INTERVIEW: HUNNY chats “Windows 2” and tour with Made Violent!
Last week, I took advantage of the non-existent snowstorm forecast and set out to Great Scott to interview buzzy HUNNY just before they took the stage in Boston to a sweaty room of at least ninety. It was a rapt audience as they zoomed through most of their catalog including yet to be released songs. I sat down with Jason, Jake and Kevin from the band at my favorite interview locale, the Great Scott patio, to chat what’s to come from the band as well as how HUNNY came to be. Throughout the interview, fans asked for selfies and shouted their support which makes it clear their relentless touring is paying off. The music speaks for itself and we were grateful for the opportunity to chat with this band on their way to the top!
You guys have been making music pretty steadily through 2017. This run is just starting with Made Violent.
Jake Goldstein: This is actually really early into it.
Jason Yorger: Yeah we’re only show two. It’s very chill so far.
JG: So far so good. We’ve made fast friends with these guys. So far, it looks like all the shows are pretty fun. We’re stoked. It’s good, we’re good to go.
JY: Good to go! Bummed we had to cancel Philly last night.
The snow!
JY: It got fricking crazy.
Yeah, I think they got way more than us. We got like nothing, it started snowing at like one a.m. and it was all gone by the morning.
JG: We drove through most of it on the way here and it was more then we’re used to at home obviously but manageable.
JY: A hundred percent more then we’re used to. Yeah it should be chill.
Then from looking online, I know you guys have really steadily released music in 2017. I think the last release was “Windows 1” which is about a year ago. Are you guys currently working on new material?
JY: Yeah some other stuff has started coming in. We’re just sitting on a catalog.
JG: We’re sitting on some stuff but yes it will come out pretty soon. I mean it’s finally getting to the point where that is about to come out and we’re sitting on more stuff and excited to be putting music out and touring and doing what bands do.
And you’ve been touring so steadily. Before we started, you could name every band you’ve toured with like The Frights, Bad Suns. Is that just the plan? Is that something that you’ve always wanted to do, just consistently stay on the road or maybe advice to bands to get to that point? You guys have been on the road so much.
JG: We like touring and we like playing shows. I feel like that’s definitely one of the reasons you start being in a band is because you like performing live music. So it’s always been kind of the goal for that to be definitely a consistent part of what we do.
JY: Yeah, we love fucking seeing the country and shit. We get to travel for work, basically, even though it’s not really work.
JG: For us it’s play.
JY: It’s a good mix of work and play.
Then with “Windows 1” was about a year ago, is it something where it is on the near horizon?
JG: Oh it’s absolutely on the horizon.
JY: It’s done, it’s mixed.
JG: It’s towards the end of the process of releasing music right now so it should be out pretty quick.
JY: We tried to get it out before we went on this tour but it didn’t work out.
Kevin Gerimmett: We tried to get it out before we went on our last tour.
JG: We’ve been sitting on these for a minute. Since Bad Suns.
JY: Yeah, Bad Suns, it’s been done since that. We’ve been wanting it out for a long time. Just a bunch of other stuff happened.
Then if it’s been done for a while, are you road-testing new material now?
JG: Yeah, absolutely.
So material that’s not even on that record?
JG: We’re playing some things that are on what’s going to be “Windows 2” when we put it out. Then I think in this set it’s all stuff that we already have recorded but we generally play new stuff out. We had some time where Kevin had to learn some bass parts so we had to re-tool the live show. So it ended up being, ‘let’s play what we know and then we’ll get to that other stuff’ a little bit.
JY: So we have a couple new ones from the next thing. Then we do all of “Windows 1” I think tonight. We have some stuff from the first EP too.
Then HUNNY is still so new in releasing music. I’m sure you guys have known each other forever but when did the idea of HUNNY first start, like when was that inciting moment?
KG: Ever since I was in high school, so 2013.
JG: Yeah Kevin was still in high school.
KG: No, it was 2014. Started my senior year.
JY: Yeah 2014! It started as my solo project and then I got these guys to play.
JG: He roped us in somehow!
JY: Yeah I was just writing a bunch of music and wanted to be in a band again because mine had just broken up. So I was just writing a bunch of shit and had these guys play on it. Then we started writing music together.
JG: It just happened naturally.
JY: It became much better than anything I was writing by myself so we kept going.
Then like you said, this tour is just starting for you guys. Show two. You’re so fresh on this tour, you’re still so early in 2018. Is the focus just getting that new music out or are you going to be touring more? What are the focuses or goals for HUNNY this year?
JG: I think both.
JY: Definitely both.
JG: Get new music out and then we’re going to hit the road for sure more this year. We like going everywhere so we’re going to try and hit everywhere we can this year.
