Hotlanta

Hotlanta formed in the summer of 2006 after the break-ups of several local bands. Andon Whitehorn and Samee Shirazi handled bass and drumming responsibilities in the Oklahoma City based progressive act Tyler's Stereo, while Whitehorn and Bart Davis filled the same roles in several other local bands over the years. The three began jamming together (with Whitehorn and Shirazi sharing guitar and vocal duties and Davis on drums,) and soon added Michael Temple to fill out the rhythm section with his creative and melodic bass lines.
Worth noting is the fact that all of Hotlanta's members are, in fact, self-taught rhythm players at heart, without so much as an hour of professional instructing. This has lead to complex and oddly-structured songs that end up sounding coherent and natural in progression to the listener. However, this isn't to say that Hotlanta don't know their own limits though, as songs rarely wander beyond the four or five-minute mark. Of course, this is all deliberate, since the band's members have chosen to write their material with no repeating part to keep themselves and their audience interested in what's going on.
Hotlanta’s members have played with such acts as The Appleseed Cast, The Velvet Teen, Criteria, Russian Circles, Peelander-Z, Coliseum, Glass And Ashes, By The End Of Tonight, and others.

PRESS CLIPPING:
“Hotlanta are another band who… are revisiting the '90's post hardcore emo sound and doing a damn fine job at it. Screechy vocals meet emotive distorted guitar all of which is smashed apart by chaotic pummeling drum playing. The result is not so much heavy as it is cathartic, as Hotlanta go straight for the throat and don't apologize. I have never been a fan of the screamo style, but bands like Hotlanta are starting to omit the shortcomings of the genre by doing things like letting bass play a stronger role in the sound and making vocals far less whiney and grating. Expect to see a lot of good things coming from these guys in the future.” – The Norman Transcript