The energy between the six members of Hot Kunch bounces off the walls, leaving and coming back to every person like a boomerang.

Guitarist Justin Booth cracks jokes with everyone, mostly about past shows and the band’s time playing karaoke nights at Paddy’s in Campustown. The band has a wealth of stories and they are more than willing to share.

Formed in 2015, Hot Kunch has had a rotating cast of members, having come together through Genre Music Club – where Booth was president – mutual friends and former projects. The name Hot Kunch is a play on a band name that they had originally wanted.

“We wanted to be Hot Lunch, but there were already like three other bands called Hot Lunch, and Jackson (Voyles) or Alex (Kouri) were like ‘Hot Kunch!’ and we started laughing and said ‘No, that’s a horrible idea’,” Booth said. “Then when Kayli joined we asked ‘what did we call ourselves that one day?’, and Jackson says “Hot Kunch!” and we just died again. We were like ‘That’s it.'”

While they started as a ‘bar band’, having gotten the gig playing Tuesday night karaoke at Paddy’s, the band has since moved on to working on original material. The band has played a few of their originals at venues like DG’s Taphouse, Zeke’s and the Memorial Union Terrace. 

“Music is a way to whine and get away with it,” admits Booth, amid laughter from the band. “A lot of the songs are about people complaining about things they shouldn’t complain about- typical song stuff.”

When it comes to genre, however, the band doesn’t label themselves.

“We don’t take any direction. Every time we talk about genre, we get confused.”

Other members of the band agree with this sentiment, and want their audience to just have fun when listening to them.

“I want people to get excited about listening to us,” said singer Kayli Nantarez. “I like playing around the area- college is where we’re supposed to branch out.”

Despite being a relatively new band, Hot Kunch has set a few goals for their future in Ames – like record a full length album and develop a three-hour set for future shows.

“We’re gearing up to get into the studio pretty soon,” Booth said. “And t-shirts! I love the hot dog as our logo, so you’ll see it on stuff.”