Last week, Sydney post-punk band Johnny Hunter released their debut EP, Early Trauma into the world. An introspective and feverish release, the high hopes fans had for the EP were transcended thanks to the band’s bombastic song structures and dark-tinged vocals.
As one of the more watched ascents in the Australian music industry, Johnny Hunter have turned heads, wowed crowds and begged the question, who the fuck are Johnny Hunter?
If you’re a fan of acts like Royal Headache and Joy Division you probably already know. But for those who have just seen their name pop up in Ones To Watch lists and on festival bills for the likes of Yours and Owls and Mountain Sounds, the below is just for you.
Here’s five things you may not know about Johnny Hunter.
ONE: Johnny Hunter is not a singular person, he’s certainly not living and breathing. Johnny Hunter is an idea, an entity made from the energy and tastes of four friends that find themselves on similar wavelengths and life trajectories.
The idea started from humble beginnings in Wollongong and grew into something much bigger when brought to the Sydney smoke.
Check out Johnny Hunter’s EP Early Trauma:
TWO: Nick Cerone is the bassist of Johnny Hunter, the hero of the group, the one who always has the plane tickets, who always sticks to the budget and who is always on time.
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Highly disciplined and focused, he loves everything Nick Cave and comes from a massive metal background. He’s usually seen cleaning up the streets of Oatley one park at a time and hopes that one day a brass statue will be erected in Oatley Memorial Park to commemorate his services to the community.
THREE: Gerry Thompson is the offspring of true Aussie rock royalty, born and raised in sunny Callala Bay and the drummer of the group. The best instrumentalist in the band, this jack of all trades doesn’t even consider drums his first choice of instrument, his native tongue is guitar.
FOUR: Nick Hutt is the band diva, poet and vocalist. He found out he could sing when he was invited into the Australian Youth Choir at the age of eight. He was offered to go to London with the choir by age 11 however his mother was wary of sending her child halfway around the world to chase his dreams and decided not to let him go.
He turned to sports and returned to singing after he finished school. With a new eye for head turning outfits the dream is back on.
FIVE: Xander (Brett, Bart, Chandle) Burgess is the guitarist of the band and the genius behind all the Johnny Hunter posters and artworks. Like his drummer he hails from the deep south.
He met Hutt on a fateful drunken night at the University of Wollongong and the rest is history. A lover of fine dogs, vapes and port, he dreams of producing a forever chilled atmosphere under the alias of Xandos.
