The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks,
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As Eva Hunter sits down to enjoy a rare moment of peace and quiet, it suddenly dawns upon her that she really doesn't know how to spend such a moment.
After a busy weekend highlighted by the release party of the latest album produced by her group, the Eva Hunter Band, it is not until late Monday night that the singer/songwriter finally has a chance to relax.
The few minutes of serenity seem to catch her off guard and when asked how she often spends such moments, she struggles to find an answer, finally admitting that she doesn't really know.
"Wow, what a question," Hunter says as she ponders the inquiry. "I guess I'm kind of asking myself the same thing, 'What else do you do Eva?'"
Times like these, away from the stage, the studio and music in general, are not common for Hunter. She is quickly approaching her 20th year in the music business, yet she has yet to reach her 30th birthday. She has just released her first live album, "A Crazy Moon Ride," and is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on her latest studio release, the fourth album to her credit. She also still holds down what she calls a "day job" to help her pay the bills when she's not touring or in the studio recording.
And there is no downtime in the foreseeable future, for she will soon hit the road again for another week's worth of shows, including a stop in Carbondale to headline the latest Sunset Concert at Turley Park at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 10.
While her life is a whirlwind of music, songwriting and "real work," Hunter wouldn't have it any other way. This is the lifestyle she has chosen, and, throughout the years, the lifestyle she has grown to love.
She grew up in the rural Illinois town of Fancy Prairie, a small farming community that lives up to its name, where at age 8 she began singing with her older sisters. They started out touring various small venues around the state performing covers of various girl empowerment tunes from the 1950s and '60s, but when she was 13 her eldest sister departed for college, and the sibling act disbanded.
But Hunter wasn't ready to stop at such a young age. While her sisters insisted upon leaving their music career behind, she was determined to press on. The commitment to music that her sisters lacked became her driving force, even though the success she sought would not come overnight.
"Though I didn't quite realize it at the time, I think that was my first hint - I was getting something from it that they were not, " Hunter says. "It took a few years, but then I finally met my producer and I guess he thought I had something special and decided to make people listen."
How to define what it was they were listening to was another matter. To describe Hunter's sound is an exercise in futility, a task that she still meets with resistance years later.
"I guess I'm still trying to figure that out myself," Hunter says. "I feel it's a little of this with a little of that - it's just too hard to pick one."
While her style may not fit into any particular genre, she began her career billed as an acoustic rock act. But throughout the years, elements of country have found their way into her music and lyrics. And just as her sound has evolved, so too has the makeup of her group.
She started out performing as a solo act, but she eventually found that having a band behind her helped reduce the anxiety she experienced while onstage. After experimenting with different combinations of various musicians, she finally found a lineup that best complements her style and personality.
She is currently backed up by Edwin Pierce on electric guitar, Clay Thompson on bass, Tommy O'Donnell on lap steel and Chad Geiser on drums. And as much as she values their talent as artists, it is perhaps the simple comfort of having them there that she values most.
"With them out their with me I know I'm not trying to hold down the fort all by myself," Hunter says, "and it allows me just to have fun."
It seems that the level of comfort she has onstage far outweighs the level of comfort she has when trying to relax. An admitted workaholic, Hunter seems most at home when she is doing what she does best - singing and writing from her heart.
"I'm kind of an emotional writer, so I tend to write most of my songs when I'm emotional," Hunter says. "But that's what makes our live performances so good I think, that emotion behind what we play."
That same emotion she carries with her onstage begins in the studio, where it is given life through the lyrics she puts down. While she says she is still developing as a writer and an artist, Hunter is eager to complete the group's new studio album so she can show her fans the strides she has made.
"Once it's done I really want to get out on the road and play as much as possible," Hunter says, "but I still want to leave time to write and keep trying to develop new material."
With all that's going on in her life at the moment, Hunter manages to maintain her sanity despite her breakneck work schedule by squeezing in as much time as possible with her family and friends. That is when she's not writing, performing or working at her day job of course.
But while her career may force her to play catch-up with her loved ones from time to time, Hunter is in no hurry to trade in her musical aspirations for a little rest and relaxation.
"What I do doesn't really leave time for much else," Hunter says, "but honestly I really don't know what else I would do. Probably go nuts I guess."
