HALESTORM's Joe Hottinger: 'Let the Chaos Reign on Stage!'

At this past weekend's Download Festival, HALESTORM's Joe Hottinger sat down with Andy Guitar to unleash his thoughts on the modern live performance landscape that leans heavily on pre-recorded tracks. "To me, a live show is an interpretation of your record. And it doesn't need to sound exactly like the album," he asserted. Hottinger believes that rock and roll should encapsulate danger and unpredictability. "What does it sound like when the four of us are making as much noise as we can?" he challenged, emphasizing the thrill of not knowing what may happen during a set.

Hottinger didn't mince words when discussing other bands' reliance on backing tracks. "Whatever — if people do their tracks and stuff, I don't give a fuck. That's how they choose to run their business, and we just like to have fun," he stated, dismissing the sterile precision of click tracks and pre-recorded elements. "Things should go wrong. It's a rock show. There should be fuck-ups every show... We fuck up every show. It's awesome." This sentiment echoes the raw ethos that defines HALESTORM's approach to live music.

His comments arrive just months after drummer Arejay Hale expressed a similar philosophy during an interview with PowerOfMetal.cl. He detailed the challenges of performing without the safety net of click tracks or backing rigs, stating, "It's as raw as it gets. So to compete with these other bands that have these fail-safes... it requires a lot more training, practice, and focus on my playing." For Hale, the struggle is part of the thrill, enhancing the live experience for both the band and the audience.

Arejay further clarified that he holds no animosity towards bands that utilize playback, noting that he does so in his side project KEMIKALFIRE. "If you want to express your art in that way, then that's great," he acknowledged, but for HALESTORM, their goal is clear: to keep it as raw as possible. "We're so technologically illiterate that everything would go wrong every night," he admitted with a laugh, reinforcing their commitment to authenticity.

The band’s frontwoman Lzzy Hale echoed these sentiments in a past interview, explaining that their decision to perform live without enhancements is as much for their personal enjoyment as it is a statement of integrity. "I would rather have us sound imperfect than have somebody figure out that I'm miming," she declared, emphasizing the importance of genuine musicianship. "We've got to keep playing live, or we would just get worse as musicians." This philosophy is what sets HALESTORM apart in an increasingly polished world of live music.