Beyond their comfort zone

(from top:) Adrienne Lloyd, Laura Petracca, Kiyomi McCloskey

By the time Hunter Valentine hit the stage for a recent show at the Drake Hotel a sign had been posted at the entrance to the venue letting anyone looking to get into the show know they were shit out of luck - it had completely sold out.

Watching the band play it wasn’t difficult to see why the Drake’s Underground had filled to capacity, their set was nothing short of phenomenal. They displayed a level of musicianship that belied the relatively short time they have been together.

Drummer Laura Petracca’s driving beats and bassist Adrienne Lloyd’s smooth bass lines seamlessly melded with lead singer and guitarist Kiyomi McCloskey’s strong vocals and powerful stage presence to create the type of pop music you can’t help but fall in love with. McCloskey exuded an undeniable star quality.

When they performed ‘Van City”, a song that has “hit” written all over it, with a string section one couldn’t help but feel the band is on the cusp of something big.

They’ve certainly come a long way since that fantastic evening when McCloskey met Petracca at “an unnamed bar”. After spending the night discussing music and drumming they traded phone numbers and lost contact with one another.

“I had a drummer at the time so I didn’t really need Laura,” McCloskey told S&H.ca as we sat on a patio on Front St. a few days before the show. She then turned to Petracca and jokingly told her; “I didn’t need you!”

When the drummer McCloskey was working with at the time moved to Australia she went looking for Petracca. A misunderstanding led her to believe that Petracca had also moved to Australia. Ironically, they ended up running into each other again at the same bar they had first met at.

“She’s like ‘There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!’” Petracca shouted, animatedly imitating McCloskey. “And that’s when we clicked and decided to start playing shows together and practicing, it was just the two of us.”

Hunter Valentine initially started out as a four piece. McCloskey and Petracca remained together after that incarnation fell through and eventually hooked up with Lloyd through a mutual acquaintance; The Parachute Club’s Lorraine Segato.

Lloyd joined the band a week before their first gig. As if adding a new member to the fold wasn’t enough, the keyboard player they were working with at the time decided to quit.

“He wasn’t into it anymore, it was rather abrupt,” Lloyd said. “So, we quickly evolved into a three piece.”

Despite the rocky start, they have quickly developed into a tightly honed unit. Toronto’s gay and lesbian community embraced them in their early days. While they appreciate the support they have received from that scene, they also realize that in order to reach more people they needed to start playing beyond the comfort zone they have become accustomed to.

“You can have a career off of that but do you want to is the question. Do you want to reach a larger audience and see how your music can affect these people?” McCloskey asked.

Hunter Valentine plays the type of music anyone who has ever had their heart broken can identify with. The band has made inroads to the general indie music community and the reception has been positive. It seems safe to assume they are primed to make a Gentleman Reg/Hidden Cameras-style breakthrough.

They received another big boost when indie rock legend Ian Blurton took an interest in them. They had just finished recording an EP with Blurton when S&H.ca caught up with them at the end of August. They had nothing but good things to say about the experience. Blurton was able to capture what they sound like live and the results of the session exceeded their wildest expectations.

While one might expect that working with a producer of Blurton’s calibre has raised the bar, the band feels that simply isn’t the case. After all, he’s just as likely to work with a small band as he is with a big name act.

“He just picks the music that he likes,” Lloyd said. “His attitude and philosophy behind it is amazing because he just was a guy who loves music in all senses of the word.”

Hunter Valentine plays Supermarket (268 Augusta Ave.) with Ember Swift on September 22. Tickets are $12

Homepage photograph by Kathryn Gaitens; article photograph by Flare