Hot Coffee, District of Columbia

Steve Hay 2009

Retracting is always fun, when the reason behind it is a positive one. On a previous rating of the band Hot Coffee, Mississippi, their worth was highly questioned as the source of review were some very not-so-well put together demos. That must be why they call them that. Nonetheless, they are fab, and here is why.

The night was interesting, after a freak hail-storm and a moment of hesitation, the band was still going to be seen, no matter what. Once in The Red and The Black tavern, which by the way is one of the coolest places one could go to, the lights were dimmed and the first band was playing.

After listening some of their stuff, the band was through with their repertoire and a new band started hooking up their equipment and doing their own sound check. By then, Lester, in his brown shorts, collar t-shirt and sneakers, was beaming meeting his friends who had stopped by to support the band. Eventually, Lester was gone doing a band interview and came back giggling. “I’m sorry”, he said “it’s just that I come from a journalist background and it’s hilarious to me when in interviews they are moving the subject trying to get specific answers, and I know where they are going.”

By then, it was time to move out of club for a bit of talk. The band playing could be heard from outside, they were very good, which was even the more scary about hearing Hot Coffee Mississippi live for the first time. Can they follow that act?

Outside, Sadie Dingfelder, the only female of the band, happily moved about in her breezy teal dress. Sadie, the fiddler of the band, is almost like a caricature. She is peppy, welcoming and almost surreal. Each movement that makes part of her presence is a showmanship of excitement.

“Thank you so much for coming out to see us!” said she as Lester stood to her side, smiling, but being too aware, for the two of them.

The questions started coming and so did the funny answers.

“What’s the process of making the music? What do you feel comes first, the lyrics or the music?” Lester rubbed the bottom of his lips and smirking said “The music is the most important.” He explained how the lyrics come about after the music has been up and running. Lester Feder, started the band roughly two years back, with the intent of making it happen, he found the members. But as life would have it, he had to step out of the project when a fracture kept him from playing anything for a while. Coming back, he got himself new members for his band, and thus far has been running for a little over six months.

“What inspires you to write the lyrics?” Without a moment of hesitation Sadie jumped off and said “Being the best man at a wedding and going after the groom!” Laughter erupts as Lester defends himself “The only wedding I have been a groomsman in was for my brother, so…” This is the type of people they are, funny every second if they can help it. Somewhat confusing and almost mind-boggling when meeting them for the first time, but they don’t care, they are happy to be there, and aren’t about to take a moment for granted.

“Now that you mention it, how do you feel the lyrics go when you play live?” Sadie, once again the comic relief, “Well, we don’t really know what Lester sings, as he mumbles the whole time.” She laughs and so does Lester, who is now crossed armed and moving his legs from left to right.

Feder, the obvious mastermind is the one who writes the lyrics, and sometimes accompanied by Sadie, sings all of the tracks. He is also the only gay member of the band, which is obviously an indifferent aspect of his persona. They answer the questions about his sexuality as if it’s an exhausting task, but when they answer, it’s a topic that is real, yet not priority.

The questions are not meant to place any importance on the sexual orientation, but when playing in a rock-ish club, where maybe one stereotypes as not the place to have a gay front-man leading a band; what is the feedback they receive? “Did you hear me before?” Sadie lowers her head and tries to be serious. “He mumbles!” Laughter erupts once more and the topic is sub sequentially drowned by the street lights hiding by the alleys.

The band is now ready to play, and they mean business. As the drummer jumpstarts the music, there is a sense of relief as the music that kept exuding from each musician was a necessity. Feder’s banjo alongside Sadie’s fiddle was the concoction that was necessary for the evening. See, the first band was very mellow, singer/songwriter-oriented. The second band was Nickelback-esque, and now, Hot Coffee, Mississippi was showing yet another facet of the tavern.

They are truly south, with a fantastic mix of raw rock elements that make them an act to catch when possible. As they play, Lester with his eyes closed, and Sadie flirting with the camera man and everyone that happened to be present that night (those sparkling eyes!) it is hard not to think of Martie Maguire (is there another successful, young, female fiddler in popular music?) playing to one side, and a rock duo to the other, and a front man, demure and timid, banjoing away.

The band also played in tribute to Michael Jackson, and did an instrumental (unforgettable) rendition of “Beat it”.

Below, Lester and Sadie answered more questions.

Q: Fill in the blanks: If I wasn’t so _____ then my ____ would be ____.

S: If I wasn't so (female) then my (boyfriend) would be (Lester.)
L: If I wasn’t so (ambitious) then my (banjo) would (have only five strings).

Q: What do you consider to be your happy place?

S: Any tropical island, but especially Bali. It's such a magical place. They have monkeys instead
of squirrels. Last time I was there, a monkey stole a piece of fruit right out of my pocket -- adorable!
L: West Virginia.

Q: What is your best source of inspiration?

S: Listening to great musicians like Claude Chalhoub, an amazing Lebanese violinist.
L: Downtime.

Q: Favorite karaoke song?

S: I have a fairly low voice, so I like sexy, sultry songs, like Garbage's “#1 crush”. I also do a mean "Sober" (Tool). However, sometimes you just have to go with the crowd pleasers like Britney Spears’ "Baby one more time". Clearly I have given this too much thought.
L: I have a karaoke allergy—it makes me break out in hives.

Q: Do you believe that everything is possible? If so, name something you believe in that others may not (or vice versa).

S: Hmm... Evolution, I definitely believe in evolution, and other people don't, unfortunately
F: I find it highly unlikely that the world will instantaneously fill up with cheese, so I'd have to say no, I don't believe that everything is possible.