Hot Action Cop's fiery frontman Rob Werthner once dated a girl who dumped him for an NYPD officer. This guy had a classic mullet, so Werthner took solace and poked some fun, nicknaming the guy "hot action cop." Ten years later, Werthner's inside joke was part of a living dream. He had a band -- a heavy, punk-inspired group -- and they joined the ranks of Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and the like during the new millennium's divvying spiral of rock. Tim Flaherty (guitar), Luis Espaillat (bass), and Kory Knipp (drums) joined Werthner once he left Manhattan for the smaller hustle and bustle of Nashville in the mid-'90s. Hot Action Cop spent the next few years hammering out a funky, yet aggressive style. In August 2002, Hot Action Cop began recording material for a debut album. The end result was a hedonistic, playful self-titled release, which appeared on Lava in March 2003. ~ MacKenzie Wilson