Hunt for Hunter is a folk-rock duo based in Brooklyn NY, comprised of Michael Hunter on violin, guitar and vocals, and Ian Hunt on cajon, guitar and vocals. Born out of Hunter’s solo album “A Chance to Shine“, Hunt for Hunter is a blend of both musicians’ diverse musical backgrounds. Classical and bluegrass, hard rock and folk, many different genres find a home in this surprisingly big-sounding little band. A typical performance will find Hunter singing and playing violin while Hunt plays guitar and cajon with his feet simultaneously. It’s an unusual setup, but one that allows for a full, organic sound that perfectly suits their blues/folk-oriented style.
Their live show combines musical virtuosity with painstakingly honest songs and an easygoing, intimate stage presence that developed naturally after years of playing a weekly residency at a local bar in the East Village. For bigger shows the duo upsizes to a full 4-piece rock ‘n roll band, bringing in Diwas Gurung on electric guitar and Drew Jones on bass for more raucous occasions. Regardless of the instrumentation, Hunt for Hunter remains at its core devoted to their live show, their songs, and the art of forming a real connection with their ever-growing fanbase.
In this interview spotlight, we speak with Hunt for Hunter about influences, their newest project, navigating the digital era and much more.
Full Q&A along with links and embeds for streaming below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
Our band is from Brooklyn, NY. I’d say our music is basically rock ‘n roll with an occasional progressive/classical twist. Most of our songs center around an acoustic instrument, typically violin, though in this case for “Oblivious” it’s acoustic guitar.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
I grew up as a classically trained musician playing piano and violin at an early age. In college I began to cross over to other genres, namely rock and metal, started learning other instruments and began writing songs and just kinda never stopped. As far as staying the course, the desire to make music and perform is something that’s really just built into my DNA. The audience/success may come and go, bands may come and go, but I’ll be writing and playing music for as long as I’m physically and mentally able. That said there’s definitely something special about this band and these players, and I’m more hopeful than I’ve ever been that this particular project can go the distance.
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
My old composition professor Steven Stucky once told me great composers can make good music whenever they want. They don’t rely on inspiration or serendipity; any composer or songwriter should have the craft and ability to be able to create something good at any time, regardless of their mood or mental state. And when inspiration does strike, they possess the knowledge and skill to turn that idea into something magical. Nobody writes great songs all the time, but you can and should develop your craft to the point where you can at least write a good song whenever you put your mind to it.
Musically my influences cross a lot of genres, I’ve been digging the Winery Dogs lately, really enjoying their blend of accessible songwriting with absurdly polished chops. Manchester Orchestra is another big one for that combination of strings and rock ‘n roll, Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers definitely dominate the folk side of my brain, old school grunge (Alice in Chains, Nirvana etc), metal (Insomnium, Lamb of God, Mastodon, etc), hip hop (Childish Gambino, The Roots, Jurassic 5 etc). I really do try to constantly listen to as much music as I can, even things I don’t necessarily enjoy the first time around because all music has value and you can always learn something, even (and sometimes especially) from styles that don’t gel with your own.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
Well this is Hunt for Hunter’s first full band release, typically we’re an acoustic, more folk-driven duo. The goal was really just to let these songs realize their full potential; so the songs we selected for “No Locks & No Bars” were the ones we felt really took advantage of the fuller sound and instrumentation.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
I’d say standing out from the crowd really is the biggest challenge. On a live stage I’ll put our band toe to toe with anyone and I’m confident we can hold our own and win over pretty much any audience. But online there is just SO, much competition. It’s overwhelming, and because everyone’s building their own studios, using Kickstarters to fund albums, and taking advantage of insanely powerful plug-ins that can make the worst singer in the world sound like an angel, the quality has gone up across the board. Everyone has great recordings, everyone can get press from blogs, so you’ve got to find ways to differentiate your music and your band from everyone else’s.
The flip side is of course everything I just said; I’ve used Kickstarters in the past, half of this EP was recorded in my home studio (though it was mixed/mastered @FourLegsRecords.com), and we can now get press from blogs without shelling out $6000 for a publicist. It’s easier for us indie musicians nowadays to put out a good product, but it’s of course easier for everyone else too, so you really have to put in the extra effort to appear unique and offer something different to listeners.
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
I love the warmth of vinyl, and I do still firmly believe that the album format, CDs etc, is the best way to absorb music from an artist. Listening to one song at a time and skipping around to other songs on a playlist is fine once in a while, but I don’t think you reap the same benefits as you do when you go through a full album, really getting to know the artist, understanding the lyrics and the message they’re trying to get across.
Streaming services seemed like a great idea at first, good exposure, easy access to music for listeners, but the major labels sorta swooped in and set up a system that screws over the songwriters/performers. If they find some sort of middle ground with content creators then that’d be ideal, but I’m not holding my breath. Per usual it’s indie, struggling musicians that get the short end of the stick, while the big labels and streaming companies make bank. So um, I guess you can say I’m not a huge fan of streaming services.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
Our website http://huntforhunter.com is a good place to start, http://huntforhunter.com/fullband has all the info about the full band. You can now stream (ahem) the full EP “No Locks & No Bars” on Soundcloud and digital downloads are available on Bandcamp.
And of course we’re on Twitter @HuntforHunter1, Facebook @HuntforHunter, Instagram @HuntforHunter, Youtube @HuntforHunter.
Anything else before we sign off?
Just wanted to say thanks for helping us get our music out there. Blogs like this are definitely one of the upsides of digital age, helping us get our music out to a new audience we might not have reached otherwise. Also, both our drummer Ian Hunt and bassist Drew Jones are actually from Murfreesboro and went to MTSU, so that’s kinda great 🙂
Hopefully we’ll make it down there sometime soon for a show!
https://soundcloud.com/huntforhunterep/sets/hunt-for-hunter-no-locks-and-no-bars-ep
