Heart Hunters’ Drew de Man founded his first band, No River City, in 2001 and spent the next several years making records, touring the country and sharing bills with artists such as Iron & Wine, Calexico and Alejandro Escovedo. After a decade away from the spotlight, his new project Heart Hunters—a duo with his wife, singer/songwriter Brianna Blackbird—builds on the moody indie/alt-country sounds de Man explored with No River City, updating them for a new era with debut LP American Eclipse (July 20). The record’s alternately haunting and wistful folk songs find De Man and Blackbird engaging in potent social and spiritual commentary, clinging to silver linings while wrestling with an increasingly turbulent country. But while the subject matter is often heavy, the duo’s hook-laden melodicism offers all the balance the record needs. Here, de Man answers his Essential 8 where he shares the story behind the album's title, talks about road life, drinking at gigs, and more.
What’s the story behind your album’s title? We began the recording of the album during the solar eclipse of 2017. We wrapped it up on a full moon. We loved all the connotations of the phrase: an eclipse of the US, a darkening of the political and social landscape, an auspicious window of time during which vast galactic shifts can occur. Has America been eclipsed? Astrology even pointed to the eclipse having negative impacts on Trump...tee hee!!! We also mention the moon in the lyrics of four of the songs. It all just made sense. Who would you love to collaborate with? We keep saying our next record might be a sort of folkloring trip around Senegal or Mali - we talk about grafting some West African music and instruments onto our music and writing a crop of songs with some artists there. We both have long been interested in a wide variety of African music. Is drinking at gigs a positive or a negative? Well, Bri drinks lightly at shows and prefers to play without a buzz. Drew doesn't drink at all. You might say it used to be a negative for him, but he quit drinking over 5 years ago! What’s your favorite food on the road? We always travel with a "foodbox" - a cardboard box with, you guessed it, food. We usually have salt and some utensils, fruit and healthy snacks. Remember, we take our two children with us. We keep trying to duplicate a certain hummus kale wrap with kimchi. (We pretty much eat like most hippies.) What do you love most about being on the road? We always get such great hospitality - getting us gigs, watching our kids, feeding us, inviting us to parties, putting us up... We most often find friendly people on the road, curious people. The more professional the setting is, the people you deal with are generally more polite and gracious. Being on the road can reaffirm our faith in humanity through all the positive interaction. the community and relationship building. How do you kill the long hours in the van? Singing, playing at rest stops, finding places to swim with the kids (the beach, a creek, a public pool), listening to music. We sometimes read to each other, which can be really sweet. What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? Don't take any of it too seriously. Remember - you play music. You'll play hundreds, even thousands of gigs in your life - practice not stressing at shows. Stressing about time, about perfect performance, a small crowd, a rowdy crowd, and the list goes on. Stressing is never worth doing. Always be kind and gracious. What’s your dream venue and why? Umm....how 'bout playing a killer show with a backing band at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California. Open air, so many storied shows of yore there. A good size amphitheater that isn't a stadium - sort of a perfect venue. We love California - it may be trite, but most musicians understand. There's something magic about those hills out there. Website/Facebook/Twitter
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February 2019
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