guitarinternational.com interview
I found this interview with Casey the other day that speaks a lot about the current state of The Dear Hunter, and maybe most importantly, what appears to be their future approach.
Brady: I know you probably get asked this quite a bit, but what’s the status of Act IV?
Casey Crescenzo: I’ve been thinking a lot, especially because there’s been a lot of questions about it lately, about how I should about completing it. I think at this point what feels most natural is to just write and record it on my own in, not necessarily in my spare time because I don’t really have any spare time, but to consciously set aside time and write and record the entire other three acts, not in any rush, but to just do that and release it on my own however I see fit.
I want to make it understood that this release won’t be treated like a label release. I’m not gonna tour off of each one for 18 months. We’ll either put out IV, V and VI at once or over the course of 2 years, and either just put them out online and make them available myself or press them up myself, but I feel like that is the most natural when I think about how to do it.
I also think about if I’m gonna treat each one the same as I’ve treated Acts I, II, and III as far as promoting it, that’s another six to eight years of my life, and I would much rather create the music and make it available and do something a little bit different than tour off of each one. Like do some other medium or either a book or short story or something like that and make that available over the next few years rather than do it traditionally. I do feel like the next thing that I would like to actually release on a lable or tour off of after this is a fairly concise record that is not like anything else I’ve done and not just jump back into Act IV and re-brand the band as a concept band.
Brady: Would it still be under the name the Dear Hunter?
Casey Crescenzo: I think so. It’s weird, I think at this point I’ve done so many different styles of music under the name the Dear Hunter that doing anything under the name Casey Crescenzo would seem like it was for vanity. I feel like any style of music is excused under that name at this point, which I’m grateful for, but I think it would be under the Dear Hunter.
Brady: With an album that has a concept of not having a concept, how would make it a journey like Acts I, II and III have been, ’cause when you listen to those albums it’s not just like “Oh, it’s a good rock album.” It’s a story, and it takes you from one place to another.
Casey Crescenzo: I guess maybe a better way to say it would be that the concept wouldn’t be fictional. It would be a more directly personal album. I would give it just as much care, if not more, ’cause I want to always feel like I’m maturing and evolving as a songwriter and producer but I feel like I would try and make the journey.
Sonically the journey would still be there, the idea of pulling someone in with a record as a complete work. I think that it would just be that lyrically it wouldn’t necessarily require the same exact amount of … you wouldn’t be searching for a narrative within the record itself. It would be much more transparently about me and my direct feelings and emotions, and even though those have been represented in the past records, they are somewhat shrouded in the story itself. I don’t think I would ever be happy with a record that I made that didn’t attempt to pull the listener in and give them some sort of escape from the regular day and pull you in, a record that you feel like you have to listen to from start to finish.
The last thing that I want to seem like I’m saying is that I want to go make a ten song record with three-and-a-half minute songs. I think it’s just wanting to continue making music that’s not necessarily tethered to that specific story, while simultaneously finishing that story. I guess the next step in my personal evolution as a songwriter would be to make a record that doesn’t necessarily take you understanding the last three records that I’ve made to know what’s going on, if that makes sense.
So in other words, Acts IV-VI may come out all-at-once in the near future, but what really is driving him is to not write music/make albums that are so locked in to the concept.
There's more good information about The Color Spectrum and other things with TDH and Casey in that interview. But I guess the couple of questions I posted above are the biggest things to learn. My overall feeling is mixed. On one hand, I really want those other 3 Acts to be as great as possible and to be heard by as many people as possible. However, I 1st and foremost want Casey to just write GOOD SONGS, and if he's more inspired and enjoying making music without having to do within the idea for the *Acts*, I totally follow why.
However, the idea of the great songwriters needing inspiration from something hard, sad, bad, depressing, dark, etc..I guess may not point to that. But there are exceptions (including maybe myself soon).