The Dear Hunter
| The Dear Hunter | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Genres | Progressive rock, indie rock, experimental rock, post-hardcore |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Triple Crown, Cave & Canary Goods |
| Associated acts | The Receiving End of Sirens |
| Website | TheDearHunter |
| Members |
Casey Crescenzo Nick Crescenzo Maxwell Tousseau Nick Sollecito Robert Parr Gavin Castleton |
| Past members | Luke Dent Sam Dent Sagan Jacobson Nate Patterson Erick Serna Andy Wildrick Josh Rheault Connor Doyle Andrew Brown |
The Dear Hunter is a progressive rock band originating in Providence, Rhode Island. It began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo, formerly of The Receiving End of Sirens. The band's sound features a wide variety of instruments and styles.
The band began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was a full-time member of The Receiving End of Sirens. The Dear Hunter was originally intended as a vehicle for music Crescenzo had written that didn't fit with the sound of The Receiving End of Sirens. Crescenzo affirmed that:
The idea was to take the creative overflow from The Receiving End of Sirens and bottle it up into something that I could keep with me. There was never a plan to take it on the road, or to release it. It was only when things with them went awry that I was given the opportunity to really make it into a traditional sort of thing.
In the winter of 2005 Casey recorded the Dear Ms. Leading demos. He created 10 copies on burned CDs that were circulated amongst his friends and posted online for download. While elements and characters featured on the demos would reappear on the subsequent Acts, Crescenzo has confirmed that there was a transformation in how he represented these themes and persons; while the story had its origins in his personal life, the Acts removed most autobiographical elements in favor of fiction:
The reason I originally wrote it is obviously because I was bitter. The demos were almost all thematically interchangeable with one another. They are all kind of bitter and about a guy falling in love with a prostitute and stuff. When people call those demos an album, I just think it is a little ridiculous, because if I was to release that, I would be ashamed of myself. There is nothing to it – it's just one subject. I went through something with a girl, and like most immature artist people, you write about it and complain a lot...And that is why I didn't want anyone to hear those (songs from the demo)...I think I did what any writer does – they include themselves in their work to an extent as much as they can, since that is your only real link to humanity – what you experience. So if I am going to try to make anything realistic, all I have to go on is what I learned on my own...It is more that every character is a collection of experiences and feelings I have had about people in the past.
In May 2006, Casey was "asked to leave" The Receiving End of Sirens and began working on The Dear Hunter's first studio album. He expanded the scope of the project to a six-album story set at the dawn of the 20th century. The story revolved around the birth, life, and abrupt death of a boy known only as "The Dear Hunter." Crescenzo later remarked that the protagonist is "not a hero at all. I do not think he does a single good thing or smart thing in any of the stories." As Crescenzo summarized,
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