Appearing on my Skype screen for an interview, I am welcomed by the three (two of which were barefoot) relaxed gentleman of Robby Hunter Band sitting in their jam packed studio in Miami. I quickly realize these three are not only passionate musicians, but they most certainly are friends because the entire interview had a stream of laughter between the three and of course after they told me it was a bromance chemistry that brought them together, I knew they had a legitimate musical chemistry unlike any other.
You can hear their upbeat sexy tracks “with a dash of hip hip” on their full length album MagicCityHippies — all the tracks have that relaxed lifestyle vibe to them, each beat more exciting than the last. “Magic City is a reference to Miami, so you have to take a bit of the lifestyle and put it into the music,” Robby Hunter says.
BAND MEMBERS: Robby Hunter (Guitar and Vocals), Pat Howard (Drums) and John Coughlin (Bass)
HOMETOWN: Miami, FL
VANSCENE: HOW DO YOU GUYS DESCRIBE YOUR ECLECTIC SOUND?
Robby: Well, it’s a little dash of soul and a little bit of hip hop, and definitely some modern day influences like Frank Ocean and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. It’s an unique sound, we’re just trying to make music that we love, that we want to hear.
Patrick: A lot of it is just on a transient basis, like what we’re into right then is what you’ll hear. From a production perspective there would be really specific stuff like in the song Treat You Right, the drums in that, I was listening to Amy Winehouse’s You Know I’m Real Good, inspired the big bad drums with a Motown sound
John: Indie funk, I don’t know who came up with that? People seem to want us to be specified as indie funk.
VANSCENE: TELL US HOW THE BAND FORMED, WHAT WAS IT THAT DREW YOU THREE TOGETHER?
Robby: We used to play a lot of music at this local bar called the Baracuda Bar & Grill on the Grove, Pat and John ended up being the boys that I chose because of a certain bromance chemistry… And here we are!
VANSCENE: SO BEING A MIAMI BASED BAND, DOES THE LOCATION DICTATE WHY YOUR MUSIC IS RELAXED AND SENSUAL?
Robby: Absolutely, Magic City is a reference to Miami, so you have to take a bit of the lifestyle and put it into the music. The club lifestyle down here is wild almost too wild for some, but it’s something that everyone should try!
VANSCENE: WHO IS CURRENTLY INFLUENCING YOU?
Robby: I used to listen to a lot of Sublime while I was playing music on the Grove, stealing electricity and 50% of my catalogue at the time was reggae. I love Radiohead they are probably secretly my favourite band, deep in my heart. I grew up on hip hop as well so I love Biggie and Tupac.
John: I grew up listening to the Beatles a lot, but also The Strokes and a lot of things I had to sit down with and learn like Bach.
Pat: Red Hot Chili Peppers, I would say that is my enduring all time favourite band. I was into the music from the 70s, like The Who and Led Zeppelin.
VANSCENE: HOW DO YOU FEEL THE INTERNET HAS HELPED YOU GARNER MORE FANS?
Patrick: It’s all, it’s everything! We’d be nothing without it, it’s amazing how you can just put something out there and if it’s decent enough it’ll just grow and spread. That’s the age we live in, sharing everything digitally not physically with CDs.
Robby: Our biggest currency of fans is Soundcloud, so as those number grows it’s positive feedback.
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