Hot Water Music

Hot Water Music formed in 1993, when a group of friends got together after their other bands split up. The chemistry was immediate, and the foursome relocated to Gainesville, Florida, where Hot Water Music became one of the most well-regarded melodic hardcore bands of the '90s. Eminently tuneful, the quartet...

By Tom Murphy

January 31, 2013

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Hot Water Music formed in 1993, when a group of friends got together after their other bands split up. The chemistry was immediate, and the foursome relocated to Gainesville, Florida, where Hot Water Music became one of the most well-regarded melodic hardcore bands of the '90s. Eminently tuneful, the quartet also benefited from Chuck Ragan's eloquent turns of phrase, in which he captured the essence of the experiences, yearnings and travails of average Americans. In some ways, Ragan's words are punk-rock existentialist poetry with none of the pretension. The bandmembers split amicably in 2006 but left the door open to work together again. In 2008, Hot Water Music got back together, and in 2012 the group released Exister, which was recorded at the Blasting Room in Fort Collins.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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