The Hot Little Rocket in your neighborhood

In a surprising treat, Calgary's local champions Hot Little Rocket joined the Nearly Famous Fanfare with a slot on the File:Under Music showcase Friday night. It was still early, and the crowd really wasn't expecting such a force to take the stage. I'll do my best to fill you in on these events.

Taking the stage so unassuming, as subdued as everyday sirs could ever be, the band flipped the kill switch and broke into a fervor off the get go. Motion is key to this rock. Getting into the music, I find myself swaying, stomping and clapping. At the same time, I'm listening.. To a mature, electrifying and creative group we're not accustomed to seeing every weekend.







I want to avoid the "sounds-like-syndrom" but there was something in the lead singer that threw me backwards. The U.K. Subhumans hit the early punk scene in '81 and later morphed into Citizen Fish. I could go on and on, but regardless, the singer in Hot Little Rocket sounds like Dick Lucas, minus the Wiltshire accent, and with a slight touch of Shane MacGowan or Ian MacKaye, or perhaps just a lot of originality and many influences.

The band could draw to comparisons to a LOT of acts, but why bother? They aren't a copy of anybody. Hot Little Rocket is a unique rock extravaganza You can say "Built to Spill" but they're not that band. You could say The Odds, but they're not that band.

1st off, Andrew is a solid frontman-guitarist who stands his ground and belts it out wherever he's needed.

You've got murky, diminished soloing and a contemplative, hooky background vocals coming by way of Aaron

The Bass is attention-grabbing, but not disastrous, just right for Matt's sloan-y, cool vocals.

Behind the kit is a man I spoke to before the show, the ever-present Joel driving this joyride like he stole it.

The band started shifting gears like an F-1 racer. Joel was right, these guys like a lot of different things. It's all sort of brought together with a total raw flare. Seems like, the guys know each other well enough that they can coax visions out of one another and all contribute to this growing being.

www.hotlittlerocket.com

One more for the road. Enjoy!



From Calgary With Love:











I loved the set. Check this band out as soon as possible.