Apr 17 2008
Total Commitment
I checked the clock again and I was right. 12:32 in the am, Thursday morning and that was two hours ago already. I’ve just begun…
…I ventured from home around 11:00 in the morning to catch up with an old friend, Andrew Hunter. Singer, songwriter and surfer. I caught his performance at the Seahorse the week earlier and wanted to say hello…
…Andrew leaned in to refill my tea. “I wrote that one a while ago, but we just got it to where it needed to be.”
[Story and Gallery continues...]
Andrew had just recently started drinking tea. Green tea… for the most part.
He had been boasting for the better part of the afternoon about the nutritional benefits of green tea before the question of his music came up. “What was the name of that song you played at the Seahorse the other night”, I asked. “It’s called Dirty Money.”
It’s not hard to recognize that Andrew takes his music seriously. Music steered him away from a nine to five. “Somehow, some way it will all work out, and I trust that”, he told me, but, I think he’s selling himself short. He gets by, pursuing his music, hawking instruments when need be. Working up to sixteen hour days when necessary and finding time to release two CD’s in the past two years. And he surfs more than his share of waves between Nova Scotia and Hawaii. He gets by.
After releasing his first solo album, The Sunday Sessions in September of 2006, he followed up with Andrew Hunter & the Gatherers 2007 release Victory At Sea.
The Sunday Sessions album was melodic, and lazy, an influence of time spent in the Hawaiin Islands. The majority of his album found it’s way into Breaking Ice, the Birth of a Canadian Surf Culture.
Victory At Sea is charged, all guns blazing. It’s strong and steely like the North Atlantic, from the opening riff. Matt Budreski on drums and back up vocals and Kevin Parnell on bass brought a refined pro sound to Andrew Hunter & the Gatherers. Andrew knew the growth needed to be part of the process. “If you settle for something then you’ve sort of given up.” And the sacrifice is well worth the payoff. “I don’t own my own house or have lots money but I’m completely content playing music and going surfing. I know if I keep going and keep working hard on it there’s going to be a break.”
There’s rumours about another album, and breakingice.ca is openly pursuing Andrew to write for the blog. I guess we’ll have to discuss it over more tea!
For more info on Andrew Hunter & the Gatherers myspace.com/andrewhuntermusic
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