Their first full-length CD was Scenes One Through Thirteen (2001) which comprised all of the three prior EPs released to that point. In Spring of 2002, the band released another EP entitled Knock Knock Knock, with Steve Bays taking over vocals, and Dante DeCaro adding guitars to the previously synth-heavy sound. That same year, the band entered the studio to record their second full length album, Make Up The Breakdown, for Sub-Pop Records which propelled Hot Hot Heat into greater popularity and provided the band with a strong fan-base. The video for their song "Bandages" off of Make Up the Breakdown even received rotations on channels such as MTV.
In 2005 the band released their second album, Elevator, this time with Sire Records. This was a critical time for the band, because Dante DeCaro (guitar) decided to leave Hot Hot Heat. As one of the innovators of Hot Hot Heat's sound, the band considered breaking up. Wanting to continue the band, Luke Paquin was added as DeCaro's replacement. And although Elevator was recorded with DeCaro, Paquin is featured on the album art.
In 2007, Hot Hot Heat released their third studio album, Happiness Ltd. to eagerly awaiting fans. The band decided to add new elements to their music, including an orchestra. "Vibe" is constantly used by the band to describe everything about the album.
Hot Hot Heat is currently signed with Los Angeles indie label Dangerbird Records, and released their latest album, Future Breeds, in the summer of 2010.
On April 28, 2016, Steve Bays sent an email to fans confirming that the group was disbanding . His message read:
"Dearest friends, fans and supporters (new and old),
It is with much gratitude and respect to all of you that I confirm the end of the band. I didn't want to make a big deal about it, as I can't help but think that an emotional 'final letter' might feel big-headed (and very un-Canadian)! But after reading your descriptive and heartfelt comments, I realize the importance of not leaving any of you (or ourselves, for that matter) hanging any longer, and addressing that this newest, self-titled record is the final collaborative project for Hot Hot Heat.
When people ask me why the band isn't continuing, the thought that comes to mind is that an explosive fire can only burn for so long. Hot Hot Heat felt like harnessing lightning in a bottle. There were four A-type personalities, on and off the stage, all freaking out at the same time - for years! That's what made the personality in the songwriting jump out, and the live-show chemistry so shocking. I wouldn't / couldn't have had it any other way. I love them all, and will never spend that much time that closely with anyone else. I feel like I could write a book on each one of those guys. There was so much (beautiful and crazy) personality and energy in the band... and harnessing and guiding it in the same direction for 17 years is way longer than any of us ever thought we would have. So thank you for letting us do that.
It’s not that there isn’t part of me that wants to keep going, it’s just that I don’t want to continue to the band without the same ferocity and passion. That’s not what HHH was about. It was an all-consuming all-or-nothing thing, and it wouldn’t make sense to keep going at half-speed. The desire to leave our mark on pop music was what fueled us to give up our entire lives. I feel like we made our musical statement, and are ready to move on to new creative endeavors now. Hot Hot Heat changed and molded all of us. I think we squeezed all of the crazy incredible experiences and good times we possibly could’ve out of it. 17 years is a long time, and we’re all ready to continue on with our lives, meanwhile carrying forward with us all the experiences and love that was enabled by our journey as HHH.
Although it's been a gradual crossfade from active to non-active for us, marking it as the end feels realistic at this point. It’s also a good opportunity to acknowledge our appreciation for the love and support and - to be honest - just reeeally good times we've been lucky enough to experience on and off-stage, all over the world, since we formed in a basement in 1999. From freaking people out at house parties in the early days to seeing a larger audience react to the fact that weird music was somehow getting on the radio (and people were actually supporting and encouraging it) -- even just as a fan of music, it seemed too good to be true! I could never relate to the seriousness of the mainstream music of my childhood, which seemed to default to romanticizing depression and struggle. After living through that era of music in the 90’s, it felt way more rebellious and punk rock to not be afraid to have fun and run around and dance and freak out.
We were lucky enough to hang together for years. From living in shitty punk houses where we would jam all night and put on gigs with touring bands, to touring in vans that broke down in the mountains, then barely making it in time to a 15-person house-party gig and sleeping on floors... to eventually jumping between festivals and tours in Europe, Australia, Japan, etc. like it was no big deal... It was a huge trip. And none of it would’ve been possible without the support of so many different people behind the scenes -- I hope you know that YES I am talking to YOU -- and passionate fans who always showed up and weren't afraid to leave the heaviness of the real world behind, so they could throw down and have a good time with us.
I hope that our earlier records live on, as we always tried to not be bound too closely by current trends, hoping to achieve some sense of timelessness. And I feel that this final record is no exception. It is an assimilation of all of our varying, evolving musical mantras that we’ve kept to ourselves, but stuck closely to over the years. It has all the things I would want from a HHH record. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m genuinely excited to put it out!
What started as a late-night basement experiment after Paul traded a cheap guitar for a cheap synth from his dad's bandmate, Hot Hot Heat became the most important creative endeavor of our lives. Apologies for the melodrama, but looking back, man… it's true. It was so big for us all. It was all-consuming. All day, all night. We really took our work home with us and it was so cool having support from so many people encouraging us to just keep on truckin. I’m proud of every song we ever released – they all meant something sincere to me. The Hot Hot Heat family has always been the most loyal and supportive group of people, and I never would’ve imagined in a million years that we’d gain the love that we did. I can’t believe you gave your all for so long; I’m eternally grateful.
From the nerves before going on, to the euphoria of feeling completely out-of-body onstage, to the high I felt after every show that seemed to last for weeks, I will miss being in Hot Hot Heat. I’m proud of what we did. I’m proud of the people we connected with. Together, we managed to push pop music in a different direction.
Thank you for that.
- Steve Bays
Elevator
Hot Hot Heat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not me who's the operator but you're going down
You'll be sorry when you're singing all alone
But don't take me up
I'll just fall down once again
Don't take me up
I'll just fall down
Wake me when you're educated I know you will
You'll be self-medicated you're spinning round
You'll be there, but no one will even know your name
But don't take me up
I'll just fall down once again
Don't take me up
I'll only find my way back down
Don't take me up
I'll only find my way back down
Don't take me up
It's true I've dabbled at times with confident lines
I was half of a man nearly half of the time
In an innocent way, I thought it could stay with us both on the ground
With us fooling around
Let's just stay on the ground
Let's stay fooling around on the ground
Don't take me up
I'll just fall down like I knew that I would.
Don't take me up
I'll only find my way back down
Don't take me up
I'll just fall down
The lyrics to Hot Hot Heat's song "Elevator" may seem enigmatic upon first listen, but upon closer examination, they reveal a plea for stability and a rejection of the highs and lows of life. The singer starts out by accepting blame for the elevator, a metaphor for the ups and downs of life, but quickly points out that it's not them who is in control, but the operator. The singer warns that anyone who gets on the elevator is bound to end up alone and sorry.
The chorus repeats the phrase "don't take me up," which can be interpreted as a desire to avoid the highs of life because they always end in a fall. The second verse continues this theme, with the singer asking to be woken up when the other person has become educated and self-medicated. The implication is that only then will they be able to handle the rollercoaster that is life. The singer predicts that if they get on the elevator, they will disappear into anonymity, known to no one.
The bridge of the song reveals that the singer has "dabbled at times with confident lines," but ultimately they want to stay grounded, fooling around on the ground. This reinforces the idea that the singer is afraid of the ups and downs of life, preferring to stay in one place rather than risking a fall. In the final chorus, the singer explicitly states that they will fall down if taken up, a reminder that the highs are always followed by lows.
Line by Line Meaning
Blame me for the elevator I know you will
You'll blame me for the current bad situation
It's not me who's the operator but you're going down
I'm not the one in control of this situation, you are on a downward spiral
You'll be sorry when you're singing all alone
You'll regret your actions when you're left alone
But don't take me up
I don't want to be involved
I'll just fall down once again
I know I'd only make things worse
Wake me when you're educated I know you will
You'll learn from your mistakes eventually
You'll be self-medicated you're spinning round
You'll turn to drugs to cope and spiral out of control
You'll be there, but no one will even know your name
You'll be present but forgotten
It's true I've dabbled at times with confident lines
I've pretended to be more confident than I actually am
I was half of a man nearly half of the time
I wasn't fully myself most of the time
In an innocent way, I thought it could stay with us both on the ground
I thought our innocent flirtation could remain harmless and on a safe level
With us fooling around
Playing around with each other
Let's just stay on the ground
Let's not get tangled up in anything dangerous
I'll just fall down like I knew that I would.
I'll mess things up again just like I always do
I'll only find my way back down
I know I'll end up back where I started
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: DANTE DECARO, DUSTIN PATRICK HAWTHORNE, PAUL HAWLEY, STEVE BAYS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Son Goku
Blame me for the elevator - I know you will
It's not me who's the operator but you're going down
You'll be sorry when you're singing all alone
But don't take me up
I'll just fall down once again
Don't take me up
I'll just fall down
Wake me when you're educated - I know you will
You'll be self-medicated - you're spinning round
You'll be there, but no one will even know your name
But don't take me up
I'll just fall down once again
Don't take me up
I'll only find my way back down
Don't take me up
I'll only find my way back down
Don't take me up
It's true I've dabbled at times with confident lines
I was half of a man nearly half of the time
In an innocent way, I thought it could stay with us both on the ground
With us fooling around
Let's just stay on the ground
Let's stay fooling around on the ground
Don't take me up
I'll just fall down like I knew that I would.
Don't take me up
I'll only find my way back down
Don't take me up
I'll just fall down
Bye Autumn Bye
I've been searching for this song for 10 years!!!! finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Son Goku
Blame me for the elevator - I know you will
It's not me who's the operator but you're going down
You'll be sorry when you're singing all alone
But don't take me up
I'll just fall down once again
Don't take me up
I'll just fall down
Wake me when you're educated - I know you will
You'll be self-medicated - you're spinning round
You'll be there, but no one will even know your name
But don't take me up
I'll just fall down once again
Don't take me up
I'll only find my way back down
Don't take me up
I'll only find my way back down
Don't take me up
It's true I've dabbled at times with confident lines
I was half of a man nearly half of the time
In an innocent way, I thought it could stay with us both on the ground
With us fooling around
Let's just stay on the ground
Let's stay fooling around on the ground
Don't take me up
I'll just fall down like I knew that I would.
Don't take me up
I'll only find my way back down
Don't take me up
I'll just fall down
red cherry
Thank you goku
Denver Sias
thunder stealer, the anticipation was so palpable
Tonia Carey
Um anyone who had the CD or internet access doesn't need the lyrics, like wow you bored?
Calebrazzleberry
The real lyrics are always in the comments
MOseBEE
bless u fam
stormyhoney
Love the chorus
Rob
still waitin for those lyrics
JupiMeow
8 years now