From the furthest depths of the galaxy, Chicago-based funk phenomenon Hot Like Mars has been sending shockwaves across the music scene lately. Possessing a refined blend of soul, funk, and high-octane dance music, Hot Like Mars puts on a masterclass of musical patience, excellence, and enthusiasm, carefully curating their sounds into an explosive array of musical prowess. If the backbone of Motown and gospel met the psychedelic experience of the jam world, Hot Like Mars would emerge from the ashes to deliver the funk to all those fortunate enough to bear witness. While these cats have already become a cornerstone in the Chicago music scene, The Hot Like Mars experience continues to grow nationally and has become a can’t-miss act in venues across the country. Lead vocalist/keyboardist Anthony Perry and guitarist Pat Walsh sat down with the Grateful Web to discuss their musical upbringings, what drives them to continue to push the boundaries of music, their new single “Every Day Above Ground” due out August 2nd, as well as what the future holds for one of the next big acts in the musical realm.
GW: Welcome guys, we certainly appreciate you taking some time this afternoon to sit down with us today. It’s been quite the journey for you guys so far with Hot Like Mars, you guys have undergone some big changes over the past year or so. Couple new additions to the band, a whole new musical catalog, so let’s get into it. Let’s talk about the evolution of the group from conception up until now - how did you guys get together to form Hot Like Mars and where did the name originate from?
PW: Thanks for having us. Yeah man, so a lot of us have known each other from over the years in the Chicago music scene and throughout our years with our previous band, The North 41. We’ve undergone some big changes this past year and decided to really switch things up and head in a new direction, which has been exciting both musically and on a personal level. We’ve added some new members to the band, written a ton of new music, and obviously one of the biggest changes was to take on a new identity - Hot Like Mars. AP, tell them about how you came up with the name Hot Like Mars.
AP: Absolutely, so we were on the way to a gig in Milwaukee at this place called Mad Planet, and we had been tossing back different ideas for the new band name, and at this point I think we had come up with hundreds if not thousands of band names, right. So we’re driving through Wisconsin, and I’m high as hell just thinking with my eyes closed, just going through names. I thought about Digable Planets, you know the classic hip-hop group, and I just started thinking about mixing up words and riffing off that. Earlier in the trip, I think Frankie had mentioned Mars cheese, right?
PW: Yeah, and if you’ve ever driven through the Midwest on your way to Wisconsin from Chicago, right off I-94 there’s this giant Mars cheese place.
AP: Right, so we started riffing off that, but of course, I’m high so I didn’t know if I heard it or not, but I started thinking about how it had to be something out of this world, like not from this planet. I’m thinking about Elon Musk and all this crazy shit, he’s all about going to the moon with Dogecoin or whatever, and we wanted something out of this world! We were always taught a band name should be quick and easy, like three syllables to make you remember it, and people assume Mars is hot because of the color, but actually colder than Earth, but I was like hey let’s go with it. It sounds good. We’re Hot Like Mars.
PW: AP just said it, and everyone in the car was like, “ohhhhhhh!” So we started telling people the name, and it was met with positive reception, so it was like okay finally this is something we feel comfortable with. It doesn’t even totally make sense, but it sounds good.
GW: Sometimes the best things don’t have to make sense, right? Let’s talk about the current roster of the band, you mentioned there had been some turnaround early with different members but currently we sit at Anthony Perry on lead vocals and keys, Frankie Lightning on vocals and guitar, Pat Walsh on guitar/vocals, Donoven Brown on bass, and Wes Julien on drums.
PW: That is correct - So essentially, Frank and I went to high school together. We started a band in 2007 called Walsher Clemons with our old drummer Mike. Then in 2016, we met Donnie aka Heavy Profit, who is still our bass player to this day. Shortly thereafter, we met AP, and after several attempts to get him in the band (laughs) he definitely said no a couple of times, we convinced him and we’ve been going at it ever since. So myself, Frank, AP, and Don have been a solid unit since 2017, and we’re the founding members of Hot Like Mars.
AP: And I want to go back briefly and just mention why I initially said no, with all due respect. At the time, I just felt like North 41 was not quite ready. It wasn’t my musical taste per se, and some changes had to be made to end up where we are at now.
PW: We really switched up our style over the past couple of years. With North 41, we are all very proud of our accomplishments with that project because we did some cool shit and went viral a few times, and whatever. It always felt like we were trying to make music that maybe wasn’t as authentic as it should’ve been, like we were going down sort of a pop route, but at our roots, it’s really about pure musicianship and that’s really taken the forefront with Hot Like Mars. It’s soul, it’s funk, it’s jam, we really just got back to our roots.
AP: Yeah, you know we wanted to make it soulful, shit I grew up with. Trying to encourage people and really inspire people.
PW: Yeah, exactly it felt like some of the older stuff was just more of a pop sound with not as meaningful lyrics, and I mean the songs were solid, but it was just a little more polished and produced. Hot Like Mars is more raw, uncut funk.
GW: And on that note, I’ve got to ask - What is your guys’ background musically? When I first heard Hot Like Mars, it was very apparent from the jump that you guys weren’t just some cats who got together, smoked some weed and wanted to start a jam/funk band. It certainly sounds like there is some professional musicianship there, are you guys classically trained or Anthony Perry were just born with those beautiful pipes?
AP: Well let me start with Donnie, Don was raised in gospel. We both started learning music by ear, and I’m speaking for Donnie here because that’s my little brother man. I’ve traveled all around with that guy, so his ear is just phenomenal man, and my background man is just a lot of soul, R&B, and gospel. Later, I went to school because I wanted to start learning how to read music. I studied jazz and I learned how to play chords, that sort of stuff, and learned my way around the keyboard, but ultimately I wanted to learn more harmonies and different skills so I went to College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, then I went to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee for a few years. That really changed my whole perspective and my whole approach, but singing-wise, I didn’t start singing until I was in my 20s man. Really didn’t sing at church, I did children’s choir and hated it (laughs), but my mom, grandmother, aunts, you name it, all the women in my family sing so I was just kind of around it.
Later, when I started playing in live bands, I realized these harmonies could just kind of add an element to the live approach and really fill up the vocals, that’s when I started coming into my voice and really feeling comfortable lyrically, but at first man I hated my voice because I thought it sounded old and I felt like people weren’t going to fuck with it, but I found my niche with kind of the old souls who appreciated it. So now that I know my strengths, we’re going for more of a modern soul approach now, this blend where we got Pattie and Frankie, these two Caucasian dudes mixing their styles, sounds and elements into it all.
PW: Yeah man, and like I mentioned earlier Frankie and I went to high school together, both huge DMB/Phish guys as I’m sure you could tell. There is some crossover between our backgrounds and AP’s background like Bob Marley, Eric Clapton stuff like that. But growing up too I was in jazz ensemble, took private lessons for many years. I studied with some of the great guitar players in Chicago like Justin Canavan, Anders Nordstrom and I didn’t really go to music school per se, but I was just at home practicing guitar 2-3 hours a night and gigging a lot. So just a lot of time on the instrument, just trying to become one with it. Really blending styles of funk, jams, and soul together as one.
GW: Well we could certainly tell as we stepped into the room at your most recent show at Cervantes, that the training and the musical background was there. The soulfulness coming out of the keys and bass, the jam-inspired guitar riffs, and that drummer you guys have was incredible.
PW: Yeah, and that’s Wes. He’s unbelievable, he’s from the quad cities, was a church guy and pastor’s son. His grandfather was in the Meters, so he’s got some heavy cats around him. He said he’s been drumming since he was like 5 or 6, which is crazy.
AP: In black culture man, a lot of us start young. I started on the drums when I was 9 years old man, and Donnie started playing when he was just a kid too. On top of that, just having that family upbringing is so important - Wes’ grandfather being in the Meters, my grandmother raised me and I learned alongside this guy Rodney East, who is a highly sought-after musician out of Chicago, one of the coldest keyboardists out of Chicago. He was the main keyboardist in the church I was raised in, so I learned a lot from him.
GW: Having those influences early is so important, to your point. Shifting gears for a minute, you guys have played some big shows early in your career under Hot Like Mars, warming up for bands like Spafford and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, you obviously just had a huge headlining show in Denver and another one this past Friday in Michigan. What have some of the musical highlights been this year?
PW: Our first show as Hot Like Mars was sold out at Park West in Chicago, which is a legendary venue. It’s like this 1,100 person venue that Elton John and some other legends have played, so that was an incredible way to get started. We did a two-night run with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at St. Andrews Hall, both those shows were absolutely slammed, and it was just such a great introduction into the scene. Those guys are our homies, we played Dome Fest a few years as The North 41 and so we have a good relationship with those guys. Sold out at the Metro with Andy Frasco was obviously insane, especially for just getting started under the Hot Like Mars name. So it’s such a cool way to introduce the brand in a way like that, it was like alright these guys are doing something right, at least I hope that’s the perception publicly.
Spafford shows were dope, those guys are so killer. We also put together a residency at Martyr’s in Chicago, we did one show a month in Feb, March, April and May, and Martyr’s in Chicago is this legendary venue, probably 300 person capacity room. Honestly, we were a little nervous, because it’s a lot of pressure to promote those shows over and over again in the same market, but people just kept showing up. So basically, we got off to a start where we were selling more tickets than we ever had before, and we’re playing bigger shows than we ever had before off the jump, so that was just so sick. Obviously, there was a lot of social media stuff that went into that, we had a lot of great content to launch the brand and an awesome photo shoot, well I thought it was awesome (laughs) I thought we all looked really handsome.
And the Denver show! Can’t forget about the Denver show, that was so awesome. The crowd was nuts, people were jumping around having a great time. Honestly, we were nervous too man, because when we walked into the venue like 30-40 minutes before our set and looked around there was like six people there. We were like oh fuck! But it was great man, when we walked out on stage the room was pretty packed, and looking at the numbers afterward I think there were like over 300 people there, so that was sick. I mean you hate to drive over 15 hours and play to nobody, that’s never great and that’s happened to us before. Denver is our number one market on Spotify in terms of listeners, and I personally feel like Denver in terms of people being receptive to live music, is one of if not the best place in the country. The people there are just willing to go out and see live music, it’s such a great market.
GW: That’s definitely true, the Denver music fans are certainly curious and willing to take chances on newer artists. It does always seem like bands, especially newer bands who are just starting out and trying to grow their brand, find success early on in the Mile High. It may not be New York or LA, but the music scene in Colorado is special. Switching gears, let’s talk writing and recording for a minute, how does the songwriting process begin with Hot Like Mars? Is there a main songwriter in the group? You mentioned you have a new single coming out August 2nd - walk me through the direction of the new single and what the fans can expect from that.
PW: The new song is called “Every Day Above Ground” and it was kind of an older tune that we decided to re-work and bring this new life and vibe to it. We actually had some original lyrics from an older era that we decided to scrap and kind of start fresh. It now has a total Motown vibe to it.
AP: We wanted to try and tell a story that would resonate with people, and it’s this story loosely based on true events and the story of my sister. My sister Jackie, we call her Quil, she had my nephew and he was a preemie baby, born at just a pound. She had to fight a lot just for him to stay alive, and you know my family was praying a lot for him, and that’s really what the first verse is all about. Her man at the time disappeared, and so it’s basically a song about how every day above ground is just a blessing, man.
PW: Absolutely, it’s about making the best of your life and appreciating things, we all go through some fucked up situations, it’s about keeping your head up, keeping your faith and persevering. Just be grateful that you’re still breathing. The second verse is about the kid growing up, he begins to take care of his mother, and it’s this unexpected thing because a lot of people in this situation can get into bad situations if they’re not raised right, but this is a story about instilling those values and raising a child. It also blends elements of funk and rock, and on top of that tells a good story. It’s a motivational message man, and we’re really shifting gears towards that direction where we want our songs to tell a story, and have a message and inspire people.
GW: You certainly bring those vibes in the live element and on the new single. Is it safe to say that there might be an album coming in the near future?
PW: Absolutely, we’ve got about eight or nine tracks in the can that we’re working our way through editing. AP produces our stuff, and we’re going to have three singles total before the album drops. They call it a waterfall release in the biz - but the first single will be in August, the second single will be in September, and the third single will be in October. The full album will come after that, and after obviously a ton of promo blitz to get some hype surrounding the upcoming album. It doesn’t seem like today’s environment it’s good to just drop an album suddenly, because people will think about and digest it for a few weeks, and then just move on to the next. So we want to be careful about how we approach this one, and get people into the gate before dropping the full-length feature.
GW: Well we can’t wait to hear the new singles and the new album when that comes. Now obviously there is some jam band influence in your sound, but really to me Hot Like Mars goes much deeper than that. There are elements of jazz, elements of funk and soul, and that’s sort of layered over the sort of live improvisational elements that get peppered into the jam band world. So from a live perspective, how much are you relying upon jams and free form improv vs. having that song structure in place.
PW: We love the improvisation, and it really depends on the show right now. In Denver for instance, we had a strict hour and ten-minute set so we couldn’t spread it out as long. But then the next night for instance in Steamboat, where we were the only band playing, and that’s when we could really stretch out and get into that type II stuff. Another example, we just played a 45-minute set opening up for Here Comes The Mummies in Michigan, and you know for that we stuck to the songs for the most part, with all the solos still being pure improv. So it really depends on the setting and the environment. We love extending songs and getting weird absolutely, but it depends on the situation. I wouldn’t call us a straight-up jam band per se, but we certainly like to dip our toes into that realm.
GW: Fantastic, a couple more questions for you and we will let you go. With a project taking off as quickly as yours, you’re hitting a lot of “firsts”. First time playing in this state, first time playing at that specific festival. What were some cool “firsts” this year, and what are some firsts coming up that you’re really excited about?
PW: Yeah man, really, I have big aspirations for us. Like honestly I could see us headlining Red Rocks someday, I truly think we have the talent level and the songwriting ability to blow this shit up, similar to like how Goose did or some other bands out there have done it. We’re just looking forward to all these shows coming up, we’re hitting a ton of new markets for the first time. We’re hitting Cincinnati, Louisville and some other cool spots. Getting out East for the first time is sick, we do a lot of promotional stuff on the jam bands Reddit page and they’ve been loving our stuff which is great, so we’ve got a lot of east coast people showing us love. So really, just growing the operation, you know, getting the single out there and continuing to grow as brothers, as a band, and as friends. Getting out of a Yukon XL and into a tour bus someday (laughs) that would be sick!
GW: You guys certainly have the talent to achieve all of that, it’s been so refreshing to hear the music you’re bringing to the table, there is something different about Hot Like Mars. It’s the musical understanding and faith that you have in one another, it’s noticeable on stage and it sets you apart from other bands. You guys seem to truly care about your craft, and the future is so bright for you guys. Thanks again for taking some time to sit down with us today, and we will certainly see you here again in the near future.
PW & AP: Thank you so much, and we’ll see you on the road!
