Hot Breakfast!

Colin McGetrick of WaveRadio is a busy man. Between the band, the acoustic duo he does with his wife, and booking at Sprout Music Collective, he is doing his utmost for the local and regional music scene. For his band’s only local show this spring, he called on friends in fellow regional stalwarts Glim Dropper and Hot Breakfast!

The latter is itself an acoustic duo, advertising themselves as "Delaware’s premier acoustic dork-rock power duo," a description as apt as any. With originals like “Kids Today” and “I Am Not Cool” decrying the social media age with a humorous bent, and covers like “Mr. Roboto” and “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” tongues planted firmly in cheek, they would fit just as well at a comedy club as a rock one. Jill Knapp’s phenomenal vocals ably run the gamut of theatrical tones, backed by Matt Casarino on both guitar and vocals. Knapp contributes to the instrumentation in various ways as well, at this particular show including various hand percussion implements, trumpet, and a melodica. The total effect was fantastic, provoking bouts of hilarity from the entire audience between rousing “Hot Breakfast!” cheers from their gathered friends and fans. - Music Without Labels

Wilmington duo Hot Breakfast will co-headline a Saturday concert at the Milton Theatre called A Night of Music Comedy, but the two performers have their own description for the style of songs they write – dork rock.

The Milton Theatre show, which is part of a concert series being presented there by the Middletown-based Premiere Centre for The Arts, will also feature singer-guitarist Todd Chappelle (known for his Johnny Cash parody called "I'm From Delaware") and pianist-vocalist Nancy Huebner.

Matt Casarino and Jill Knapp of Hot Breakfast are still riding high from a collaborative session they participated in Jan. 17-18. They tracked a song called "Prisoner's Cinema" in a Philadelphia recording studio with that city's iconic punk quartet The Dead Milkmen — while cameras were streaming the entire process over the Internet. Casarino answered a few questions about mixing rock music with dorkiness.


Q: The live stream recording session is such a cool concept. Was it nerve-racking to know you were under a microscope the whole time, or did it make everyone show off a little?

A: It's certainly odd to have people pointing cameras at you all the time, although Jill didn't mind them at all. The studio can be an intimidating place anyway; the cameras just made it more surreal. The people holding the cameras revealed themselves to be super-friendly and cool, and it all felt normal after a little while. We felt more nervous about the Dead Milkmen being in the control room than about the performance being documented.

Q: Did you follow the Dead Milkmen back in the day, during their original "Punk Rock Girl" incarnation?

A: Yes. Jill quoted their lyrics in her high school senior yearbook blurb — that's a die-hard fan right there. We're really sad that we never got to meet Dave Blood, who passed away in 2004. We first met Rodney Anonymous in person a few years ago, and it's still incredible to think that we've become good buddies with a musician we've loved since our teens.

Q: As far as this coming weekend's Milton Theatre concert, have you worked with Todd or Nancy before this?

A: We work with Todd a few times per year. We just love that guy. We did a joint recording together in 2013 called, "This is Our Hit Song." It took home a WSTW Hometown Heroes Homey Award in the Best Collaboration category. We've been very aware of Nancy Huebner and her music for quite some time, but this will be our first time performing on the same bill. We're excited.

Q: Your list of influences on your website mentions Tenacious D. Do you get compared to them often?

A: We don't get compared to them nearly as much as we'd like! But we share their conviction that hard rock is a state of mind. Even though we're only armed with one guitar, some percussion and a melodica, in our minds we're backed by thundering drums and an army of guitars. We take in (Tenacious D's) albums at least once a week, and we're always stunned. As dorky and goofy as we are, we take our music very seriously.

Q: You guys somewhat resemble The Eurythmics; do you ever take the stage at straight-ahead rock venues and then surprise the audience with the comedy angle?

A: Jill gets compared to Annie Lennox of The Eurythmics a lot. It's the hair, the build, but also the deep voice. She's not unhappy about that at all; Annie is one of Jill's musical heroines. As for surprising people – yes, definitely. It's only natural for the audience to expect some earnest, sincere, public radio alt-folk. We're "dork rock." A lot of our humor just comes from us embracing our dorkiness and examining life's quirks.

Q: Are there any other bands that you think you are on the same page with?

A: We get compared to Barenaked Ladies a lot. Are they a comedy band? No, but their humor made you pay attention in the first place. Sometimes our songs are funny, sometimes they aren't. The Dead Milkmen are actually a great parallel; they're satirical, witty, even bratty at times, but always insightful because their snark comes from experience. Ours definitely does too, for better or worse. - Wilmington News Journal (DelawareOnline)

Posted September 8, 2014

Meet Jill Knapp and Matt Casarino! This band’s name makes me both hungry for pancakes and music. Luckily with my new music to pancakes machine.. I am unstoppable. While enjoying my delightful flat food, I also enjoyed the sound of HOT BREAKFAST. More like super fucking hot.. they are burning my ears.. in a good way. So many questions.. where are their up coming shows… do they have their own brand of syrup.. can I buy their music?! Here are the necessary links.. Website | Facebook
PS: I get a 90′s feeling from them. Which intentional or not.. is a good thing. GO 90′s! Such Nostalgia. - takemyfeels.com

By Richard L. Gaw

July 30, 2014

In the online version of the Urban Dictionary, there is, currently, no definition for the term “Dork Rock.”

So it's up to the music to help fill in the blanks. Less conspicuous, far friendlier and easily more accessible than its rival Mope Rock, Dork Rock relies heavily on tongue-in-cheek wit, the effective spin of the most clever of lyrics, and the freedom of the musician to not take himself or herself too seriously. Ironically, the frequent punch line target of many Dork Rock musicians are, in fact, musicians who take themselves very seriously.

For the last four years, Hot Breakfast, featuring Matt Casarino and Jill Knapp, have served as the local definition of the genre, and in most musical circles from Philadelphia to Rehoboth. In addition to performing in Wilmington and Chester County, they've taken their act to the South by Southwest (SXSW14) in Austin, Texas, as well as to venues in Boston, California, Phoenix, and outdoor festivals in Austin, Reno, Wilmington, and the Delaware beaches. Their 2012 singles “It Only Takes Two to Rock,” “Hole In Your Pants,” and “An Idiot for Christmas” have been getting local airplay, and their self-titled EP won the 2012 WSTW Hometown Heroes Homey Award for Best EP. Knapp also took home the Homey Award for Best Lead Singer.

Hot Breakfast’s latest album, 39 Summers, features 12 original and diverse songs and was produced by the duo and Ritchie Rubini. The CD was released May 18, 2013 at World Café Live at the Queen to a sold-out house. This album was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2013 WSTW Homey Awards, and tracks from the disc have been played on Little Steven’s Underground Garage on SiriusXM, iradiophilly, Y-NOT Radio, Gashouse Radio, Graffiti Radio, and Rockers Dive Radio.

On Aug. 1, they will be bringing their penchant for hard-rocking originals and quirky theatrical cover songs to the Kennett Flash, headlining a bill with comical musician Todd Chappelle and comedienne Melissa Bernard. Cleverly entitled “Comedy! Music! Comedy Music,” the evening will be a showcase of the work that has earned them the reputation as the area's premiere dork rock power duo.

"We're the ones who claim the title of dork rockers, so we love it and we're happy about it," Knapp said. "We consider ourselves dorks, and we consider it a badge of honor. Nerds have risen to the top. We're no longer the kids who get beaten up in locker rooms. It allows us to do exceptionally great things."

To hear a Hot Breakfast song, or to see them live, is to immediately understand that although the band leans heavily toward offbeat subjects with a comical edge, that a bucketful of talent comes with it. Casarino's songwriting is a musical offshoot of his work as a playwright, where he has written several plays that have been performed in nearly every state in the country. Knapp has an extensive background in voice and musical theatre. When they first began kicking around the idea of playing together, they looked around the local musical landscape and saw a dozen variations on the same theme; folk duos were plentiful throughout Delaware, and together, Knapp and Casarino looked at ways of hitting on a unique sound and genre.

"As soon as we started playing together, neither of us wanted to be a standard folk acoustic duo," Casarino said. "There's a lot of them and they've already got that field covered. We wanted to make it okay to be goofy and have fun. Not all of our songs and playlists are dorky, but dorkiness has been a nice hook that gets people listening."

Knapp said that Hot Breakfast has often been compared to Barenaked Ladies, who are known for their brand of offbeat lyrics heard in such songs as "If I Had a Million Dollars." Yet, like Barenaked Ladies, Hot Breakfast is far more than the musical equivalent of a one-trick pony. It's not uncommon for Knapp and Casarino to slip a few non-comical original songs into their sets.

"The truth is that the Barenaked Ladies also have a lot of sincere songs that aren't considered funny," Knapp said. "We connect with a lot of the audience and so they feel included, which allows us to build up their trust, and that allows us to get serious onstage at times through our music. They give us this room to float from dorkitude to serious stuff."

For those who have seen Hot Breakfast perform before at The Kennett Flash, Casarino and Knapp said that they can expect to hear new material. For those who have yet to see them, this Friday night should be a welcome change.

"They should expect a night of comedy fun of music," Knapp said. "We're full of quirk and puns, and we're sillier as opposed to funnier. We promise that they'll laugh and have a laid back evening to kick off the weekend."

"And they'll get to experience a lot of extreme dorkininess," Casarino added. - Chester County Press

A write up by Andre Lamar which appeared in the SC Sun Times and the Dover Post. - SC Sun Times

Holly Quinn of DE Arts Info reviews 39 Summers.

GET READY! Hot Breakfast! Has a New Full-Length Album!

Wednesday, May 13, 2013

With two Homey Awards for their self-produced, self-titled EP (one for the EP itself and one for lead singer Jill Knapp), the first full-length album from Hot Breakfast!, 39 Summers, is highly anticipated, and has a lot of expectations to meet. The album, which officially drops on Saturday May 18 with a release party concert at World Cafe Live at the Queen (featuring special guests The Honey Badgers and The Joe Trainor Trio), continues their "Acoustic Dork-Rock Power Duo" tradition, with help from producer Ritchie Rubini and engineer Ray Gagliardino. The result is clean, tight, and catchy, with a superfun mix of song types.

If you're tempted to write Hot Breakfast! off as a novelty act (not that there's anything wrong with that), don't. Knapp, who also plays percussion, and Guitarist/vocalist Matt Casarino are skilled musicians and songwriters who excel at playful upbeat songs (think "oh-oh"-laden '60s bubblegum -- the real stuff that gave birth to melodic punk rock) and stripped down acoustic story ballads. The silly songs are there, but there's a layer of cleverness and complexity that raises them above sheer novelty.

39 Summers kicks off with the title track, with a frothy pop sound that contradicts (and enhances) its beaten-down lyrics, and right away you know this isn't simple goofball rock 'n roll. There's the acoustic-folk-meets-hard rock "Defender," the self-deprecating retro-rock "I Am Not Cool," the clever "Hole in Your Pants," which sounds a bit like a Renaissance Faire folk song, but is about, well, a literal hole in your pants. There's even some electronica in "Maybe You Saw it Too." The dozen songs weave together flawlessly, with a balance of styles and sounds, Knapp's clear, versatile vocals taking center stage throughout.

You can pick up a copy of 39 Summers at the release party (get your tickets online at http://queentickets.worldcafelive.com or call (302) 994-1400). For more information on buying the album, check out hot-breakfast.com. - DE Arts Info

Amber Macey of Graffiti Radio interviews Jill Knapp and Matt Casarino of acoustic dork-rock band Hot Breakfast! on September 20, 2013. - Graffiti Radio

If there was ever an album that encapsulates the X Generation in the 21st Century, Hot Breakfast’s “The Big Reveal” is it. It’s not about how we were in the ‘80s and ‘90s (OK, it is a little bit), but how we are somehow grown up, being responsible at parties (Someone’s Got to Drive Larry Home) and listening to the same five records even though there’s a nearly endless supply of new music out there waiting to be downloaded (Too Many Choices). By the end, Matt Casarino (guitar and backing vocals) and Jill Knapp (lead vocals and percussion) have thrown up their hands and give in to the inevitable with Kids Today [Am I Right?], a tongue-in-cheek(ish) lament about those damn, maybe doomed, Millennials.

And it’s not just squarely GenX, it’s squarely Delaware GenX, featuring Delaware punk rock legends Jake and The Stiffs on New York Drama, a high-energy rock track that hits right in the middle of the album, just when the extra adrenaline is called for. (This is a real album meant to be listened to in order like music was intended to be listened to -- forget the Spotify shuffle.) As is their style, there is plenty of humor (and, even in songs like Kids Today and Nobody Matters but You, it doesn't come off as mean-spirited), but there is also a lot of sincerity, coming through most notably on the tracks Going Your Way and the particularly moving love song Ten More Years.

Stylistically, Hot Breakfast’s signature sound is “acoustic dork rock,” like a cross between ‘80s pop and ‘90s nerd alt-rock, with Knapp’s voice ranging from quirky and sarcastic to lilting and beautiful, yet it is a completely cohesive record. All in all, it’s an album that isn’t trying to impress the kids (something that feels rare for a rock album, even strange). They know their demo, and they speak to them, relatably and in no uncertain terms. - inWilmington