Interview: Heatbox at Hotel Minnesnowta 2019

 

As Max and Aaron, the hosts of the 2019 Hotel Minnesnowta Mario Kart tournament, made the final preparations to begin, there was a disruption. Max quickly found the source of the disruption. It was a player attempting to connect his own controller.

“He brought his own controller,” Max said into his microphone.

Confounded, Aaron quickly interjected. “Dude, what the f**k?”

Aaron didn’t know it at the time, but that player would go on to win the tournament, making easy work of the competition. Soon after, that player would interview Aaron on the couch in the hotel lobby.

Aaron Heaton, more commonly known as Heatbox, is a Minneapolis musician known primarily for his ability to conjure up funky, upbeat performances using just his voice and a few effects pedals — And sometimes a ukulele.

Heaton’s sound is influenced heavily by harmonizers and/or “funky dudes,” such as The Beach Boys, Bobby Mcferrin, Michael Jackson, and James Brown.

“James Brown meets The Beach Boys is about where I’m trying to be — funkier than The Beach Boys and with more harmonies than James Brown,” said Heaton.

Advances in technology since the time of his influencers allow Heaton to channel them without the necessity of a full band.

“I’ve got a loop pedal, two effects pedals, and another pedal I use to play one-hit sounds, like symbols, on command,” said Heaton.

Not all of the sounds Heaton creates require the assistance of technology. He also has some instrumental ability, although only one of his known instruments is applied when he performs as Heatbox.

“I play the baritone ukulele, but I try to make it not sound like one,” said Heaton. “I also played the tuba for seven years.”

The “micro funk” project Heaton just started at the beginning of the year will take his music in a bit of a different direction. He will make and upload one song every week for the entire year. The first track, “Shut Off My Computer” dropped on January 7, and another will be titled “You’ve Had Enough Internet Today.”

“The idea is to make really short songs people can use as responses on the internet. When some weird chat gets too weird, you can just post a link to a song,” said Heaton. “At the end of the year, I’ll take some of the best ones, turn them into full length, professionally recorded songs, and make an album.”

Heaton’s passions don’t stop at making music. His repertoire also includes being the creator and host of the game show “Soul Players.” The game is played in person by four players. Points are determined by the votes of an online audience viewing the players via webcam.

“I call it ‘the modern game show.’ It’s basically video games meets acting and improv,” said Heaton. “It’s super silly and dumb, and it’s a really fun time.”

For Heaton, Soul Players is also about stepping away from music a bit and into a new venture. Making music has been one of his primary points of focus for over half of his life, but is music his only calling?

“I’ve kind of always wanted to be a game show host, or a radio host, or a late night talk show host,” said Heaton. “That’s the cream of the crop gig; to just chill behind a desk and hang out and ask questions and do dumb ass s**t.”

When Heaton isn’t busy daydreaming about being Conan O’Brien, improvisation with other musicians during his sets keeps the music exciting for everyone, including himself.

“When you’re just jamming and you’re not sure what’s going to happen next, I don’t think that will ever get old,” said Heaton. “Even when you’re good enough to crush, the suspense will still have you on the edge.”

Heaton’s heart seems to be set in a direction that will keep him making music for years to come, although his goal could be accomplished as a musician or a talk show host.

“I just want to make people move their butts and smile,” said Heaton. “That’s pretty much all my goal is.”

Feature photo by Philip Grazulis