Hot Water Music is an American punk rock band formed in October 1994 and based in Gainesville, Florida. Since their formation, the group has consisted of Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard on shared lead vocals and guitars, bass guitarist Jason Black, and drummer George Rebelo. Since 2017, the band has also included guitarist-vocalist Chris Cresswell. The band initially broke up in August 1998, but reformed by October 1998. A second breakup came in 2006 but the band has been active since 2008. Background Early history (1994–1998) Ragan, Black, and Rebelo initially met while living in Sarasota. Black and Rebelo had played together in jazz bands in school. Ragan and Rebelo met while working at eateries on the same street, with the corner becoming a frequent gathering place for Sarasota musicians. As Wollard was based in Bradenton at the time, he met the other three at a storage facility which was frequently used as a rehearsal space for both Sarasota and Bradenton bands. Frustrated by the lack of musical opportunities in their respective hometowns, Black, who had been attending University of Florida for a year, recommended that the other three join him in Gainesville, a city known for its historic and contemporary music scene. Upon moving to Gainesville and variously filling in as performers in each others' bands Fossil and Thread, the four joined together as Hot Water Music in October 1994. The band's name was taken from the collection of short stories by Charles Bukowski of the same name. The band played its first show at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida in the fall of 1994. After rapidly releasing a series of singles splits, and EPs, the band released their first two LPs in 1997, Fuel for the Hate Game and Forever and Counting, the latter of which was released under the temporary moniker The Hot Water Music Band due legal concerns on the part of the band's label Doghouse Records regarding an unrelated record titled Hot Water Music by Elektra Records band Hot Water that same year. After two years of rigorous touring had exhausted the band's members and strained their relationships, they announced that they would be breaking up following a farewell show at the Hardback Cafe in Gainesville on August 28, 1998. Their intention to disband was evidently short-lived, as, during the show, Ragan announced to the audience, "I'm sure a lot of people