The Sure Shot Hunters

The Sure Shot Hunters - St. Kilda Fest pt.1
Monday, February 12th, 2007

It’s never easy being the first band on stage at a festival.

The mix isn’t nailed down yet, so you have to be the guinea pig. People are still wandering around, stall-browsing and eating piping hot stall-food. There is no atmosphere, and thus you have to create it.

The Sure Shot Hunters did exactly that. In their newest incarnation, the Sure Shots have introduced tones of Southern blues rock, with slick grooves and tones of Nashville guitar, a combination that suited the hot, windy conditions to a tee. The music was intricate yet rocked along a solid groove that immediately filled the empty Belford St arena with groovers and shakers.

Being an ex-Sure Shot myself, I was very impressed with the evolution of the music. Singer/songwriter Zevon Hiltz has pursued the publication of this music over seven years, with influences ranging from Bob Marley to Stevie Ray Vaughan. Originally focused on driving rock grooves and busy bass lines, the music has matured and mellowed to a very enjoyable brew. Drummer Ale K Adams - formerly of the highly-popular funk band Fungus - brings a tight, complimentary feel to Zevon’s guitar, and recent addition Nick Delaney on Bass lends his jazz training and superior handling of a 5-string to round out the line-up. “I’ve actually got room to play some fills in this music,” says Nick.

The sound is both engaging and simple, gritty and legible. There’s none of the sleaze or egomaniacle stage presence most rock bands project during their performance, just an upbeat trio of dudes playing upbeat music. They’ll play anywhere and let nothing interfere in their effort to “have a good time.”

This theme was most evident later in the day at a ’secret rooftop gig’ - in a very film-clip-eqsue setting (with some dude in a pin-stripe hat and humungus sunnies looking like the proverbial ‘director’s son cameo’), the Sure Shots rocked a fabulous afternoon with people crowded all around. The wind made some people’s perches rather precarious, but the sound endured quite well, to their credit, plus a DJ mixing a few samples and scratches into their live play. Included into their original set were some brilliant and innovative covers of Joe Cocker, The Doors and Hendrix: sort of like inspired jam sessions arranged into parody.

Having played with them for two years, I can honestly say this band is a lot of fun. The music is addictive and groovy - a word that just cannot be repeated enough in description - and I sincerely cannot say anymore than check them out!

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Rarely does a band come along with such an unpretentious and groovy approach to music craft. In today’s commercial climate, most bands are afraid to deeply explore the nature of groove and rhythm for fear of losing sales. It’s all image and style, rather than music.

The Sure Shot Hunters, as their name suggests, have no such fears; bringing a confident approach to their music, unafraid to explore the boundaries of rhythm, blues, funk and reggae, they blend the principles of all styles into a truly unique package. The range of influences among the band members is staggering, and each man pays homage to his roots somewhere on the album. This isn’t the mixed bag of lollies most starting bands come up with; this is a distilled product of many years’ experimentation and craft, evident in the smooth tones of Zevon Hiltz’s guitar work and the bold precision of Nick Delaney’s bass playing.

Their live performance is the genuine article of upbeat, home grown, progressive music carrying a feel-good vibe which they have captured well on record – as only the genuine article can achieve. The Hunters bring a real smile and a hip-shake to every room they enter, having as much fun on stage as their audience. It’s in their feel, their craft, even in their lyrics – “We only want you to have a good time,” from the song ‘Thoughts into Your Mind,’ is the band’s entire motto, and they live by it.

After Midnight is perhaps the most unique and inspired Australian roots album to hit the scene for several years; a range of influences means the album will always surprise you from song to song, phrase to phrase, and still delivers a solid sound that is truly their own. Zevon’s voice has a raw, far-away sound; perfectly accompanying his Fender Strat, often in scat with refrains and solos. In any three-piece outfit, the bass has a lot of sound space to cover, and Nick takes to it like a man possessed, tastefully applying groove and fills in all the right places; the band’s intuitive changes are what makes listening to this album so easy and fun. The drummer, Alejandro Holder, sits comfortably between these two creative monsters, ably interpreting the groove and accents of both men into an infectious feel.

Zevon showcases the amazing versatility of his 66 Strat, to which he pays tribute in a song of the same name. From the Nashville tones of ‘I Got A Confessions To Make’ to the deep southern slide on ‘Family Style’ and again to the growling wah on ‘People’ Zevon’s chameleon guitar-speak reflects the band’s ability to forge something new from the ashes of the old. Their genuine approach to making music and dedication to spreading the good vibes among their fans has fostered a keen following that highly anticipates the upcoming release of After Midnight – so named by Zevon when he noticed that the majority of their gigs took place in this time slot. You can almost hear this elusive quality in the two live tracks, ‘Living Around’ and ‘Mother Nature’ – a slick reggae track with all the mellow intensity of the musician’s witching hour.

I cannot recommend this album enough; packed with pleasant surprises and genuine home grown talent honed in the fires of the live circuit, After Midnight is set to position The Sure Shot Hunters as one of the finest Australian bands in local history.
- L.Lellwellyn (Pith Records)