Hot Freaks Interview- The World’s Freakiest Band

Breaking up in 2015 but re-emerging due to their song “Puppy Princess” TikTok success. This Minneapolis band shares with us, what it’s like to revisit a 10 year old song and what they think about Generation Z.

Your band is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which I suspect is the band’s home town. How would you describe the Minneapolis music scene?

Leo: The band started in Minneapolis and we are still centered there, though I live in LA now. Darin lives in NYC and the others still live in MPLS. Minneapolis has a very vibrant scene considering its size. There are tons of venues to play, both DIY and official ones, and shows happening all over the city. It’s a great place full of opportunity for a young band.

Sarah: I agree! When we were all living in Minneapolis there were so many DIY spaces, bars, and houses where we could play. It was an exciting time to be a musician and I made a lot of good friends through the music scene.

What does Minneapolis have that LA doesn’t?

Leo: Hmmm… I think its easier to pay rent in Minneapolis? Though that’s what I’d say now after living in LA. Sometimes that lower overhead is what an artist needs to develop instead of working all the time? Also Minneapolis has the Mall of America

Sarah: Ha ha yeah! I think it’s easier to get noticed in Minneapolis if you’re making interesting music or art because it’s a smaller scene.

Your main logo/image is a white jacket with the words “Hot Freaks” on top of a neon heart. Who has the jacket?

Leo: The jacket is lost to the ages! Years ago I gave it to a friend who doesn’t seem to know where it got off to.

Sarah: I think only two of the original jackets remain??

Who made the jacket?

Leo: I made the jacket from thrifting a jean jacket, bleaching it, and taking it to an airbrush person at a kiosk at the Mall of America. I think her name was Irene? We need to find her again ASAP!

Where can I get a jacket?

Leo: We’re in the process of trying to recreate them and make more to sell! But you can also make your own!

When writing a song, which one comes first, the melody/chords or the lyrics? Does having a certain one come first affect the outcome of a song?

Leo: Nearly always melody/chords first. Unless it’s a joke song. Sometimes having a really funny idea for a song makes the melody show up. I feel like I am always writing melodies that seem not to fit to anything I’m trying to say at the time, so I have to wait for a perspective.

Are the lyrics or the beat more important?

Leo: Hmmm… tough question. I feel like I always try to put as much effort into the lyrics as possible, to try and make a full complete thought or feeling. But music is the universal language and songs in other languages are good too. So ultimately I think the words need to serve the melody. (shrug emoji)

One person did a tik tok with your song, Puppy Princesses, and it started a chain reaction throughout the app. I believe I found the first tik tok that was used with the audio. It’s a girl with the words “Why are you arguing which lesbian flag is correct, It’s clear what only correct flag is”, then the video shows Nicki Minaj on a American Flag, also it’s in Russian. How hard is it to grasp? For me that’s completely insane, but it also shows the fact that good music will always shine through.

Leo: Lol!! That is amazing you should link this to me!! The internet is a collective consciousness and it is staggering to grasp the multitudes of individual thoughts, feelings, and experiences out there. I did enjoy most of the videos that I saw. It was fun to see us soundtracking some of these moments. But I also feel like there is a certain popularity something reaches when it is just part of the collective conscience, and people are tagging things to it just because it’s out there and popular – not because they like or dislike the song or anything.

Sarah: That’s wild that you found the first video! Whenever I’ve told people about the Tik Tok situation that question comes up a lot. And we didn’t know who posted the first one until now.

When coming up with the lyrics to songs, do they come very personal? Do you have to be conscious of what you say, because you don’t want it to be too obvious on who you’re writing about?

Leo: Definitely a hard question!! I go back and forth. I feel like I actively try to put a layer in between what I write about precisely for this reason. It can feel wrong or unfair to speak on specific incidents. I’d rather get to the root of something, like an emotional truth within the context of events. But that being said, I feel like too much space from a person or event that you’re writing about makes something lack urgency. I feel like the ultimate goal for songwriting is to try and express myself in a way that feels specific enough to tell my story but general enough for other people to get into it as well.

When the band broke in 2015 and reassembled in 2020 for “paycheck 2 paycheck” and even more so now due to Tik Toks effect, how did that conversation go with the band?

Leo: Haha great question! Actually “Paycheck 2 Paycheck” was an old recording that we left off the record and had sitting on the shelf for years! We decided to put it out last fall after I noticed that our streaming numbers were slowly going up. The interest out there seemed to be growing. We had already made casual plans to reunite and were talking about doing a fun reunion show before the tik tok attention. We had gotten together to rehearse and like a week later the tik tok thing hit. I had always wanted to reconnect with the band and finish the work we started so many years ago so it was good timing.

Sarah: We were all checking in with each other during lockdown. We had never fully lost touch, but it felt like that was a weirdly uniting moment. Ha ha. And yeah, the timing of getting together for a casual practice and then having the tik tok attention start was crazy.

Is it difficult to understand the effect tik tok has on the music industry? Because when you released “Write Me Letters” it was more of an indie hit rather than what it is now, a mainstream pop phenomenon.

Leo: It’s really odd. I wonder if we had been more popular at the time when we started if tik tok wouldn’t have noticed us, because tik tok users like to put their own spin on things? Or the fact that we were like an “undiscovered gem” helped at all with the tik tok stuff? I’m really grateful they found us.

Sarah: Same! It’s unreal that we’ve been able to do some really cool things now that we never got a chance to do before (like make a music video).

Strangest fan interaction?

Leo: Lol! Someone on instagram offered to buy us Mcdonalds. Honestly the fans have been really sweet and have shared a lot of artworks influenced by the songs.

Sarah: What I’ve noticed is the very personal information some fans have shared with us. Like telling us how our music helped them get through really difficult personal experiences. And the offer to buy us McDonald’s cracked me up.

How does it feel to revisit a song from almost 10 years ago?

Leo: It will be really interesting to see how it feels to play them live in front of people now. I think the songs are good and I’m glad that they’ve held up over the years. In some ways I feel very different from the person writing those songs ten years ago, but I also know that mindset very well. I feel glad for the old songs but they don’t always express my current state of mind and that’s where the challenge of new music comes in.

Sarah: The nostalgia is crazy! Playing the old songs together with everyone really brought me back to some feelings and memories I hadn’t thought about in a long time. It’s a nice experience, especially after lockdown and all the challenges that brought.

Is there a new approach to “Puppy Princess” than there was in 2013.

Leo: Like musically? We will probably play it nearly the exact same. Though I think in terms of songwriting the mindset has adapted somewhat.

Tell me all about your dog, “Buddha”. (breed, how you got him, everything!)

Leo: Lol!! That is Sarah’s sister’s dog! But she was watching him when the tik tok thing was happening. I think he’s a pomeranian? I think he’s pretty old and had a near death coughing fit recently but he’s holding on.

Sarah: The near death coughing incident was terrible! Yes, Buddha is my sister’s dog. He’s 11 and a Pomeranian. I was taking care of him for like two weeks when we found out Puppy Princess was trending. I made us an Instagram account and featured him a bunch because I didn’t have a ton of other material! Plus everyone loves Buddha. We walked him around our neighborhood a lot and it was amazing to see how he brought people together. Like everyone wanted to come outside and say hi to him. Dogs = community builders! Lol.

You recently shot a music video for “Puppy Princess”, that’s soon to be released. It takes place in a roller skating rink, which i believe would consist of a healthy amount of roller skating. How would you describe your band’s roller skating skills, and were there any nasty falls?

Leo: As far as I know Cody is the best skater in the band but since he was directing the music video he didn’t have a chance to be in it. I think there were some falls from some of our friends, but I was playing it safe so I didn’t go too fast. Usually a trip to the rink means bruises on my knees.

Sarah: I had one of those near falls where you wave your arms around a bunch like a crazy person to prevent yourself from falling, and I was right in front of the camera when it happened! Ha ha glad it didn’t make the final cut. So glad no one got majorly hurt. That would have sucked!

Who created the storyline for the music video and was it something that was thought of earlier on?

Leo: We worked as fast as we could to come up with that video. Originally we wanted it to be something like the TV show “the bachelor” with all band members vying for a costumed character’s love. Due to timing we ended up simplifying the concept quite a bit to just be me going on dates with the costumed character, “Pup.” I think the idea for the video came right after the tik tok stuff and Cody took the lead on most of the project.

Sarah: Cody did a great job of coming up with a concept that was awesome and that we could actually get done in the short amount of time we had. And it was cool that we could all give input when he needed it.

The band seems to call themselves old on a majority of interviews surrounding the idea of Tik Tok and social media. However, I think you all have a firm enough grip to recognize this traction and how to work with it. Especially with releasing a music video for your 10 year old hit. What was the most interesting thing that you had to learn about this new generation?

Leo: LOL! People have called us out for saying that we were too old for the tik tok generation. Bad form! “Old” is a state of mind. I think the way people interact on the internet is more spirited now. Tik tok is a dialogue – the sounds are on there but you’re supposed to create something with them. Put your stamp on the trends: add to it or change it.

Sarah: I didn’t know much about Gen Z before all of this, but it seems like they’re open to all kinds of things which is great. And it seems like they’re into things that are real/genuine which I think is admirable.

You’ve all seemed to take your own paths after your break, how crucial is it to support other band members with their individual goals outside of the band?

Leo: Our individual lives are more separate now than when we started, some of us live in different cities and we all have individual and personal goals outside of Hot Freaks. But the band coming back was really nice because it gave us a reason to be more a part of each other’s lives again and it’s a stronger bond when you’re invested in a project together.

Sarah: I always have a blast when I’m doing stuff with Freaks, whether it’s working on music or just hanging out. So the chance to get back together is amazing. I think we’re all very supportive of each other.

I’m gonna test your knowledge on some Tik Tok trends. I’m going to name a tik tok trend/challenge and I want you to tell me what you think that challenge/trend is about. No cheating.

Touch Down 2 Cause Hell

Leo: football related?

Touch it challenge

Leo: Is it different from the bus-it challenge?

Passing the Phone

Leo: Reading someone’s texts?

Walk challenge

Leo: Is this like milk crate challenge?

Sea shanty challenge

Leo: I think I saw the trailer park boys doing one about a cat? Is this just singing the sea shanties?

Hitman challenge

Leo: Hitting a stranger? Lol sorry those were bad answers.

Sarah: Honestly the only one I’ve heard of is the walk challenge! Is that where you’re walking with a blindfold?

Lastly I want to thank you for agreeing to take the time out of your day to answer these questions! Some of these questions are probably repetitive on interviews you’ve done before, so I want to ask one more question, that’s completely random, just for the sake of asking a question the band hasn’t answered before. How many socks do you think you’ve lost in your entire lifetime?

Leo: I probably used to lose a lot more and buy a lot more, especially as a child. Let’s say 500 pairs? Does that seem too high?

Sarah: Lol great question! I went through a phase where I was really psycho about counting my socks to make sure they weren’t lost. So my number is probably lower. I’m gonna go with 100.