PHOTOS & INTERVIEW: Hot Mulligan at College Street Music Hall

On March 22,, Michigan alternative band Hot Mulligan played a set complete with old favorites and their newest material to a rowdy crowd at College St. Music Hall in New Haven, Connecticut. We got the chance to sit down with the band to ask them a few questions about their current tour, Nickelodeon characters, and more!

WQAQ: How would you describe Hot Mulligan to anyone who hasn’t heard of you or listened before?

HM: We say we’re post-emo. It’s not a real genre I guess, but the description works. Some would say we invented it.

WQAQ: What is it like touring with industry veterans like The Wonder Years? Did you look up to them when starting your band? On the flip side, what is it like touring with an up-and-coming band like Carly Cosgrove?

HM: It’s incredible touring with established, career artists like The Wonder Years. They were my favorite band in high school and a huge inspiration to me personally when we were starting Hot Mulligan. They were one of my favorite bands to tour with because they’re just so genuine and real guys who came up playing DIY shows and booking their own tours. It’s clear they’re a band who hasn’t forgotten their roots, and they had lots of wisdom to pass down to us. 

Touring with a newer band like Carly Cosgrove is always great as well. This tour felt like the first time we weren’t the ‘kids’ of the tour, and it’s awesome getting to hang out with a band who is so fresh and so eager to just have a good time and play their songs—no egos, no bullshit, just some young adults fresh out of the basement scene. 

WQAQ: Carly Cosgrove clearly draws inspiration from Nickelodeon shows iCarly and Drake & Josh. If Hot Mulligan was a kids’ TV show, which one would you be? I get Big Time Rush vibes for sure.

HM: I think we’d be Ed, Edd, and Eddy. We’re kind of jackasses at times. 

WQAQ: I love the long weird song titles you guys always use. Is that a Fall Out Boy or Panic! at the Disco tribute? What made you start doing it? Any favorite titles?

HM: It’s not a tribute to either band really. I do love that those bands did that, but we really just started having these absurd song titles because we didn’t think this band would ever matter or be heard by anyone outside of our close friends—never saw a reason to stop doing it I guess. My favorite right now is ‘Cock Party 2 (Better Than The First)’

WQAQ: Thanks so much for doing this! Is there anything you’d like to add for any potential fans reading this?

HM: Just be cool and kind to people unless they give you a clear reason not to be kind. Thanks for having me.