By Mollie Herron
May 29, 2021
EUGENE, Ore. — A dimly lit basement decorated with periodic tables and pin up girl posters is the practice space of self-proclaimed garage-indie-punk band Hot Sheets. Chemistry professor Karen McFarlane Holman, life coach Jessica Amos, and horticulturist DJ Jamie Sloan joined forces in 2016 to create the powerful all female band that has played many shows in Salem. The group also go by the stage names Dropkick, Claw, and Bangz respectively to fit their edgy performance personas.
Holman had experience playing in bands that usually had some sort of punk influence in their music. She says the “huge distortion and fun, balls to the walls kind of music” that is punk rock is her favorite to play which is why it has had a heavy impact on her music career. Amos learned to play bass just before Hot Sheets was formed and says that her music taste is heavily influenced by her coming of age in the 90s. Sloan, like Holman, has been involved in music making for many years but learned to play the drums for Hot Sheets with a craigslist drum kit and the help of a teacher she still learns from. Sloan describes herself as “an audio file and this was just another beautiful opportunity to get deeper into music.”
The three women that make up the group each have their own careers outside of the band, but all have a similar idea of how they want to live their lives. Amos says that they no longer want “to suckle on the teat of the man” and create their own paths that don’t follow the expected norm of society. Amos’s work centers on self-acceptance and meditation practices, which others have questioned because of her involvement in punk music. She says that people give her criticism because she “couldn’t be mindful and meditative and also punk rock” but she hopes to prove through her work that people can focus on being mindful while still having edge in their lives. She says that she “feels more integrated in her work” due to her acceptance of the different sides of herself and using that to help others work on themselves.
Both Amos and Holman have children in their teens while Sloan has three cats that she claims as her own children after finding them abandoned on the street. Holman’s children have started to follow in her footsteps, and one of her sons has formed a band of his own. Dean, her son, says that he and his band, The Wolves of Church Street, “are thankful for all of the topnotch equipment readily available at their fingertips and he is personally honored to be the son of such a cool mom.” While Hot Sheets’ music consists of only a guitar, bass, and drums, their practice space is littered with keyboards and a piano that Dean and his bandmates can use.
The trio love to make music together and hope to be successful with their music but have found that the real reward is the connection they have formed with each other and the sense of solidarity they have. Even if they don’t practice every week like they plan to, the group says that their bandmates help them “step into their power” and gain confidence in situations that are not related to music at all. The main goal of Hot Sheets was not originally to make it big, but rather focused on making music they enjoyed. Now that they have seen some success from their work, Sloan has big plans for them in the future. Her dream at this point in time is to tour and play in France on Make Music Day where the worldwide celebration originated. Sloan says that while the success would be a great thing, they “are trying to conquer their lives” with the help of music and not relying on possible fame that comes with it. Amos agrees with Sloan’s opinion and says, “if Hot Sheets never becomes anything more than it already is they would feel deeply satisfied.”
If they are able to make it big Sloan has a special pair of pants that she has been saving for the big stage. She says has “one pair of pants that she bought for France, and she’s going to wear them in France.” Sloan has been holding onto her pants for the chance to wear them on the big stage while Holman and Amos live for the chance to dress up for their performances. Holman says, “the best part of being in a band is the whole separate closet for band outfits.” When going on stage the group aims for a “funky punky” type of look that engages the audience.
When performing in front of an audience Hot Sheets prefers to engage with the audience and have fun and not focus on the technicalities of the music. Holman says the studio “is the place to get everything on record and lets people have them when they’re not around,” but the stage is where they enjoy being more. On stage the music they play is completely determined by audience reaction, which means some songs will be dragged on longer than the original version is or sometimes sang with a more aggressive and energetic tone.
For the next year Hot Sheets will be recording their new songs for their upcoming album. Listeners can expect to hear nine new songs and eventually at least one new music video. The album title has not yet been determined but some cover art is in the works. They want to focus on what they have done in the last year and use photos of their most recent adventures to show that despite not being able to publicly perform they are still just as close as they were before the pandemic. Hot Sheets will be performing at Salem’s Make Music Day, which will be their first live performance in the past two years followed by another performance not even a week later. The live performances are just a small part of what the group loves about the band because they don’t, as Sloan says, “work for the man” and can do what they want to do in order to be happy.