If you created a short list of the most promising New England rock acts, most of them would have at least one thing in common: the number 617. Boston has always been ground zero for up-and-coming N.E. bands, and that’s probably not going to change anytime soon. However, the recent success of Western Mass. acts like Speedy Ortiz and Potty Mouth have reminded the Boston scene that there actually is life (and good music) west of I-95.
One band that couldn’t be left off the “most promising” list would be Worcester’s The Hotelier. If you believe in the emo revival, then these guys are helping to lead the way. Their catchy choruses and tortured lyrics can’t help but remind listeners of that first time they heard Saves the Day’s Can’t Slow Down.
The Hotelier will be playing the Middle East Upstairs on Friday, August 1st along with Triple Crown Records act Foxing. The St. Louis crew blends that same type of heart-on-sleeve lyricism with lush, orchestral melodies that wouldn’t be out of place as the score to a documentary exploring the great abandoned ghost towns of the west.
While neither Foxing nor The Hotelier call the 617 area code home, they both do have the number 8 in common. That’s because their show on Friday will occur on the first day of the 8th month of the year. To celebrate the coming of August, we’ve asked both acts to talk about their favorite bands and records from the 80’s. Is this whole concept a stretch? It sure is. But there’s never a bad time to honor the period that brought us Thriller, Slippery When Wet, and Mr. T.
The Hotelier’s Favorite 80’s Albums
Michael Jackson- Thriller
Madonna- Immaculate Collection
Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman
Rites of Spring – Rites of Spring
Crass- Christ The Album
Chumbawamba- English Rebel Songs 1381-1914
Dead Kennedys- Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
Pixies- Doolittle
The Cure- Disintegration
NWA- Straight Outta Compton
De La Soul- 3 Feet High & Rising
Bruce Springsteen- Nebraska
Phil Collins- …But Seriously
Talking Heads- Remain In Light
Tom Petty- Full Moon Fever
New Order- Power, Corruption & Lies
Music from the 80s I feel like is funny because I don’t really listen to it the same way I do with music from now. As a songwriter, a lot of more recent stuff I’ll hear and kind of dissect to see what I feel like structurally makes it great. With the recording/playing style of musicians in the 80s, I feel like it’s so out of my world and frame of reference. I kind of just get to listen to it and see pictures in my head that other music doesn’t really take me to so that’s cool. Some of this stuff is stuff that I got hand-me-down tapes of when I was like 5. Some are punk records that we feel were pretty important politically. Some are just really good rock records. And I left out a lot of stuff like Culture Club or Salt-n-Pepa that I would totally put on a playlist but probably never listen to a full album of.
– Christian Holden, vocals/bass