Don't call them an overnight sensation.
Local band Shaman's Harvest has gone through years of struggling - balancing the band with families and part-time jobs. At times, they've questioned whether they should continue.
But through it all, the band - Nathan "Drake" Hunt, vocals; Matt Fisher, bass; and Josh Hamler, rhythm guitar - has kept making their signature style of music and stayed true to themselves. Even to the point of turning down five or six record deals that weren't in their best interest. They declined to sign with labels that wouldn't give them good marketing support, would pressure them to be something they're not, or that would take ownership of their past music or their merchandise.
Nearly two decades later, they have a hit song under their belt, a new album and they're about to embark on a new tour. The part-time jobs are a thing of the past.
They've finally signed a record deal - on their terms - with Mascot Records, a Netherlands-based label that has bands ranging from heavy metal (Black Label Society) to funk (Bootsy Collins).
Shaman's Harvest itself has always defied being pigeonholed into a single genre - they're either country boys who rock hard or rockers who are "Country as (Heck)" to loosely paraphrase a song off their new album. Throw in some delta blues and a bit of Motown and you've got the basic recipe.
We recently chatted with singer Hunt about Shaman's new record deal, upcoming tour and new album, "Smokin' Hearts & Broken Guns" - in addition to his battle with a rare form of throat cancer while recording it.
Q. You've turned down record contracts before. What makes this one different?
A. Well, I think we were in a position, the record wasn't going to come out without it, really, without having the support from a label. We had pretty much burned through all our funds that we had made on our own to make the record. Just in gas and hotel rooms, we burned through $250,000 in 2010. And it was such a long period of time in between records that we needed somebody that was going to jump on board. Somebody that was going to take a little bit of a risk, "cus anymore, the music industry is all a risk. It's all a gamble. The offers in the past just didn't make any sense. Everything they were offering, we already had. And it was nice to be able to hold onto the control of how we portray ourselves. So far, this label, they realize what they have in us as far as who we are. They don't want to try to change anybody. They don't want to try to change the great Midwestern vibe of Shaman's Harvest.
Q. Tell us about the new record. You guys have never had a single sound, and you've got a variety on this CD as well.
A. This one, I think, is even more dynamic than what most of our records have been. This one we just focused on the importance of each song, and somehow it wound up where it still fit in the whole. When I grew up, I listened to records front and back, I listened to a full piece, instead of just a chapter in the story. So I think it's really important to do that to get the full spectrum of the group. It's really tough, because in this day and age, with instant gratification, they can just get the single they like and download that single.
Q. The business model of the music industry has been shaken up with the advent of the Internet, digital streaming and illegal downloading. Can you comment on the state of the music industry?
A. I like to have the piece of vinyl or whatever it is in my hand. I want to look at the artwork and go through it. The physical product always sounds better. You lose integrity when you bitstream that stuff. You're getting less than 1 percent of what that information was when it came from the studio. So, to me, as a collector, I sure as hell would rather listen to the real thing. It's a rough business, it's not for the faint of heart. But I think if we knew how to quit, we probably would have done it 15 years ago.
Q. You were diagnosed with throat cancer when recording the new album. How did that affect or influence the process?
A. I think that goes to how each song is different. Each phase of the treatment (was different): first I was scared (whitless), then you get (ticked) off, then you get depressed, then you get to feeling like I'm going to beat this thing. Each one kind of develops itself in the song. Because we were also writing the songs as we were recording, which was a new tactic for us. We'd do a song, tracking a part, and somebody would be in the next room writing another song. It worked out well, because we were able to maintain the integrity of the song, without rehearsing the soul out of it.
Songs like "The End of Me," I think is testament to the feeling of absolute just aloneness that some people with cancer tend to feel. They feel like they are the only people in the world who has it. But then you have songs like "Dangerous," where it's like, "OK, now I'm (ticked) off and I want to beat this thing.' To me, that's where I was kind of pulling from, lyrically. We're having more success on this record than any other record, because we're able to be ourselves.
Q. How did you discover there was a problem, and how is your health now?
A. Initially I was having some trouble getting the vocals out. I had this mass on the back of my throat in my left tonsil and it was kind of shutting off my left airway. So I just thought it was some kind of ridiculous strep throat that I had been holding onto for a month and a half. Finally, an ear, nose and throat doctor biopsied the piece and ... I happened to be on my way to the studio and I got the phone call. Me and Ryan Tomlinson were sitting there. And he just kind of knew by the look on my face. We got in there and sat down, and my manager was sitting there and I said I've got to tell you something. I told them and the manager was like, "OK, well, what are we going to do with this next song?" And it just kind of clicked. At that moment, I realized we were going to focus on this record as much as humanly possible. When the treatment started, I'd run to Columbia to get my cancer treatment and I'd run to the studio and hack out whatever we had to hack out that day, and then do it all over again the next day. The treatments really kind of became a nuisance. All the focus was on this record, and if this was going to be the last record we were going to be able to make, then so be it. Let's focus on it and let's make the best record we possibly can.
I'm in full remission. I have to get my checkups every six months. But other than that, I'm ready to rock "n roll.
Q. Tell us about the new tour.
A. This one will be a little bit of everywhere. It goes from Spokane, Washington, all the way through the Midwest - we will be going through St. Louis and Joplin - but then it goes down through Texas and then all the way through Florida. A lot of them are House of Blues (venues) on that run, which are great places to play. Then we'll head up the Eastern Seaboard and then come home (in December). That's this run, and hopefully we'll hit everyone else on the next one.