Photo by Graham Tolbert
With Raspberry Moon, their fourth album, Hotline TNT step into new territory. For the first time, the songs reflect the contributions of the entire band rather than just frontman Will Anderson. Until now, Anderson had been the project’s solo architect, guided less by the late ‘90s and early ‘00s alt-rock he grew up on (Incubus, blink-182, Limp Bizkit) than by his own instincts as a songwriter. True to that independent streak, he’s kept the first two Hotline TNT albums off the major streaming platforms, making them available to listen to and purchase on Bandcamp. What’s emerged is a sound defined by fuzzy, distortion-heavy guitars, melodic vocals, and hook-driven songs that blur the lines between shoegaze, power-pop and alternative rock.
That mix of independence and ambition has carried over into the band’s career trajectory. Since signing to Jack White’s Third Man Records, Hotline TNT have expanded their touring profile, moving from supporting slots with Snail Mail, Momma, and Hippo Campus to headlining dates across the U.S. and overseas. Yet Anderson remains intent on keeping a DIY spirit alive, booking shows in spaces more often reserved for local acts with modest followings like Dirty Dungarees in Columbus, Ohio, a hybrid venue/bar/laundromat with a generously listed capacity of 250.
While driving through Chicago after visiting family and friends, Anderson talked about why Raspberry Moon feels like Hotline TNT’s best album, reflected on the meaning of liner-note thank-yous, and shared his approach to touring and merch.
I’ve never heard a band say that their newest album isn’t their best album. So, sell me on why Raspberry Moon is the best Hotline TNT album.
WILL: Oh, wow. You’re coming out strong. I think having real drums automatically takes us up to a new level. Every record, definitely on the early seven inches, is all computer drums. Mike [Ralston] is one of the best drummers in the game and that’s not just my opinion, that’s what people tell me. He’s a hardcore drummer by trade and trained in jazz. Besides me, he has the longest tenure in the band and having him in the studio with a killer producer, Amos [Pitsch], we got some of our best stuff ever.
Every time something new comes out, you’ll hear people say, “I miss the old stuff. I miss how it was before when it was just tinkering away.” But we can’t listen to those people. I think this was some of the strongest songwriting I’ve done and some of the best lyrics I’ve ever done.
Growing up with physical media like albums, cassettes and CDs, I was always interested in the “Thank You” credits. Besides thanking family members and people who were involved in the making of the record, who is somebody you thanked on the Raspberry Moon credits? Why did you thank them and did they know their name was going to appear or was it a surprise?
WILL: There’s some people in the “Thank You” credits on the album that you’ve definitely heard of that you wouldn’t expect. For instance, Demi Moore has no idea that we thanked her or knows that we exist, I don’t think. So, I’ll go with my childhood best friend Paul and his wife Molly. I don’t want to say that they’re totally surprised that they got the thank you but I was present when Paul and Molly read it for the first time and Molly teared up when she saw it. I guess that’s indicative of her not expecting to see that, maybe. Those two had nothing to do with the creation of the album but they’ve been very supportive of me personally through all sorts of stuff that’s happened over recent years and beyond.
I thank people that I haven’t talked to in years. I’m shocked by how many bands who put time, effort and money into recording and making music and then when it comes to the packaging of the record, they’re just kind of like, “Eh, whatever.” If I open a record and there’s no cool insert, I’m pretty bummed. Every detail is important to me and the “Thank You” list is super important to me.
I talked to Jakob Dylan about “Thank You” credits. He said that with each subsequent release, the credits get fewer and fewer. He said, “Who really made the record? I made the record with these four or five people and we’re listed. I think that’s good enough. I don’t thank the baker down the street. Did they really help me make the record?”
WILL: I love this question, I’m just going to throw this out there to make sure they get their flowers. I also thank Baker’s Dozen Bagels, which is the bagel shop a block away from my apartment. And they were thrilled. They saw it and they had no idea I was going to do that. It was a big part of the album for me. Two or three times a week during the recording, I was at the bagel shop and it kind of kept me going. So, they got recognized.
Do you have a regular order?
WILL: I do. And, I can say “the usual” when I walk in and they know what it is. It’s super, annoyingly boring. I get a plain bagel toasted with plain cream cheese, and super light on the cream cheese.
I’m more of a super heavy on the cream cheese and double toasted.
WILL: Double toasted is good. I should consider that. But for me, the lightest amount you could possibly put on is enough for me. I just need something. When it gets over cream cheesed, I’m grossed out for some reason.
Coffee?
WILL: No coffee for me, I’ve never had a cup in my life. I’ll get a Poppi prebiotic soda.
I live in Columbus, Ohio. Your date here is at Dirty Dungarees which is a laundromat. The performance space is in the back corner and if you get 50 people in the place for a show, it feels packed. I was really surprised to see you’re playing there. Are you familiar with the venue?
WILL: I know of it. I haven’t been yet, but I have friends who’ve played there and told me it’s great. That show is definitely one I have circled on the map that I’m super excited about.
Did you specifically chose to play that one or did your booking agent throw a bunch of ideas out at you?
WILL: The circle of influence is shrinking every year for me. We went many, many years with no team, no booking agent. It was just me plotting out the cities that I know we’ll do well in, and then add a few cities we’ve never played, that kind of thing. Baby steps. It was word-of-mouth DIY connections for a long time. And now we have a booking agent. When Cartwheel came out, it was the first U.S. tour that I didn’t book. I maybe booked two shows on that tour, Vancouver and Minneapolis which are kind of like my hometown shows. But now, our booking agent ,for Columbus, will send me five venues to pick from. He knows that I want to do as much DIY or punk-adjacent stuff as possible. He said, “Dirty Dungarees is a laundromat. You want to do that?” And I was like, “Yeah, let’s do it.” I’m looking forward to it.
At this point in your touring career, you must have stories about driving eight hours just to play a 20-minute opening set and then leaving as soon as you’re done to drive another six hours to do a radio session or something. Can you share a story about doing an insane amount of traveling?
WILL: There’s too many to count. A bunch of stuff comes to mind. A million years ago, I was in a band called Weed, which was based in Vancouver, BC. I think it was like our first tour outside of the city ever. We played two shows in one night in two different cities. We played a show in Eugene, Oregon, which was a college show. We played in the cafeteria and got like a hat passed around for people to put money into. I’m sure we made less than a hundred dollars. And then we got the word that there was an acid party in Portland that same night and that we could play at the acid party. We got in the car and drove a couple of hours from Eugene to Portland to play a show at a house party. There was probably a maximum of 50 people there. And, you know, I think the acid was part of the payment. It was memorable for sure.
I heard you share a story on the “First Ever Podcast“ about the first time you felt like you had really made it. You said you were playing in Oklahoma, a place where you didn’t know anyone, and people were actually familiar with the band and singing along to the songs. Can you tell me a story about playing somewhere where you looked out and saw friends of yours in a city you didn’t expect to know anyone?
WILL: This is sort of an answer to the question, not exactly what you’re asking. We played a show in Brussels last year and this guy came up to me who I didn’t recognize. He was interacting with me in a way that signified that I should know him. That happens a lot to me. I have a bad reputation of forgetting that I’ve met people multiple times. This guy was named Lucas who, within the next year, became my roommate in New York. I heard about this room in New York, and I went to see it. I was like, “Nice to meet you, man. I’m Will.” He’s like, “We’ve met before, a few times.” One of those times was at the show in Brussels where we had a full conversation. And, even before that, we’d met a few times. That happens to me a lot.
You graduated high school in 2007. Your 20-year reunion isn’t that far away. Will you go if there is some sort of event? If so, will anybody be surprised that you’re a recording and touring musician?
WILL: I would love to go to my reunion. From the second I graduated high school, I was into that kind of stuff. I like keeping in touch with people, especially if they’re not at all involved in this world I’m in, not in a way where I want to impress them with what I’m doing, I just think it’s cool. I want to keep a foot in every world that I possibly can. I missed the 10-year reunion. My class president, his name is Brady Nyhus. If he reads this: Brady, where was my invite? I don’t know what’s going on. I feel like we were in a very perfect sweet spot where our class was not going to keep in touch the old fashioned way. Facebook was right there and we just had a “Class of 2007” Facebook group. My username on there isn’t even my real name. I don’t know if I got lost in the shuffle of things. Now no one uses Facebook, so that group might have dissolved as well. I don’t even know. I don’t know who’s in charge of the 20-year reunion.
We’ll make sure that Brady knows to invite you to this one.
WILL: Yeah, Brady, let’s get on it. We need the 20-year reunion. Let’s really do it this time. To the other part of the question, I don’t think they’d be surprised, but they probably wouldn’t care. There’s a Wikipedia page for my band, but I think they would probably not care until we’re like Twenty-One Pilots or something like that. Then they would be like, “Whoa, okay, this guy’s really made something of himself.” Having parents who are not in the music world, when we signed to Third Man Records, that caught their attention. They were like, “This is more than a hobby for Will. We know who the White Stripes are.” My parents went to record stores when they were kids. My small town, the townies from Chippewa Falls, might not be at that level yet, no offense.
We’ve talked about tour strategy, what about merch strategy? I appreciate it when bands create unique merch, cool t-shirt designs beyond the typical black t-shirts. But, as a middle-aged guy, I’m usually not buying anything that’s too graphic or too out of the ordinary. I often wonder if bands who design really unique merch wind up going home with a lot of leftover stuff they didn’t sell. Do you play it safe or do you have merch that you know might not sell?
WILL: We’ve done it both ways and that’s part of the strategy. If I’m being completely honest with you, I think I’ve been slacking a little bit in the merch game recently. I’m kind of the director of all the designs. I don’t design it all myself, but I tell people what I want. I feel like even the safe bets have kind of been misses lately. I need to go really safe, black and white shirts. I’ve been putting the logo on a gray t-shirt and people don’t want gray t-shirts. We take big swings as well, like soccer jerseys, baseball jerseys with camo sleeves and stuff like that. It always sells eventually. It’s weird because we had hockey jerseys about a year ago, which sold out in one night. They were expensive hockey jerseys. And then the baseball jerseys, which I thought were even cooler, didn’t move at all. It’s so hard for me to predict what’s going to be a hit and what’s not, but I’m still trying to tweak the recipe and make sure we get everyone who wants something to be able to buy something they like.
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Hotline TNT’s 2025 tour dates
Hotline TNT’s music catalog on Bandcamp
