03 Jun 2015

For the past three years, Kasador (formerly the Will Hunter Band) has been bringing their blend of Canadian indy rock to cities across Ontario and Quebec. Birthed from the acoustic styling of frontman Will Hunter, the group has evolved into an electric entity that has crowds closing the gap to the monitors wherever they go. With a sound built around powerful, catchy choruses, the band keeps audiences swaying and singing from the first chord to the last.

Their inaugural EP release, Last Summer (2014), was recorded at the Bathouse recording studio outside Kingston, ON, and was produced by Rob Baker of The Tragically Hip. The recording encapsulates the energy that defines their live performances, while the studio setting enabled the band to disassemble aspects of their sound. The resulting songs display a cohesive, tightened edge, leaving fans expectantly awaiting the next offering.

We chatted with Will Hunter to ask him about the changes to the band, what it’s like being on tour, and some upcoming festivals. So hit play and keep reading below!

Music Lives: July is pretty busy for Kasador this year as you head out across Ontario – Kingston, Toronto, Hamilton: do you have a favourite city to play in?

Will Hunter: Choosing a favourite is tough because we have had a great time at shows in all three of these cities. Kingston is home for this band, so it’s always nice to come back from playing shows outside of Kingston and getting back to the hometown crowd.

ML: I noticed your part of the Tutle Music Festival up in Parry Sound. That looks like it’s going to be a blast! Any other bands that you’re looking forward to hearing while you’re there?

WH: We are really looking forward to Turtle Music Fest because: One, Parry Sound for the August long weekend is going to be beautiful. Two, we have so many friends playing this festival (Ivory Hours, Busty and the Bass, Devon and Khalid, Lost Cousins, Tear Away Tusa). But I’m looking forward to Alert The Medic and The Mohrs, have only heard amazing things! And of course the headliners I Mother Earth, Hollerado, Great Lake Swimmers. Very cool line up to be apart of!

ML: What’s your favourite aspect of being on tour? Least favourite?

WH: Its kind of funny because they are almost the same for me. I love driving/traveling and making music, so being in a band has always been what I’ve wanted to do and touring is one of my favourite things to do.

Least favourite is being away from home and sometimes missing events with friends and family. Sometimes it’s tough and everyone in our lives have been so supportive and encouraging of our goals, its hard to leave them. But seeing your friends and family come to a show and actually have a great time and like the music, singing along, jumping around makes the harder parts of the job worth it.

ML: What prompted the name change for the band? How do you think it reflects how the band has changed?

WH: We had been a band for a few years under my name, which at the time made sense because the songs we were playing I had written by myself as well as I was the main driving force behind the band. But over the past year or so, our writing style and how we approach new songs (and the band) has changed, so the name no longer reflected what we do. For everyone in the band it was a welcome change and we have been very happy with the results.

We have been working hard on new songs for the past few months and are going into the studio in July. So, we are using the shows in June to demo a few of them live (they seem to come to life a bit more after we have played them for an audience). I feel that they reflect more the sound that this collection of musicians has been aiming for and we can’t wait to get them out on stage!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHE9lXp-9PU

Make sure to check out Will and Kasador on June 12th at DSTRCT with DB Cooper, Beach Bodies, and Something From Nothing: https://musiclives.ca/event/kasador-db-cooper-dstrct/

You can also find Kasador online:
Facebook – www.facebook.com/kasadorband
Website – www.kasadorband.com
Twitter – www.twitter.com/kasadorband (@kasadorband)