Old friends, new sounds collide with New Brunswick music collective, Hot Dress

In the halls of East Brunswick High School began a four-person band that's made a name for itself across the New Brunswick music scene: Hot Dress.

Members Max Fallon, guitarist and Rutgers alum who graduated earlier this year, Caleb Sullivan, drummer and an Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy first-year, Jason High, guitarist, and Andrew Petrocelli, lead singer and a Mason Gross School of the Arts senior, make up the up-and-coming alternative rock group, which is coming off their EP, "Room For None," released in June 2024.

In an interview with The Daily Targum, the band opened up about their humble beginnings, the work behind the music and their plans for the future, including their legacies.

The members of the band met in high school, with Hot Dress beginning as separate entities — Fallon and Petrocellli were in one band, Sullivan and High were in another.

"Both of those bands broke up, so we fused (into) one mega band," said Petrocelli. "We were like, 'Oh, we're better than both of our last bands ... We should do this forever and ever and ever and ever.'"

Next, the band would need a name for their group. They were booked for a gig and in a rush to come up with anything — inspiration struck in the form of the song "QYURRYUS" by The Voidz. Specifically, it was a lyric in the song's chorus, "Hot track, hot dress."

According to Petrocelli, they settled on "Hot Dress" because it was unique and, "none of us hated it."

Later, the band would embody the name by wearing dresses. But Petrocelli explained that this decision was, in fact, just a coincidence and a symptom of having a lack of comfortable clothing for performances during the summer.

"It was getting a little warmer, and I was getting a little bored of wearing shorts all the time ... we play shows outside, and it's hot," said Petrocelli. "I was just looking to try some new clothing to express myself and have the rest of them join me. And it's been that way ever since."

If one member of Hot Dress is in, they all are. The band shares a close bond similar to that of brothers. And of course, brothers fight.

When asked about how their close bonds affect conflicts within the group, Fallon explained how it's all part of the journey. Over time, they've developed their own ways of resolving issues — though it may seem a bit unusual, it's essential to the group's dynamic.

"We love each other no matter what," said Fallon. "Me and Andrew had a little thing over the summer ... So we met up and went to Chick-fil-A and worked it out."

The members joked that as long as their arguments never happened on a Sunday, they would be good. Still, all the disputes, including one from all the way back in middle school, have brought them closer together.

But now, as a more mature group with the reality of the music business, Andrew opened up on how they market themselves to the masses. In such a competitive industry, they've had to get creative and utilize tools like TikTok.

So far, they've amassed thousands of followers on the social media account, and millions of views on their videos. One post, in which they claimed to have covered a Harry Styles song decades ago, went viral. Another step is to convert that success to Instagram and the other platforms they post on.

"It's always been having connections gets you lots of places, but definitely now, you kind of need to be on TikTok doing that," said High. "There's a very little chance someone will just — that old story of your playing a show and then 'Johnny Record Label' walks in."

As the interview continued on a more intense note, the group discussed what legacy Hot Dress wants to leave behind if they were to have an unfortunate ending like the musical legends that came before.

The question caused the group to reflect on their growing legacies. While they all had different responses, they agreed on a similar sentiment about the power of music.

"If our music just keeps getting spun and spun and spun, then we'll live forever," said Petrocelli.

The interview concluded with many laughs throughout, and it was easy to come to the conclusion that Hot Dress is a band looking to push musical boundaries.

The collective plans to keep the momentum going with more appearances at basement shows.