Here's a sneak peek into the life of progressive hard rockers The Hunter & The Potter straight out of Vancouver's lush but formidable landscape. "High Noon" -- at least the live take on it -- starts out as if a band rehearsal and progresses to raucous jam amongst friends. These guys are likely not so focused on existential crises, more just ready to rock your face off. But that’s not to say they won’t build up to it, you know, progressively. The instruments have this post-melancholic banter back and forth.
I was thinking about getting a snazzy new hair cut later today, but I’m glad I listened to this song first. These guys have plenty of shag to go around, in both hair, beards and music. Vocals come through a bit muffled / muted and little slips aren't auto-tuned over. These guys are relatively new, having formed back in 2015 and it seems like they've made a lot of progress. A very cohesive bunch. There’s no reason to think stoner rock would be a pejorative when applied to the crew. They deliver eminently infectious riffs with a head-shaking sense of self-confidence.
Listen to "High Noon (Live)" here, and learn more about The Hunter & The Potter in our interview below!
How do you think the environment of Vancouver has influenced your songwriting?
We live in a beautiful corner of the world so a certain level of outdoors time contributes to us. For example going to one of the beaches with an acoustic guitar to jam and song write. I do think the stress of living in a major city as well as such a rainy and expensive one, contributed heavily to the tension in some of our music. One thing is most people don't think of QOTSA style rock riffs and hard rock coming out of such a nice place like Vancouver.
What is the perfect place to hear The Hunter & The Potter to get full effect?
The best place to hear us is live, and our upcoming shows are at The Bourbon in Vancouver (Feb 23rd) and The Blind Beggar in Calgary( March 17th). If you can't make it to our shows we are available on most streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music YouTube and Deezer. When we aren't on stage there you can find us across town in East Vancouver in our cozy rehearsal space working on our sets and writing new tunes.
Is there a process to make sure everyone is contributing to writing songs, or are there specific people who take the lead?
From the beginning of writing Innocent Guns, it was only Max and Sean (forming members) in the rehearsal space trading riffs back and forth. All the music and lyrics for the album was done by the time Rildney (drums) and Sam (bass) joined the band. The challenge for them was to play the parts as they were written and also add their own style into the playing. Both were very patient in that process. We have 3 new songs written and now the creative door is wide open for song writing and ideas. We have discovered each members strengths and what they bring. Whether its Max or Sam's vocals that fit just right, Rildney's keen ear for what will make a part catchier or Sean's rock riffs, it all adds up. Finally, it has to work for everybody before we move on or complete a song.
Any band goals for 2019?
Yes, we have our eye set on some summer festivals and starting in March we will be branching out from the lower mainland and exploring eastern BC and Alberta for performing live. We also will be releasing 2 new EP's by the end of the year! Lots coming soon.
What are some of your biggest progressive rock influences?
Opeth, Mastodon, Dream Theater, Kansas, Pink Floyd, Supertramp to name a few!
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