Hunter Cross and the Strays

Bio:

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Hunter Cross performs as a solo+laptop act and with his band The Strays. He is currently recording his first solo full-length entitled Hunter Cross and the Strays and planning concert dates in Brooklyn, Boston, LA and Chicago. He has released over 20 songs via huntercross.com since 2004, all licensed under Creative Commons licenses. He has previously played as Cross & Castillo and Handcuff Madrid at various art functions and rock shows throughout 2004-2007.

Playing for 6 years with the Austin, TX based avant-rock sextet Forty Second Scandals, Hunter Cross honed his musical chops as lead singer and guitarist. They released 3 albums on their independent label Complicate Everything and participated in regional and national tours during 1998, 1999 and 2003 to support these releases before disbanding in 2004. Bands they played with include Spoon, Theater Fire, Those Peabodys, Recover (now Young Love), Cruiserweight, My Violent Life, The Impossibles, Missile Command, Halley, Vise Versa and Eskimo Kisses. The Austin Chronicle referred to the Forty Second Scandals as “one of Austin’s best unheralded bands,” in their rave review of the group’s final album Complement. Songs from Complement received local airplay in Austin, Chicago and Los Angeles. The group won two battle of the bands competitions and performed at SXSW 2002. Members of Forty Second Scandals went on to found The Always Already and Mediums. Hunter continues to run Complicate Everything Press.

As an artist, he has curated 5 exhibitions with his contemporary art group, Open Doors Collective, at spaces such as The Dallas Contemporary, MASS Gallery and Austin’s Dougherty Arts Center. Open Doors has received a City of Austin cultural grant and an Austin Chronicle nomination for Best Group Exhibition in 2005.

Member Since:

May 23, 2008

Members:

Hunter Cross - Vocals, Keys, Guitar, Laptop
Aaron Castillo - Drums
Brian Birdwell - Guitar, Keys, Drums
Kaytee Shreve - Backing Vocals

Influences:

Joan of Arc/Tim Kinsella
Rolling Stones
Otis Redding
Bob Dylan
Ray Charles
Randy Newman
Tom Petty
Bruce Springsteen
John Prine
Garth Brooks
James Brown
Ryan Adams
Sam Cook
Al Green
Spain Colored Orange
Jim O'Rourke
Tom Waits
Everclear / Art Alexakis
Travis Austin
Vodnyansky
Pearl Jam
Jay-Z
Constantines
Velvet Underground
Billy Joe Shaver
Little Richard
Kanye West
R-Kels
Antony and the Johnsons
The Band
Bright Eyes
Chris Brown
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cake
Ben Harper
Clipse
Counting Crows
Kings of Leon
The Strokes
Forty-Second Scandals
Hank Williams Jr.
Jimi Hendrix
Johnny Cash
Outkast
Okkervil River
Queen
Rage Against the Machine
T.Pain
Talking Heads
Timbaland
TV on the Radio
Usher
Van Morrison
Harry Nilsson
Ugly Casanova
Jack White

Sounds Like:

Ryan Adams mixed with Tom Petty and Al Green

Other Artists:
Primal Scream, Ryan Adams, M. Ward, Bright Eyes, Ben Folds, Harry Nilsson, CCR, Brendan Benson, Jim O'Rourke, Tim Kinsella, Eddie Vedder, Forty Second Scandals, Tom Petty, Howie Day, Jeff Tweedy, Nick Drake, Rhett Miller, Okkervil River, Ray LaMontagne, Jakob Dylan, Califone, Ugly Casanova