Some bands form, make an impact, and call it a day, having said what they needed to say, leaving fans with broken hearts and great memories. And then some bands do that and realize they really miss it, and so do their fans.
All this talk about hearts, broken and otherwise, fits right into the emo niche that Hot Rod Circuit helped to define in the late nineties and early aughts. The crest of scene waves can only be seen in the rearview, but the peak of this genre was 1999-2004, coincidentally the same time that Hot Rod Circuit were busy cutting their teeth up until their first hiatus.
In 2007, the band released The Underground is a Dying Breed, which appeared to be a triumphant comeback after a year-long hassle with their former record label; however, the outlook dimmed as Hot Rod Circuit later announced a string of farewell shows. They didn’t disappear entirely, but live dates were scattered and their recordings dwindled to a three-track EP in 2011 and a single, “Default Setting,” in 2017.
For most bands, that would be that. But we are still in media res regarding the topic. Members branched off and had various side projects, but the legacy of HRC loomed. As of 2014, the current line-up of Andy Jackson (vocals, rhythm guitar), Casey Prestwood (guitar, pedal steel), Jason Russell (bass, vocals), and Mike Poorman (drums) has been cautiously playing out here and there.
They toured with Saves The Day in 2019 on the latter’s 20th anniversary tour for Through Being Cool. The new year finds our heroes joining The Get Up Kids in supporting that band’s 25-year road retrospective for another milestone 1999 album, Something to Write Home About. Whether we can expect new music from Hot Rod Circuit is unclear, but for now, they are re-connecting with fans a show at a time. Here’s hoping they see that the world is a better place with legacy emo acts upstaging the pop punks at their own game.
Hot Rod Circuit perform with the Get Up Kids 7pm Thursday, February 6th at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale. instagram.com/hotrodcircuit ~ Tim Moffatt
