Hot Snakes were an American rock[1][2] band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California.

Although they shared musical similarities with members' previous outfits, Hot Snakes forged a sound that was much more primal than that of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu or Rocket from the Crypt.

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.

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.

When Hot Snakes again returned to the recording studio in 2004, Rocket from the Crypt drummer Mario Rubalcaba (also of The Black Heart Procession, Clikatat Ikatowi, Earthless, 411, and Chicanochrist) was brought in to play the drums.

Audit in Progress was named "best punk album" at the 2005 San Diego Music Awards, and shortly after Reis announced that Rocket from the Crypt would also be breaking up.

That fall, Hot Snakes contributed a cover of the Government Issue song "Time to Escape" to the soundtrack to the Tony Hawk's American Wasteland video game.

Wood continues to record music and play in Beehive and the Barracudas, while Froberg resides in New York and works as a visual artist and illustrator.

[5][6][7] The band toured the West Coast of the United States from March to April 2012, and performed at the Metallica-curated Orion Music + More festival in New Jersey in June.