Hi, everyone! A few days back, I sat down for an interview with Ted Davis, bassist and vocalist of the San Francisco-based surf rock band Hot Flash Heat Wave. The band originally started with Adam Abligaard (guitar/vocals) and Nick Duffy (drums), but the four members met as high schoolers in Davis, CA back in the early 2010s. They released their first full-length LP, Neapolitan, in 2015, and they have continued making music regularly ever since. I’m a huge fan of a lot of the music they’ve released over the year, and I wanted to reach out and learn more about the band’s career.
bazzreviews: Which artists or albums had an influence for you to start a music career?
Ted Davis: I definitely grew up on the Beatles, and that was a big influence. In high school, I liked the Strokes a lot. When I first started producing, I listened to a lot of Toro y Moi. Underneath the Pine is one of my favorite albums of all time, I probably listened to it about a thousand times when I was in college.
bazzreviews: You mentioned the Beatles and the Strokes as being an influence on you- I’m a huge fan of their work too! What are your favorite albums by each group?
T.D.: For me, it’s probably Revolver by the Beatles and Is This It by the Strokes.
br: I love those records, too. So, I understand that Adam Abligaard and Nick Duffy were the original members of the band when you guys were in high school- how did you first meet them?
T.D.: We all played in bands together when we were in high school out in Davis [CA], and we performed a lot of garage shows. The music community there was a built around supporting these small, high school garage bands. I was in a band with Adam called Paper Scissors Rock, and Nick was in a band called Mommy and Daddy. Because we performed together at a few shows, we ended up meeting and starting Hot Flash Heat Wave.
br: How did you guys come up with the band’s name?
T.D.: It was Nick’s idea, and it was just kind of a random word association. It mostly had to do with the 110-degree summers out in Davis. It has somewhat of a Strokes vibe, with a slight hint at menopause.
br: Can you guys describe how you guys make a song?
T.D.: These days, we usually like to start with a melody or one instrumental piece. We’ll then try to work around that. Nick, Adam, and I have all been making demos individually, and we just record at home with Ableton. Once we have a song idea ready, we’ll bring it to the table and work on it together. We might try to get certain pieces recorded either professionally at home or in a studio. For our latest EP, Mood Ring, we recorded the drums onto tape at a studio in North Hollywood. That was pretty much the only element that wasn’t recorded at our homes. Our first two albums were recorded in the studio, but as we’ve learned more about engineering and have more equipment, it’s almost easier to record at home.
br: Do you guys like to get things right when you’re in the studio, or do you prefer improvising?
T.D.: I think it’s a process. I’ll write a part, and sometimes when we record, it’ll work out well for the rest of the song. If I don’t like something, I’ll go back and re-record it before I put the final stamp on it. It’s almost about what sounds good to me.
br: What do you value more, lyricism or production value and instrumentation?
T.D.: That’s a tough call. I think naturally, the first thing I hear is the production in the song. If it’s a catchy instrumentation, I’m hooked. That being said, I also connect with songs with good or clever lyrics. If they make me think or feel a certain way, then that’s what will keep me coming back to relisten to a song.
br: In some of the band’s songs, I’ve heard lyrics regarding the theme of love and romance- would you say that you use music as a way of reflecting on your own life?
T.D.: The process is therapeutic. A lot of the song ideas will come when I’m using music as an outlet or at a time of overwhelming emotion. When I feel overwhelmed, I just sit down with a guitar and sing off the top of my head. What comes out is typically meaningful to me, and that’s oftentimes where my best lyrics come from.
br: I understand you do a lot of graphic design for the band, do you design the album covers?
T.D.: Yeah, I’ve had a hand in all the cover design. In general, I’m the guy who designs the merch. I designed the cover for Neapolitan, and I was the art director on one of our photoshoots. Our last cover was a collaboration between me and a very talented designer from Austin named Claire Burns. The concept was something I thought of, I provided some references and she executed the design. She has a really dope style.
br: What influences contribute to the creating some of the album covers?
T.D.: As we were first starting out as a band, I was really attracted a comic book, pop art aesthetic. When we were passing out our first EP before Neapolitan, we wrapped the CDs in pages from comic books. That influenced a lot of the covers for our singles. The album art for Neapolitan got morphed into the vaporwave trend that was happening at that time. Something they taught me in design school was that you have every ingredient available when you’re cooking, so which flavors are you going to pick? My angle on the cover art was making a visual combination of flavors, hence the album’s name “neapolitan”. It kind of reflected what we were shooting for sonically at the time, too.
br: If you could compare Hot Flash Heat Wave's sound to any other band, who would it be?
T.D.: I think we’re sounding a lot like Toro y Moi because our sound is always changing depending on what we’re really in to. In terms of actual elements, I would say it’s like the Smiths meeting the Strokes: jangle pop meets garage rock. Lately, we’ve been introducing some R&B and neo psych elements into our music. I’ve never tried to write for a specific genre, I just write to make something cool.
br: I know you guys released a few singles last year, but do you have any other upcoming projects?
T.D.: Yeah! Now that we’re done with our Mood Ring tour, we’re working on a new EP. It’s going to come out sometime in the fall. There will be more touring plans announced then, too.
br: Can you tell me a little more about it?
T.D.: It’s going to be another EP that is like Mood Ring, but with some different sound influences. We’re trying to release as much music as possible right now, so you can expect some new tunes coming soon.
br: What music goals do you guys have for the future?
T.D.: We want to play some big festivals in 2019, and hopefully do a world tour in 2020, baby! We’re hoping we can continue we’ve had in the last year, and we’ve been very fortunate for that. Another idea that I hear a lot in music is that you should make music for yourself, and I never really got why. Right now, my goal is making music in a way that feels good for me, but I think it’s very important that I’m helping our fans and giving them something they like. A big reason that I want to make music is because of the effect that music has on our world. I think it’s magical that music can bring people together and they can connect to certain songs. It’s important to be genuine, don’t get me wrong. At the same time, I love the fact that people can listen to one of our songs and have it be meaningful to them.
Thanks again to Ted for giving his time for an interview, and keep your eyes out for their new EP! HFHW has a really sick sound, and I strongly recommend that you give them a listen. Thanks again to you guys for reading this article, and more great content is coming your way soon!
To support Hot Flash Heat Wave, go to https://hotflashheatwave.bandcamp.com/
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