July 18, 2019

Check out Andrew Hughes, Tyler Messer, Jacob Hicks, and Casey Reid

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Hughes, Tyler Messer, Jacob Hicks, and Casey Reid.

We’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
A talented troupe of traveling troubadours, traversing as a tribe of tragic transients. Andrew and Tyler met at Reinhardt College while the two were studying classical guitar. The two met Jacob through a mutual friend and found out he was a drummer. Shortly after, the three started playing together, forming the basis of Half Hot. Through brotherhood and a mutual love for creating and performing, the three have been playing together for almost a decade. Casey came into the fold as we were putting the finishing touches on our debut album, Whiskey Tango. Having played with Andrew in another band several years prior, Casey stepped in without missing a beat.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Our debut album, Whiskey Tango, has been at the forefront of our collective efforts for several years now. Most of the songs on the album come from our early years as a group and have been staples in our live shows over the years. One of the toughest questions that we’re asked as a group is “Well, who do you sound like?” This album is no different. Simply put, Whiskey Tango is a distillation of all of our favorite bands and musical influences, shaken over our collective life experiences, and served in a glistening highball glass at your local dive bar. We had no specific direction or sound we were searching for when writing each of the songs. We only wanted to create something that was authentically “us” and captured our musical journey over the past decade.

In addition to our new album, we have worked on crafting our live show into a unique and energetic experience for the audience. As we’ve grown more comfortable in our own skin over the years, the smiles on stage got bigger, the jumps got higher, and the outfits got louder. We’re all truly grateful every time we get to get up on stage, and we want to make sure that our fans are having as much fun as we are.

What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
Work hard at finding that particular element that makes you unique. That thing that makes you who you are, either as a group or as an individual. Once you’ve got an idea of what that thing is, hold onto it. Embrace your own weirdness. No one else can do “you” quite as well as you can. Try to keep that element of truth present in your art, and you continue to grow and create and perform.

And also, just work hard. No matter if we’re playing to 5 or 500 people, you’re gonna get the same sweat-soaked show from us. We strive to walk off the stage, knowing that we’ve given it our all each time. It’s not easy to play your heart out to a near-empty room but do it anyway. If you do it enough, you start to question why you keep putting yourself through the heartache of rejection over and over again. Hopefully, the answer to that question is that you keep doing it because you love your art.

Keep loving your art regardless of the amount of rejection and apathy you experience at the hands of others. Keep fighting that war of attrition, and eventually, you’ll start to attract your audience, that odd group of kindred spirits that somehow find meaning in what you’re doing.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can find our debut album “Whiskey Tango” on any preferred streaming service (iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc…). If you prefer to consume your music in a physical form, we also have CDs for sale at any of our live shows.

Speaking of our live performances, we play all around the Atlanta area; from Smith’s Olde Bar to 529. Each show is an energetic homage to glam rock with some southern flair thrown in.

We also have a music video for our song “Nowhere” premiering soon on our YouTube channel soon.

Come and follow us on our various social media pages for the most up-to-date information on upcoming shows and a heaping portion of our particular brand of shenanigans.

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