Leslie Hunt, sultry vocals, return
Leslie Hunt sang with Kenny Rogers when she was in fifth grade. True story. She was one of six kids picked to croon during something like five local performances for 5,000 people each night. It was a long time ago, but if any childhood moment proved prophetic for Hunt, who would go on to sing for millions of "American Idol" viewers as one of the Season Six semifinalists, this at least seems a tiny bit foreshadowing. And it was.
Hunt, who's back in Chicago to play the scene and release another full-length album early next year, has picked up her songstress roots right where she left them pre-TV.
That said, it's wrong to let Hunt's "Idol" experience override her personal industry accomplishments. Yes, she auditioned for Randy, Paula and Simon. Yes, she was on TV. Yes, she sang an array of nationally heard songs: "Feeling Good" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." And if you watch the show, you know the phone-voting fray handed her the boot back in March. Nine months later, it's safe to say the words "American Idol" neither define nor wholly promote Hunt's current motivations, extensions of what she's already achieved.
"I've been doing my own thing long before deciding to audition for such a crazy show," she says. Raised in St. Charles, Hunt recorded a demo EP with Sony Records by the time she finished high school. Though she later turned down official label connections in favor of bulking up her life-experience arsenal, she went on to study music at Roosevelt University in Chicago and contribute to local jazz-rock outfit Mark Twang. She also self-released her own disc filled with acoustic tunes, which she burned onto CDs and distributed herself -- all in the shadows of record execs still familiar with her name.
TV has its perks, though.
Hunt retained a strong network of fans who first glimpsed her via the tube and have yet to let go, sprinkling her MySpace page with constant requests for new songs. Ever dedicated and grateful to her support group -- whom Hunt specifically credits for motivating fresh tunes -- along with a close-knit net of friends, she recently stepped up her signature, piano-driven and minimalist style through her latest efforts.
The recently posted "American Dream Man" offers a glimpse of her forthcoming disc, a much jazzier, dance-generated take on Hunt's delicately sultry vocals, which suits her backing of locally high-profile musicians. "I just realized I'm not trying to be Tori Amos anymore," she says. "I was very introspective; if the song didn't make me cry, it's nothing. I'm not trying to write about unrequited love anymore." Nor should unrequited love ever need a place in her music again. That's because she's in love. Just last week, Hunt interviewed photographers in preparation for her June wedding. For glimpses of her happy fiancé, look no further than YouTube's clips of the "Idol" experience.
Every time she sang, there he sat: Right up front and smiling with Hunt's mom (who, like the best of the Mom Clan, looked like she was boiling over with excitement for her daughter while still trying to be cool and not look too mom-ecstatic).
The happy couple live in Chicago with a cocker spaniel and a Boston terrier (who happens to have a foot-nipping habit while people are on the phone; thankfully fiancé Chris came to Hunt's rescue during our conversation with her). Beyond her music career, Hunt fills her time as a breed consultant, "a position I made up," she laughs, describing the job as someone who matches owners-to-be with the dog breed that best fits their lifestyles.
Stepping back from that, she's relieved that music doesn't force itself on her life as a money-fueled necessity. Make no mistake; she took that route for a while. But she doesn't need to suffer a burnout this early in her career.
When Hunt turned down label talks with Sony back in 2001, she found herself among a New York-based group of artists. They encompassed nearly every art form, she says, except for music. And at that point in her life - pre-college and already with a producer and engineer attached to her songs -- it was a relief. Then, in 2004, she released "From the Strange to the Stranger," which she distributed at self-promoted shows. It established her style, a creative, soul-searching take on the stuff she did for Sony and highlighted the best parts off personal, female vocals without having to attach Fiona Apple's name to it. Upon returning from L.A., Hunt auditioned nearly a dozen Craigslist-provided musicians to fill her band, which would then head into the studio in July. Drummer Vance Okraszewski, guitarist Neal Alger and former Mark Twang bassist Joel Masters came out of the process as her "perfect match." They suit Hunt well, meshing their uniquely classical techniques with her immaculate voiceovers that are neither overpowering nor distracting from the overall package. Though her local comeback has centered on shows at the Arcada Theatre, Otto's and the House of Blues, Hunt's new stake in the scene won't officially premiere until the release of her first, post-"Idol" album. Staffed with her own producer/engineer team, Hunt expects this to be a confident offering worthy of Midwest touring and beyond.
It might not offer the buzz pushed on Jordin Sparks' or Blake Lewis' new albums, but based on her well-oiled online crew of fans, that won't be a problem. She had hoped for a January release, fans should look for it sometime between mid-February and early March. By that time, it will have been a year since her brief "Idol" fame. Maybe it's better that way. Sure, it's an important part of the tale, an experience that taught her a lot and offered lessons that likely will show themselves in her disc. But that's not even the half of it -- not that Hunt minds either way.
"If people want to know about it, I don't fight it," she says. "It's always going to be a part of my story."
Leslie Hunt
Where: Uncommon Ground, 3800 N. Clark St., Chicago
When: 8 p.m. Jan. 14
Phone: (773) 929-3680