Biography
The Hunches came out of Portland, Oregon, and during the 2000s they pushed the limits of high-volume rock & roll disorder in the spirit of the Velvet Underground, the Jesus & Mary Chain, and the racket produced by an overdriven guitar and amplifier hurled down a staircase. Guitarist Chris Gunn and lead singer Hart Gledhill first encountered each other as members of the same little-league squad and began playing music together once they reached eighth grade. Gunn has stated that he studied guitar with Zoot Horn Rollo, real name Bill Harkleroad and onetime member of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, though he had few complimentary recollections of those lessons. After their earlier band the Conmen split up, Gunn and Gledhill recruited bassist Sarah Epstein, formerly of the Roswells and the Flip-Flops, and drummer Ben Spencer, previously with the [Real] Pills and Jetpack, to launch the Hunches. Their first release arrived in 2002 on In the Red Records as the single "Got Some Hate" backed by "Lost Time Frequency." The label followed that with the album Yes. No. Shut It, which drew strong praise from the more daring quarters of the independent rock press. In the Red issued the group's second album, Hobo Sunrise, in 2004; like its predecessor, it was produced and engineered by Mike McHugh at his California facility The Distillery. The Hunches spent the next several years touring extensively in both America and Europe while also putting out occasional singles on smaller imprints and tracks on compilations. Disillusioned with the project and convinced it had reached its end, the musicians recorded one final album, Exit Dreams, in 2008 with producer and engineer Justin Higgins before disbanding. Their last release, Home Alone 5, appeared in 2009 and paired four unreleased studio recordings with a live-in-the-studio session the group had taped in 2004 for John Peel's BBC Radio series.
Albums
