Interview with Hot Pink Delorean & Terravita

(Matt, Chris & Jon. Photo cred: Stholic Photography)

Matt Simmers, Chris Barlow and Jon Spero are separate entities in two distinct and formidable, music-making conglomerations. Hot Pink Delorean is their pulse-pounding Electro House group, Terravita, their second project together, is their heavy and grimy Dubstep/Drumstep alter-ego. During a live set you’ll see Jon, frontman and MC, getting the crowd hyphy with nothing but a microphone and unmatched showmanship. Matt and Chris take turns at the tables mixing in original tracks, remixes and other artists’ tunes seamlessly. Regardless which of their groups they’re focusing on at the moment, Matt, Chris and Jon bring a combustive energy and exponentially addictive sound. And guess what? If you’re in the New England area this weekend, you can catch both acts at one smorgasbord of a New Years Rezolution event. But, if you’re miles away, don’t fret and read on to discover what auditory freebies HPD and Terravita are giving away for you to keep!

True Crew had a few sass-filled questions to ask these three sass-filled amigos. Don’t let the humorous answers fool you, these guys are all business.

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(Evan Smith Photography)

Hot Terradelorita, what did everyone do for the holidays?
[M:] Cooked food with my family and watched my senile grandmother sing to the cat.
[C:] Went to my family’s house and ate some food.
[J:]  Spent it with my family.

Let’s do some word associations. ‘Dubstep’ is to ‘Terravita’ as ‘Matt Simmers’ is to ‘(______________)’?
[C:] pork chop
[J:]  sandwiches

(Evan Smith Photography)

‘Insulin’ is to ‘a diabetic’ as ‘Chris Barlow’ is to ‘(______________)’?
[M:] our tax ledger
[J:] strippers

‘Jon Spero’ is to ‘Jon Spero’ as ‘Jon Spero’ is to ‘(______________)’?
[M:] redundance
[C:] Doctor Zeyus

(Terravita, you've been Spero'd.)

Jon, speaking of ‘Jon Spero,’ how has Spero’ing various historical and current events effected your inner-turmoil, lyrical flow and the other two group members?
[J:]  Its really strained relations in the group.  Chris and Matt are jealous of my internet meme-dom, but I feel like its really brought closure to all those historical events because let’s face it.  I really should have been there anyway.

In each of your honest opinions, who can Dougie the best? And how did that remix come about?
[M:]  We finished Are You Ready For Me and we decided to use the template of it to do a quick remix of the Dougie for our shows.   The remix itself took maybe 15 minutes to write.
[C:]  None of us can dougie at all…thats why we did the remix. We desperate want someone to teach us.
[J:] Me.

What is the creative process like with three [strong, smart and handsome] dudes in one musical group? How do you balance each other out and drive productivity forward? What keeps the momentum going? What keeps inspiration flowing?
We all love music and really like to see other people enjoying ours.  Thats really our main inspiration and what keeps us all going towards the common goal.

(Taken by: Christian Hall)

Matt, where did you learn to engineer sound so masterfully?
[M:]  Mario paint

Chris, how do you create thee perfect set-list on the fly?
[C:]  I just get really really lucky….I spend 4 hours a day looking for 4 leafed clovers before I DJ.

Guys, in your professional opinion, what the heck is going on with Dubstep right now? Where has it been, where is it going, and how will Terravita have a part in it?
Dubstep has gotten big all over the world.  Where is it going?  No where….its pretty much here to stay and people have done almost anything they can in the 140 bpm.  Which is why going forward alot of artists are doing “bass music” which encompasses everything related to dubstep, like moombahcore, drumstep, dnb and everything in between.  Terravita will remain a part of it by releasing a ton of new music in 2012.

Who has been your favorite artist to collab with thus far in your group’s musical career or favorite tune to remix? Why?
[M:]  Move It and If Y’all with Rory Lyons.  The tracks are 2 of the best on the new HPD lp.
[C:]  The King Kong remix we did was great because I love Bare & Datsik and they are both good friends of ours and it came out great.
[J:]  The best experience I had was with Count Von Count.  I grew up a major fan of his work and was honored to make music with him.

How do you guys operate during tour? What do you love about touring and what makes you miss the heck out of home?
[C:]  We usually operate on red bull vodkas on our….  I love playing for all our fans.  The thing I miss about home is my friends and my bed.
[J:]  Mine is the same….but I only miss my bed.

What tricks do you guys have up your sleeves? What can fans expect from each group after the turn of the New Year? Any goodies for them now?
First we are going to saw Jon in half…then pull a rabbit out of his Chris’s ass right before we levitate Matt over the club.  We have free goodies for everyone from both acts.  Go to http://facebook.com/hotpinkdelorean and facebook.com/terravitabass and there are some free tunes available for DL.

New Years is just around the corner, and some of us will begrudgingly be starting a gym membership or depriving ourselves of an indulgence for a short period of time. What are some resolutions either HPD or Terravita have?
Yes.  The resolution for both groups is to give away more free music!!!

Speaking of resolutions, what will HPD/Terravita look like to a fly on the wall 2-minutes prior to A New Years Rezolution (December 31st, at The Waterfront)? Any rituals preformed, prayers chanted or Spartacus quotes recited in a full-length mirror?
We cant give away our secrets…but there’s a good chance our rituals will include a ton of drinking.

(Photo taken by: Jay Redfield)

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Well, Hot Pink Terradeloritaen, we all can’t wait to ring in the New Year with you guys!

Here’s the lowdown on A New Years Rezolution:

The Waterfront
920 Main Street
Holyoke, MA
Starts 12/31 at 6:00pm
Ends 1/2 at 3:00am

Purchase tickets here.