Meet Hunter Bolton

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hunter Bolton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hunter, how do you think about risk?
I think that, for most people, there’s inherent risk to putting yourself out there. Entrepreneurs, people starting new jobs or new fields, and, especially, artists. There’s something deeply personal about sharing your art but, art is meant to be shared; an externalized expression of something within. So, while it feels so risky to share something like that, it’s what makes art such a connective force. I moved to LA a decade ago because of my love for film, and desire to act in them as a career. That’s the classic go-for-broke risk of the industry. But when I started doing music, it felt so risky. I was late to the game, I was learning to embrace my voice (literally) and it feels so risky to use your voice like that.

It’s risky to try, to want, to want to succeed in something that seems so impossible. But it’s necessary. The expression “no risk no reward” is dead on. And when the risk is putting your art out there to try to build a career at this level, with the ambition of fighting against the Spotify and Ticketmaster and any other gate-keeping middle-man entity, to make a name for your music and be able to live off of it? That’s the reward. And it’s risky to try to do that. You’re pigeon-holed (in jobs and relationships of all sorts) because you’re the forever-“aspiring”-artist/musician guy. No one thinks of it as a real job until you’re selling out stadiums and there’s so much full-time work behind getting to that level, all for something that actually has to be the love of your life. Otherwise, no one would risk that much for it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Acting and writing are still things I love and engage with, but music has been the focus since my world reopened a bit. It definitely felt like staying put for a year in 2020 helped sift through all of the “what is possible” and brought me back to the “what do you love” things. So I embraced my full-on love for writing and performing music, found my dream band (and our collaboration is magic) and get to make stuff at a level that I could’ve only dreamed of before. Now I’ve fronted Evelyn Grove for just about two years. In that time, we’ve played some of my bucket list venues, done our first festival, released our debut EP (streaming everywhere) and are geared up for even more exciting stuff on the horizon that I am so excited to announce. But I can’t announce quite yet. But find us on socials and stay tuned for those updates VERY soon.

Was it easy to get here? Definitely not. Imposter syndrome aside, it feels like finding this kind of chemistry with 3 other humans to write and perform in the way we do is damn near impossible. But it has been consistent. And while our EP was six songs, theres so much more we’ve written and are still writing. That magic that happens when you walk into a room and one person says, “Check this out,” and you walk out of the room with an entirely new song (that rocks!)

As trite as it feels to say, it really is try and fail , then try again and fail again, then try again and find something special. I fronted other bands that didn’t work out but found that magic recipe here. And then there’s the finding your voice, and getting out of your head, and learning how to embrace what feels like a foreign entity to be this inner rockstar.

Best piece of advice? Just keep trying, and stay true to what makes you feel the most authentically you. And, when you reach goals, allow yourself to celebrate before looking forward to the next one.

And, when you find success, encourage and lift up others on their way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Picking them up from LAX (truly, a love language), we’re getting breakfast at Pann’s. Hit LACMA and the Academy Museum. Lunch at Canter’s. Take Highland to the hills so they get the full sign experience and the Hollywood crosswalk. The classic hike up Runyon. Get ready for dinner and drinks at Jones on Santa Monica ( or go late for the Beggars Banquet.) Get their Dirty Martini. After dinner, bounce over to Cahuenga for a show at Hotel Cafe, whatever shenanigans Scum and Villainy has going on (I may have a spare cosplay they can borrow), and then to Tramp Stamp Granny’s for a singalong and a night cap (ask Alexx what to get).

If they want trendy rooftop times, Desert Spot 5 or Mama Shelter. As a rock musician, we’re definitely hitting a show at Viper and grabbing pizza at Rainbow at some point.

At some point, hike Malibu State Creek, grab tacos and beer at Beach and Brew Venice. We’ll have to get dinner at El Coyote and catch a midnight show at New Beverly Cinema.

Food tour of Grand Central Market in DTLA at some point, hit the Wolves for cocktails. Ktown, grab galbi jjim from Sun Nong Dan and drinks at Normandie Club, hit karaoke at Brass Monkey and definitely a round at R Bar.

Sounds like a very full week, in so many ways.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
So many people. My parents are actually very supportive, and have encouraged me to pursue my art from a young age. Granted, they were a little worried about me supporting myself while doing that, but they’ve known my work ethic and I’ve been in LA for ten years, so I think their worries are easing up. Maybe not about grandkids, though.

What brought me here initially was acting, so gotta give big thanks to all the people that I’ve worked with and learned from; probably too many to name but a few that absolutely deserve to be named. Deidra Daniels Mount, Barb Daniel, Jane Moore, Grayson Wright-Sarvis, David Britt, Scott Blanks, Park Bucker, Ebony Wilson, Nick Clay, Robert Taylor, Jazzy Byner, Leah Martin-Brown, Jamie Miranda, Jules Quaas, Anne Dremann…and that’s just scratching the surface, but each of these have been a formative influence/driving force behind so much of what I do/pushing through the imposter syndrome and actually just be free to do what I love. And shoutout to Carl, Doug, and Rafa for helping me crack through my own limitations and find my voice with Evelyn Grove.

Website: https://evelyngroveband.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huntthejest/

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4wgY6G4vq45VFupfqnVC8K?si=MdZGrZjBQQa-EO822JfSAg 

Image Credits
Don Adkins Jasmine Day- Street Style Cinema Zenon Samuels Mojo