The fiery frontman of Hot Action Cop, Rob Werthner, once found himself in the wake of a breakup when his girlfriend chose an NYPD officer instead. Sporting a classic mullet, that officer prompted Werthner to conjure an irreverent nickname—"hot action cop"—as a private source of amusement. A decade on, the jest evolved into tangible reality when Werthner formed a heavy, punk-inspired band that entered the same circle as Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, and similar acts amid the new millennium's divvying spiral of rock. After departing Manhattan for Nashville's smaller hustle and bustle in the mid-'90s, he was joined by Tim Flaherty (guitar), Luis Espaillat (bass), and Kory Knipp (drums). The ensuing years saw Hot Action Cop craft a funky yet aggressive approach, leading them to begin tracking their debut album in August 2002. The resulting hedonistic, playful self-titled album surfaced on Lava in March 2003.
