Hot Cross was a
post-hardcore band from
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
.
They were signed to
Hope Division Records and
Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand.
The label originally existed solel ...
. The band was composed of former members of such bands as
Saetia
Saetia (pronounced ''SAY-shuh'') is a New York City-based screamo band. Their name originates from a misspelling of the Miles Davis track "Saeta", from his album ''Sketches of Spain''. While relatively unknown during their initial existence, ...
(vocalist
Billy Werner
Billy Werner is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and DJ. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the post-hardcore bands Saetia and Hot Cross.
Background
Raised in Queens, New York, Werner earned an undergraduate degree at New York Un ...
and drummer Greg Drudy, who was also a founding member and the original drummer of post-punkers
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
), Off Minor (bassist/guitarist Matt Smith), You and I (guitarist Casey Boland),
Neil Perry, The Now and Joshua fit for Battle (bassist/guitarist Josh Jakubowski). Their songs are composed of intricate (and in the beginning of their career, dueling) guitars heavily influenced by
Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. It was formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis, ex-members of Pitchfork, along with bassist Mike Kennedy an ...
. They initially signed with
Level Plane
Level Plane was an American independent record label based in New York City that was founded in early 1997 by Greg Drudy for the release of Saetia's first 7". Drudy ran the label until it ceased to exist in 2009. It released records in a variety ...
in 2003.
On May 2, 2006, Hot Cross has officially announced that they had signed to Hope Division/
Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand.
The label originally existed solel ...
and would be releasing their next full length on this label.
On August 10, 2006, the band announced on their website that they would be re-recording their CD originally recorded by Mike Hill. The album was recorded by former Hot Cross member Josh Jakubowski.
On July 7, 2007, the band officially announced on their MySpace that they were "indefinitely inactive," effectively ending their 7 years together and cutting their 2007 tour short.
MySpace.com - Hot Cross - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Hardcore / Punk / Rock - www.myspace.com/hotcross
Bass player Matt Smith is currently involved with a project called Halo of Snakes. They are scheduled to release a record on Harvcore.
Members
*Billy Werner
Billy Werner is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and DJ. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the post-hardcore bands Saetia and Hot Cross.
Background
Raised in Queens, New York, Werner earned an undergraduate degree at New York Un ...
– lead vocals
*Josh Jakubowski – guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
, vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
*Casey Boland – guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
, vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
*Matt Smith – bass
*Greg Drudy – drums
Discography
Studio albums
*''Cryonics
Cryonics (from el, κρύος ''kryos'' meaning 'cold') is the low-temperature freezing (usually at ) and storage of human remains, with the speculative hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticis ...
'' (2003)
*'' Risk Revival'' (2007)
EPs
*'' A New Set of Lungs'' (2001)
*''Fair Trades & Farewells
Hot Cross was a post-hardcore band from Philadelphia. They were signed to Hope Division Records and Equal Vision Records. The band was composed of former members of such bands as Saetia (vocalist Billy Werner and drummer Greg Drudy, who was als ...
'' (2004)
Splits
*Split with Light the Fuse and Run (2003) (Songs: 1. "The Eye Is A Tricky Machine", 2. "In Memory Of Movern")
*Split with Lickgoldensky (2004) (Songs: 1. "A Voice Turned Vacant", 2. "Patience And Prudence")
*Split with The Holy Shroud (2005) (Songs: 1. "Tacoma")
References
External links
Official site
*Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
br>Interview with Billy from 2011 about post-Hot Cross life
* ttp://underthevolcano.net/article.php?content=issue96/f_hotcross.html An interview with Billy from Hot Cross from Under the Volcano issue 96br>Hot Cross lyrics
Hot Cross Interview at REDEFINE Magazine, March 2007
Billy Werner talks about Hot Cross, ''Risk Revival,'' Saetia with Punknews.org
{{Authority control
American screamo musical groups
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Equal Vision Records artists
Musical groups established in 2000
Musical groups disestablished in 2007
Level Plane Records artists