Holding Onto Sound (commonly referred to as HOTS or Holding On To Sound) is a 4 piece progressive punk rock outfit from Las Vegas, NV. Combining equal elements of punk, ska, reggae, & hardcore, with nods at thrash, dub, death metal, & pop punk, HOTS finds comfort in chaotic time signatures, throat tearing vocals, and frenetic fret work.
Formed in 2004 by Bennett Mains (lead vocals/guitar) & a few friends in a garage, HOTS began as four piece experimenting with a very reggae influenced form of punk rock.
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Holding Onto Sound (commonly referred to as HOTS or Holding On To Sound) is a 4 piece progressive punk rock outfit from Las Vegas, NV. Combining equal elements of punk, ska, reggae, & hardcore, with nods at thrash, dub, death metal, & pop punk, HOTS finds comfort in chaotic time signatures, throat tearing vocals, and frenetic fret work.
Formed in 2004 by Bennett Mains (lead vocals/guitar) & a few friends in a garage, HOTS began as four piece experimenting with a very reggae influenced form of punk rock. It was when Zabi Naqshband (bass/vocals) & Vanessa Tidwell (drums) entered the lineup & shortly thereafter, removing a 4th member, that HOTS found its footing as an aggressive 3 piece. In 2006, the band put forth an EP titled The Lightning EP, containing the first recorded version of the song A Girl Called Lightning.
In 2007, Holding Onto Sound released it's first full length, self-titled album, featuring a new version of A Girl Called Lightning, as well as other set staples like Modern and Pre-Post the White Ghost. Other prominent Las Vegas artists also appear on the record, with Amir Rikkah providing two spoken word tracks (Amiri-Lude I & Amiri-Lude II) and Outside Looking In providing Onward & Upward II, a glitch hop remix of an earlier track on the record.
HOTS played live show after live show, building their reputation as a relentless punk act. So much so, that in January of 2009, Holding Onto Sound was asked to open for NOFX at the Joint in Las Vegas, and in doing so, released their second full length effort Songs of Freedom at the show. A much heavier and darker record, Songs of Freedom featured tracks such as 2Step, Waves, & Bogus. HOTS embarked on a national tour with another Las Vegas act, One Pin Short.
Did people notice? Of course. In 2010, Holding Onto Sound was named the Best Live Band in Las Vegas by the reader's and editors at Las Vegas Weekly, and went on to open for bands like the Misfits & the Dead Kennedy's, racking up their 300th show in the process.
In January 2011, Holding Onto Sound added a 4th member Bob Gates (guitar/vocals), unleashed a critically acclaimed new album The Sea, toured the western US extensively, and was voted Best Live Band in LV again for good measure. The Sea featured tracks such as Tommy Boy, Watery Grave, & Song for the Soldier, and thematically used the metaphor of the turbulence of the oceans to convey views of society, politics, and inner demons.
Later in 2011, HOTS released a 7" vinyl, entitled The Tempest EP (available from Geykido Comet Records & Brick Gun Records), and was asked by NOFX to join them again at NOFX's annual New Years Heave event, which featured Lagwagon & Old Man Markley.
In 2012, Holding Onto Sound plans to release a triple EP entitled The Animal & The Hidden Hand, the first installment slated for release in the summer.
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…shrink me down again
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