Cold Hot Crash

In addition to cable cars, bridges, ports, and fog- music is a defining part of the city of San Francisco. It’s rich history of sound entices musicians of neighboring cities to re-locate in order to obtain inspiration, ideas, and artist success. It was this allure that brought Cold Hot Crash together.

Vocalist/guitarist Mick Leonardy and guitar player Rich Brinkerhoff set out to create a new project after breaking off from Divit (Nitro Records), an east bay punk band they started in their teenage years. Although Divit created a lot of buzz after returning to their home from the Vans Warped Tour, Mick and Rich wanted to take their hard rock/punk sound into new directions. As Rich puts it, “we were proud of Divit and what we were able to accomplish after touring the United States and Europe- but our songs were going in new directions, and we needed a fresh start.” After months of writing and recording new song ideas, the two set off to San Francisco- where they played a handful of acoustic shows. It was at one of these shows that an old friend, Adam Schuman was in the audience. According to Adam, “We had taken some recording classes together, so we’ve always known about each other’s bands and what was happening with them.” He had previously played guitar in Cult of Suburbia, a San Francisco based band which came to an abrupt end when the singer moved out of state. Mick and Rich approached him after their set and asked him if he wanted to audition for a new band they were putting together- they needed a bass player and a drummer. Adam agreed and suggested bringing his brother John, with whom he had played with since childhood. The Schuman brothers met with Mick and Rich at their rehearsal space, and the comfort level and chemistry was obvious- as John remembers, “from the second I clicked my sticks, I knew there was a strong musical connection between everybody.” Shortly after the audition, Adam moved in with Rich and Mick and slept on the infamous living room couch named “the back-breaker” until they were able to find an apartment that could fit everyone. Cold Hot Crash was born.

The result is an army of guitars and vocals fitting like puzzle pieces with a solid rhythm section. The Schuman brothers lay down bass and drums reminiscent of Stone Temple Pilots grooves, a sound forged after years of playing together under the same roof. On top of this foundation are brilliant and aggressive lead guitar parts, courtesy of Rich Brinkerhoff. His instantly memorable riffs forge a perfect mixture of hooks and reckless six string sound that pays homage to The Pixies, Rival Schools, and early U2. Enter Mick Leonardy- singing songs of heartache, lust, co-dependency, all wrapped with an ironic sense of hope. Mick reveals, “Anger, fear, and resentment transcending into acceptance is one of the subjects I have tried to include in our lyrics for this record. My favorite songwriters are the ones who open up and let you see exactly who they are, what they have experienced and what they have done about it. I try to take this approach so that people can make that same connection and hopefully pass it on to others.” His voice hits a listener hard- whether delivering anger or anguish. His sense of melody is intense and extremely accessible to even the most aristocratic music snobs. It is with these elements that Cold Hot Crash delivers rock music that San Francisco hasn’t seen in years.

In less than a year and a half, Cold Hot Crash has managed to release a full length album, perform at (and sell out) countless venues in the bay area, and clench the title of “Best local band” in Live 105’s Not So Silent Night event- earning them the opportunity to open for The Shins, Modest Mouse, The Raconteurs, and The Killers. Their momentum and fan base continues to grow as more and more people attend their live performances. Catch one of their shows soon, you’ll see why Cold Hot Crash doesn’t just attract hard rock fans, they attract music fans.