WITH HELP FROM FRIENDS, SOLO PROJECT FLOWERS
Mike Hotter felt his songs “just had to get out there”
Mike Hotter loves community and playing music with others. After close to 20 years of playing guitar in various Capital Region bands, currently in indie band Swamp Baby, he’s made the move from sideman to main attraction.
At the end of October, Hotter released “Room to Land,” his first proper solo album. It’s a project three years in the making.
“I think I started in about 2017. Some of the songs I’d been working on and recording in my basement,” Hotter said. “I got in touch with Mitch Elrod, who I played together with a lot in the midoughts and considered a mentor of sorts.
“I felt like the songs just had to get out there. I just needed someone to set up some mics and hit record,” he continued. “So once a month I’d go to Mitch’s studio in Feura Bush and he’d just say, ‘ What do you got?’”
The bulk of the work on “Room to Land” was completed in the beginning of this year. Hotter’s goal in the studio was to create the best possible version of each song. Hotter would lay down his vocals, guitars, bass and soundscapes with the help of Elrod and Frank Moscowitz (who also plays in Swamp Baby) and as needed, friends like drummer Tommy Krebs would record parts remotely for inclusion.
While the LP was conceived well before the coronavirus pandemic was even a blip on our radar, the themes and recording of “Room to Land” ended up reflecting the tenor of the times.
“Working with Mitch and Frank, everything just sounded really good, almost like the Platonic ideal of each song,” Hotter enthused. “It was pretty much done at the beginning of the year and I wanted to get it mastered by a third party set of ears, so I sent it Scott Petito in Catskill.
“There ended up being something about these songs that really ended up resonating with the general atmosphere – strife, neighbors not getting along, turmoil,” he continued. “But the main impetus (for release) was that I just felt that these songs should be out there and not on my hard drive.”
“Room to Land” is full of quality material that blends folk, rock, psychedelia and dream pop. The songs all have quality arrangements that range from lush to sturdy, and Hotter offers up warm, comfortable lead vocals.
Finding his voice and gaining the confidence to be the lead singer took some time and coaching. But by the end of
I never saw myself as a singer or felt I was a singer-songwriter; I’m a guitar guy, not James Taylor.’”
— Mike Hotter
recording “Room to Land,” Hotter was able to really figure out what stylistically works best for him.
“I never saw myself as a singer or felt I was a singer-songwriter; I’m a guitar guy, not James Taylor,’” he stated. “Mitch was always encouraging about my voice; there would be times where I’d want more reverb on it and he’d say, ‘No, no put it out front.’”
“I enjoy singing more now than I did when I was younger as I’ve learned more control,” Hotter added. “With my singing, I feel like people feel the feelings I’m trying to get across.”
Now that his solo LP is out in the world for listeners, Hotter is focusing on his favorite part of playing: collaboration. On the Friday before Christmas, Swamp Baby is releasing a new album, “Water Gods.”
It’s the first collection of new material from Swamp Baby since 2012. Sessions for it began in 2015, but failed to strike
the right notes for the Nick Matulis-led project and recording went on the back burner for a while. But just as Hotter’s solo album started to take shape, so did the next Swamp Baby release.
Recorded mostly live in Hotter’s basement in Albany, “Water Gods” captures Swamp Baby’s musical chemistry and the joy he feels as part of the group.
“Around the time I started working on my solo album, Nick had some songs that we wanted to lay down for posterity ’s sake,” Hotter said. “They have a different feel, but they ’re (the solo jam and the new Swamp Baby) sibling albums to me. It was pretty much recorded live, which is part of the fun with Swamp Baby.
“It’s the four of us, Nick, Frank, me and my wife Megan on violin,” he continued. “One of the best things is collaborating with other artists, and when we’re playing we’re all definitely listening to each other and reacting. It’s kind of its own organism.”