At first listen of the single “Liar, Liar,” you might come to the conclusion that it is a fairly standard release for the punk rock genre. Doing that though, would be to ignore the name behind the music — Hunter Valentine is anything but standard.
Hailing from Toronto, but situated in Brooklyn, Hunter Valentine is an all-girl band that can rock with the best of them, who also happens to be built up solely of lesbians. Looking through any of their promotional imagery, where the various members can be seen with spiked hair and tattoos, clad in all-black leather, it becomes evident that they have established a distinct style, inside and out of their music.
“It’s obviously about the music first, because without that you’d be nothing,” drummer Laura Petracca made clear over the phone. “But you got to back that music up with your attitude, and what you stand for.”
Following two previous studio releases, Petracca said the band, consisting of Kiyomi McCloskey, newcomer Veronica Sanchez, and herself, really wanted to step it up with last year’s release of Collide & Conquer.
“I think we really were able to capture everything that we’ve learned in the past, and everything that we’re trying to go forward towards.”
Leading up to the release of the album, Hunter Valentine had the distinction of appearing on the third season of Showtime’s reality television series The Real L Word. Petracca spoke of the immense help the show had in getting their name out to more people.
“That show had a pretty wide audience, and I know that the popularity increased in the third season . . . so we definitely received an increase in fan base.”
Some of the attention associated with the show is due to the band’s sensational behaviour. Petracca spoke of one particularly memorable incident for the viewership.
“I took my shirt off in the [The Real L Word]; the odd show here and there you get a crowd that knows that, and chants out that they want me to get naked.”
Appearing on that series, which focuses on the lives of lesbian professionals, means that much of the attention for Hunter Valentine has been on their sexual orientation. Petracca says that focus does not really get in the way of their music, though she does wish people had a different attitude towards it.
“I’m fine with it. I think the one thing that unfortunately isn’t happening is that it’s just normal.”
This tour, along with just coming off a six-week leg of Sum 41’s, has allowed the band to once again perform in Canada, which Petracca fondly describes as “home.”
“When we go back there’s people who’ve been coming to shows since day one . . . it’s kind of like a reunion every time.”
Collide & Conquer can be picked up in stores, and see Hunter Valentine live March 22 at Mavericks.
