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Americana UK Website http://www.americana-uk.com/html/reviews.html Review of: Robin Hunter and the Six Foot Bullies “Your Heart My Sleeve” (SOCAN 2003) Precisely why this 2003 debut from ex-Imagineers’ man Robin Hunter is getting a second bite of the cherry two years later is unclear; possibly because this sort of roots country is becoming more commercially fashionable. With titles like ‘Lonely Coffee Cups’, ‘It All Leads to Dying’ and ‘Everything is Everything in Which I Don’t Believe’, Hunter is at his best in his darker, more reflective moments. With just two guitars and a string bass, this three-piece is a back-porch sort of band; nothing too edgy or innovative but a few flashes of inspiration and conviction along the way. ‘It All Leads to Dying’ is reminiscent of latter-day Richmond Fontaine and ‘Invisible Right’ (from Hunter’s previous outfit, The Imagineers) has a sleepy charm littered with some fine turns of phrase and imaginative yet restrained playing. With a drummer and some amplifiers behind them, I’d imagine them breaking into a more exciting and engaging level. Unplugged, they’re solid but unremarkable. Incidentally, the cover artwork is a fine scratchboard illustration by Penny Jo Buckner. Sadly, husband Richard does not appear to have contributed to this project. 6 out of 10 SEE Magazine: Issue #528: January 8, 2004 With a few years’ distance between him and his loud electric engagement with the Imagineers, local singer/songwriter/guitarist Robin Hunter has mellowed considerably with his new trio. Not that that’s a bad thing. Your Heart My Sleeve, the 11-track debut by Robin Hunter and the Six Foot Bullies (with John Woroschuck on guitar and Thom Golub manning stand-up bass), nails a relaxed back-porch sound that is informed by the gentler countrified roots-rock of groups like Blue Rodeo, and the bluesy acoustic strumming of balladeers like Harry Manx. Hunter answers the upbeat humour of "Rockin’ Socks" with the slow reflection of "It All Leads to Dying", but the overall pace of the album is best illustrated by the catchy, mid-tempo "Speak Yer Mind." Expect to hear it in the future at your favourite coffeehouse or folk fest. - DAVE ALEXANDER SEE Magazine: Issue #522: November 27, 2003 ROBIN HUNTER AND THE SIX FOOT BULLIES CD Release for Your Heart, My Sleeve W/ AA Sound System and Little Baby Cupcakes Sat, Nov 29 The Power Plant (U of A campus) "I’ve always been lucky," affirms guitarist Robin Hunter over the phone from his downtown home, counting down the minutes until his beloved NBA basketball hits the tube. "I’ve always played with great musicians. But I’ve never said, like, I need the best.’ It’s always people I liked, people who liked me, and we just seemed to gravitate to each other." Such as the Imagineers: a power trio led by Hunter that tore up the Edmonton scene through the ’90s, gathering up a large local audience and glowing reviews. But the band stalled in their tracks, practicing endlessly, playing less, until they eventually fell apart in 1999. "We put out this CD [in 1995] and it, I dunno," Hunter says haltingly. "The three of us, as a band...anything to do with the music it was never a problem or difficulty. We could put songs together, we could play them, but all the other stuff to do with the music business was beyond us. And I don’t think at the time we were able to understand that." After the Imagineers broke up, Hunter slipped out of frontman status, opting instead to back up locals like Ben Sures, Wendy McNeill, and Everett Laroi. He kept a low profile, recorded occasionally, played sporadic solo shows around town. "Well, yeah, and also playing with Tanyss [Nixi and the Western Casket Factory]." Hunter interjects. "That kinda was one roadblock after another; Interesting that that one never came about." Despite good press, great songs, and Nixi’s powerhouse vocals, the Casket Factory just never caught on in Edmonton. "Yeah, we had a pretty good band there with Travis (Short, bass) and Shauna (Hosegood, drums), but I think in the end that maybe it was better that I do this. I wasn’t playing a lot for awhile after... just kinda down in the dumps, I guess," Inevitably, Hunter got the itch again; he began gigging around with stand up bassist Thom Golub and dobro player John "Woody" Woroschuk as the Six Foot Bullies. The Bullies moved away from the Imagineers harder edge, delving into a roots sound that nicely dovetailed with Hunter’s fascination with blues and country music. Like the Imagineers, the Bullies function as a democratic unit. "It’s not like [speaks as though he’s reading from a grocery list], ‘I will write a song; it will be x number of bars; you will wear the leather pants’–that kinda thing. ‘I’ll be the crazy guy, you get the hat’–none of that. It was like, okay, let’s play some music. I can’t even describe what we’re doing. I mean, how could I tell these guys what to play? "With the Imagineers we had a hand in everything we did," he wryly continues. "We mixed it, figured out the artwork, mastered it, all kinds of stuff. Some of the decisions were good, but some of them weren’t so informed. Now I don’t want to sit in a room and listen to this stuff over and over again. I don’t think what I have to say is gonna help [engineer] Mark Jenkins mix the thing. As it turned out, that was a good decision, because the way [the new album]) Your Heart, My Sleeve was recorded, we just set up some mics and recorded it in a room. And with a recording like that, you turn up the vocal, and you get more guitar. You turn up the bass, and you get more dobro. You have to get a balance." - TOM MURRAY |