Hot Snakes are an American post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis had found international success with Rocket from the Crypt. Hot Snakes disbanded in 2005 but reunited in 2011. Although they share musical similarities with members' previous outfits, Hot Snakes have a sound that is much more primal than that of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu or even Rocket from the Crypt. Reis and Froberg were also heavily influenced by bands such as The Wipers, Suicide, and Michael Yonkers Band, and these influences gave Hot Snakes a distinctive sound that has been described by one critic as "hardcore garage punk." The band's recordings and merchandise were produced using principles of DIY, with Froberg providing all of the artwork and Reis releasing the material via his Swami Records label. History 1999–2001: Formation and Automatic Midnight As youths growing up in San Diego, Reis and Froberg had played together in the post-hardcore band Pitchfork from 1986 to 1990. Following that they formed Drive Like Jehu, which gained the attention of major labels and resulted in a record contract with Interscope Records. By this time, however, Reis had become seriously involved with his other band, Rocket from the Crypt, and in 1995 Drive Like Jehu stopped playing together. Reis would continue to work with Rocket From the Crypt until 2005, while Froberg moved to New York to start a career as visual artist and illustrator. Hot Snakes essentially began as a "side project" in 1999 while Reis was taking time off from Rocket from the Crypt, who were in between record labels and had lost their longtime drummer Atom Willard. While searching for a new record label and drummer, Reis started his own label Swami Records and experimented with other musicians, resulting in the formation of both Hot Snakes and the Sultans. Hot Snakes originated when Reis recorded a batch of songs with The Delta 72 drummer Jason Kourkounis, then contacted former bandmate Froberg to contribute vocals to the tracks. Most of this recording session was released in 2000 as Hot Snakes' first album Automatic Midnight, which was the first release by the Swami label. Although Reis and Froberg had previously collaborated in bands, Hot Snakes represented a new challenge logistically: Reis lived in San Diego, Froberg in