The Dear Hunter:
Tossing Out The Rulebook
Words: Evan Tokarz

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Evan from REAX magazine, is this a good time?”

“Yes, I can talk to you, hold on, just let me land.”
 
“Are you flying?!”

No, the creative force of The Dear Hunter was not flying; rather, he had decided on a whim to say “land” instead of “pull over.” The first thing Casey Crescenzo says when he picks up the phone again is he wishes he were doing something cool like landing a plane. In fact, he's talking to REAX from a beach cottage in Fairhaven, Rhode Island.

Crescenzo says he came up with the name The Dear Hunter in high school, before he had ever heard of the band Deerhunter or the movie The Deer Hunter. Although some people are frustrated by the band’s name, he doesn’t think it’s a problem.

The reason he kept the name is not to spite Deerhunter (Or Robert De Niro, for that   matter). Rather, he says he didn’t even hear about the connection to the “Pitchfork band” until the first year of touring. He asked the label about changing the band’s name, but they said it wasn’t an issue. Nevertheless, for the new album, Act III: Life and Death, the label - Triple Crown Records - came to him and wanted to change it.

“I was like, well, I brought up the idea of a name change years ago - why are you saying   now it is a good idea?” he recalls.

Also, although the label’s press release describes Act III: Life and Death as a rock opera, Crescenzo isn't immediately comfortable with that particular phrase. Yes, technically the album is a rock opera, but that the term is a bit of an oxymoron.  

"It’s kind of like saying 'shitty masterpiece' or something like that," he says. "There’s only so much of an opera a rock album can really be.”

Crescenzo doesn't like having anything about his band being put into a genre, although people have tried: Listeners label the band everything from emo to indie to prog-rock. When he hears people call the band prog-rock, he laughs. 

“I can’t really think of any our songs that we would play on tour with any real prog bands,” he says.

To Crescenzo, it seems many bands have a notebook of rules and regulations for them to follow in order to feel accomplished when it comes to a record. He says that since he doesn’t fit into one genre, he doesn’t have to write his songs this way.

“For us, there’s no real rulebook or guidelines," he says. "It’s just making a record, and writing a song."

Act III: Life and Death continues the narrative of previous releases. Set in the WWI era, this CD is third in a series of six concept albums. Although it is set in wartime, Crescenzo claims he didn't set out to write a politically driven, anti-war album; he simply liked how the time period looked visually.

“The commentary about war that’s there in the record is more universal than based on   political beliefs,” he says.

He’s most proud of the way the song “Life and Death” turned out. He likes that the song, the final track on the album, has a raw, almost classic-rock vibe, yet what he's happiest with about the song is its directness and straightforward lyrics.

Crescenzo says he doesn’t really listen to much new music - just what he considers  standards: The Beach Boys and The Beatles. He also likes Björk, although the Icelandic pixie has no vocal influence on him, he adds with a laugh; it's the string arrangements that definitely influence him.  

According to Crescenzo, The Dear Hunter loves Florida, and Florida loves The Dear Hunter. Along with Philly and California, Florida is a favorite place for the band to play. He says the people seem more open to the band’s music than in other areas of the country. The band always tries to hit Florida, since other bands he's been in have skipped over the state. In a that’s-what-she-said-moment, he says the reason bands skip Florida is because it's hard to leave the state to play shows.

“If you decide to go in, you have to go all the way in," he says. "Then, you have to go all the way out."

The band tours in June with mewithoutyou, a band whose members he says are “almost unbelievably kind people.” He says it will be a bit of a change for the band to tour with such nice people, since in the past they have toured with people who were bad influences on the band.

“On the last tour, we toured with the wrong kind of people - the kind your mom will tell   you not to hang out with,” he jokes.

Fans of The Dear Hunter shouldn't worry about the band disbanding after the narrative arc of the albums is complete. He says he will likely go onto a different project with the same people, maybe even keeping the same band name.  

“I can make music with these people my whole life,” he says.

Florida tour dates:
June 10 - The Social, Orlando
June 11- State Theatre, St. Petersburg
June 12 - Common Grounds, Gainesville

myspace.com/thedearhunter