Hunter Valentine

Hunter Valentine is an alternative rock band formed in 2004 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Hunter Valentine is a girl band with a moderate fan base in southern Ontario.

History

Like all great love stories, Hunter Valentine’s began in a dark, crowded bar when a girl met a girl and an unbreakable bond was forged over cheap beer and rail whiskey. Armed with a fake ID and a king’s ransom in talent, Kiyomi McCloskey was looking for a drummer and found her rhythmic soul mate in Laura Petracca. It was the first two sides of a Rubik’s Cube. Eight years, two record labels, and three studio albums later, the band has solidified their line-up, put down roots in Brooklyn, and grown their fan base steadily across North America and the globe. Touring 200+ dates a year, Hunter Valentine executes their raucous brand of rock on stages in Canada, America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK – with no plans to slow the pace.

This spring famed Canadian producer and Treble Charger front-man Greig Nori was added to the mix on the soon-to-be-released third effort, Collide and Conquer. Noted for his hit-making influences on bands Sum 41 and Hedley, Nori proved to be the guru Hunter Valentine needed to sharpen their skills and change up the game. Collide and Conquer is also the first album to feature new addition Veronica Sanchez on bass and Somer Bingham as guest keyboardist. The collaboration has added layers and pushed boundaries, while keeping with the unmistakable sound crafted on 2007’s Impatient Romantic (True North Records) and 2010’s Lessons from the Late Night (Tommy Boy).

The current members of Hunter Valentine are Kiyomi McCloskey, Laura Petracca, Veronica Sanchez and Aimee Bessada. The band formed in 2004. They signed with True North Records in fall 2006, and released their first full-length album, The Impatient Romantic, on April 10, 2007.^[1] Hunter Valentine has also been the staff band at Buck's Rock Performing and Creative Arts Camp in New Milford, Connecticut.^[2] In the fall of 2009 the band recorded a self funded 7 song album with Ian Blurton after they were released by True North Records. The band traveled to NYC numerous times hoping to attract attention from labels and Tommy Boy came knocking and signed the band shortly thereafter. The recording was mastered by Howie Weinberg and titled "Lessons From The Late Night", release date in Canada is April 17 and May 11 worldwide. Their single, Revenge was cowritten with Holly Knight (Love Is A Battlefield, The Warrior, Angel TV Music Theme).) In 2012, Hunter Valentine's ^[3] tour was documented on season 3 of the television series The Real L Word on the Showtime channel.^[4] In 2013 they joined Cyndi Lauper on the North American leg of the She's So Unusual: 30th Anniversary Tour as the opening act.

Members

Kiyomi McCloskey

Kiyomi McCloskey is the lead guitarist and vocalist in the band Hunter Valentine. She has cited Neil Young, Rolling Stones, Robert Johnson, Lucinda Williams and Janis Joplin as influences.

Laura Petracca

Laura Petracca is the drummer in Hunter Valentine. She began playing drums at a very young age, and competed successfully in many local drum competitions. She was inspired by many classic rock and grunge rock artists.

Aimee Bessada

Aimee plays guitar and keyboards in the band.

Leanne Bowes

Leanne is the newest bassist for Hunter Valentine, after joining in early 2013.

Past members

Adrienne Lloyd

Adrienne Lloyd began her musical career at a young age. She studied many bass types, but particularly the upright bass performance. She is a classically trained bassist.

Somer Bingham

Somer Bingham plays guitar and keyboards. She met Kiyomi when her band shared a bill with Hunter Valentine at a venue in the East Village in 2008. Somer also fronts her own project, Clinical Trials, a grunge/punk/electro duo based in Brooklyn.

Veronica Sanchez

Veronica left Hunter Valentine earlier in 2013. She plays bass guitar.

Touring Bands

They have toured Southern Ontario with bands such as, The Cliks, Dragonette, Kids on TV, Kelly and the Kelly Girls, Clothes Make the Man, Dead Letter Dept., Hexes and Ohs, Drowning Girl, Love Kills, Dance Yourself to Death, Sam Roberts, Sick of Sarah, Social Code, and Queen Caveat. In 2012 they toured with Sum 41 and IAmDynamite.

Discography

Album

• The Impatient Romantic (2007)
• Collide and Conquer (2012)

EP

• Hunter Valentine EP
• Lessons From The Late Night (2010)

Music videos

See also

• Music of Canada
• Canadian rock
• List of Canadian musicians
• List of bands from Canada
• Category:Canadian musical groups

References

External links

• Love, sex and rock ‘n’ roll with Hunter Valentine - TorontoMusicScene.ca
• Hunter Valentine official website
• Ian Blurton
• Interview with Kiyomi