seems; to get everybody in the same room, have a great time, and put on a good show.
Will this be sort of wrapping up the Exister cycle? Will Hot Water Music be taking time off after this?
Yeah for sure. Probably quite a bit of time off in 2013. We may do some stuff here and there if it comes up. I’m completely overloaded already in my own direction. Everybody has got stuff going on all over the place. But who knows? The best part about the band, nowadays to me, is that we just do stuff when it makes sense and have fun doing it. There’s not a whole lot of pressure.
The 2013 Revival Tour with Chuck Ragan, Dave Hause, Rocky Votolato, Jenny Owen Youngs, and more have been announced. Check out the routing and lineup below by clicking “Read More.”
Chuck Ragan will be releasing a book called The Road Most Traveled that features stories, tales, and anecdotes from tour life over the years. Check out all of the details for release as well as the book artwork below by clicking “Read More.”
Chuck Ragan recently performed an acoustic set at the Hartford, CT date of Warped Tour. Check out the full set below by clicking “Read More.”
Hot Water Music have released a music video for “State Of Grace.” Watch it below by clicking “Read More.”
Chuck Ragan filmed an acoustic version of “Nomad By Fate” with The Revival Tour when it stopped in Las Vegas, NV. Watch the performance below by clicking “Read More.”
Chuck Ragan recently recorded three songs for a new Nervous Energies Session. Check them out below by clicking “Read More.”
Brian Fallon and Dave Hause joined the rest of The Revival Tour (Chuck Ragan Tim Barry, Tom Gabel, Cory Branan, Dan Andriano, Joe Ginsberg, Jon Gaunt) in Philadelphia for a very special show. Check out all of the members of the tour performing on stage together that night below by clicking “Read More.”
Hot Water Music have released a new song called “Drag My Body.” You can stream it here.
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Hot Water Music Album Artwork
Hot Water Music, La Dispute European Tour
Hot Water Music Album Details
Hot Water Music will be releasing Exister on May 15th via Rise Records. You can check out the track listing for the record below by clicking “Read More!”
The 2012 Revival Tour will be kicking off in the US on March 19th with Chuck Ragan, Tom Gabel, Dan Andriano, Cory Branan, Nathaniel Rateliff, and other surprise guests. Check out the updated routing below by clicking “Read More!”
Chuck Ragan has released three covers of “The Times They Are A-Changin,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” and “Chimes Of Freedom” by Bob Dylan. You can download the covers here.
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Dates Added To The Revival Tour
Hot Water Music Hit The Studio
POZ Review : : Covering Ground
The 2012 Revival Tour will be kicking off in the US on March 19th with Chuck Ragan, Tom Gabel, Dan Andriano, Cory Branan, Nathaniel Rateliff, and other surprise guests. Check out the updated routing below by clicking “Read More!”
POZ Flashback Session: “Cut ‘Em Down” // Chuck Ragan
