It would be hard not to like Hunter MacDermut. Aside from excusing this reporter’s tardiness for our interview, the dude was actually pumped about getting his wisdom teeth out on Tuesday, something for which he has been saving his money for a long time. Writing some of the most down to earth, heartfelt music around the Raleigh area doesn’t hurt either.
Starting out with just his voice and an acoustic guitar, MacDermut moved from Greensboro to Raleigh last year and since then has been playing coffee shops and small venues around the area. Playing shows under the name of The Tourist, 21-year-old MacDermut has been writing and playing music for more than four years.
Those four years of hard work culminated recently with the release of his debut album on April 7th, “Not Now, Nor Ever” with Firefly Music.
“I was very fortunate to be picked up by Firefly, they just approached me with an offer a while ago and it has been great working with them,” he said. “Plus, it is nice having them pay for everything.”
While most of “Not Now, Nor Ever” is just MacDermut and his guitar, he wrote the parts for most of the other instruments heard on the record, which include a banjo, piano and harmonica. These parts were recorded for the album by a handful of close friends, including his producer, Mark Paulson.
Hunter describes his record as “organic sounding,” which he attributes to recording the album at Paulson’s recording studio in his house.
“I liked recording the album at Mark’s house because you can hear cars going by in the background and I think you can hear rain hitting the roof in one of the songs,” MacDermut said. “Everything about it isn’t squeaky clean and I like that about it.”
It is this same kind of grassroots approach and visceral experience that a singer/songwriter like MacDermut makes his bread at live shows. And with the recent hiring of two new members for his outfit, Josh Phillips and Thomas Baucom, MacDermut hopes to bring the same sound on his album to a live show.
“We’ve only been a band for about a month, but both Thomas and Josh are incredible musicians and I really look forward to seeing what we can do playing together,” he said.
While he is excited about trying to promote his new record, MacDermut is quick to point out how he wants to really establish a local fan base in Raleigh before trying to tour anywhere.
“You see so many musicians or bands try to go on tour right after they release a CD and nobody knows who they are,” he said. “I would like to at least know my CD will be in stores for people to buy where I try to tour.”
Until then, a handful of shows in the Triangle area will have to suffice eager listeners.