Who is Hunter Thomas?
Hailing from just outside Oklahoma City, Hunter Thomas began playing music when he was just 12 years old. “I have been booking my own shows since my freshman year in college, and I would play anything for any little party I could,” says Thomas now 29. “I just worked my way up from there and finally I am putting out a song to radio now, I am very excited about it.”
For much of Thomas’ career thus far, he has focused on his live performances, but according to the singer-song writer one day that changed. “I would play my songs and do the college crowd thing and all of that but I haven’t even put my songs out and I would have people showing up to the shows signing them,” says Thomas. “They would know a whole set of my originals and I was like ‘guys we have to put a record out.'”
“Go For A Drive”
Thomas’ debut single, “Go For A Drive,” premiered exclusively on The Boot on July 7, but will be available on all digital platforms on July 30. When discussing his new single, Thomas explains that, “I am just trying to make a real version of what I believe country music is.” “There is a lot of great country music out there but I wanted to make my own version that comes from Oklahoma, it’s right down the vein kind of music.” When it comes to Thomas’ creative process he did things his own way. “We actually made ‘Go For A Drive’ out of our house,” says Thomas. “We self produced it, we went to studios everywhere and we decided we wanted to do it ourselves.”
Smooth, soothing, and soulful, Thomas described how he got the idea to write “Go For A Drive.” “It was a summer night and one of my friends was like ‘man every time I am stressed out I just go for a drive,’ and I was like ‘you know what I am going to go in the house and write a song real quick.'” For Thomas his new single aims to capture, “that moment when all the world seems right,” he explains. “When you go for a drive late at night and your favorite song comes on the radio, its like everything is good in the world.” You can pre-save/pre-order “Go For A Drive” here.
Debut Album: Hunter Thomas
Slated for release in 2022, Thomas’ debut self titled album is definitely something to look forward to. “I think this is going to be a very well rounded album,” says Thomas. “It’s got your upbeat two-stepping songs, most of it is pretty upbeat and I believe in that.”
Young and with a debut album full of energy, Thomas says he invested some serious time into making this project. “I’ve written a couple hundred songs and I condensed it down to my top nine or ten that I felt were right for this album.” “I have had some of these songs for three or four years in my back pocket,” Thomas admits. “If I spend six months on the song writing then I will spend six months to a year on the production.”
Aside from investing the blood, sweat, and tears, Thomas is also just looking to have fun. “Country music, I feel like people want to sing to and dance to and I am really trying to spread a lot of joy through my music and make people happy.”
Thomas’ Creative Process
As someone who has written over a hundred songs, Thomas’ knows what he wants, and how he is going to get there. “I have different processes for writing music, I really have like three to four different ways I like to go about writing a song.” Thomas explains that “sometimes I come up with the melody first and then it comes to me, like for ‘Go For A Drive’ I had a little bit of a hook and some of the words came to me and it all played out.”
A dedicated song writer himself, Thomas draws inspiration from some of the craft’s finest. “I listen to a lot of different people, I like anyone from Randy Rodgers to John Prine, I listen to a lot of song writers, even Toby Keith, I think he is great.” While taking great care in crafting each and every song, Thomas admits that it is a very personal thing. “It took me probably six months back and forth tweaking ‘Go For A Drive.'” “I like to really invest time and each song becomes my child, I want to give the listener something special.”
Working Well With Others
In addition to giving the listener something special, Thomas says that he is working with some very special people on his end. Guitarist Kyler Watson is named as the sole co-producer on Thomas’ upcoming debut album. “I believe in Kyler a lot, he is the sound guy for Hinder, he is a known sound guy here in Oklahoma, but also he studied production for 10 years.” Thomas says that “Kyler is going to be one of the next big producers” and that he has already been getting serious looks from other artists. “I look forward to working on a lot more projects with Kyler and some people heard ‘Go For A Drive’ and he has already been getting phone calls from other artists.”
In addition to Watson, Thomas’ band includes Brandon Sechrist (drums), Tanner Sechrist (bass), Lane Hawkins (fiddle), and John D. Neal (harmonies/rhythm guitar). “The band started out just my drummer and I with his dad’s band,” Thomas explained. “They referred me to him and I didn’t realize at first how good he was, so I started off with one of the better players in our area and I didn’t know it.”
What’s Coming Next For Hunter Thomas?
With his debut 10-track-album coming in 2022, Thomas has big plans for the future. “I think we are gonna do a music video for ‘Go For A Drive’ I am not one hundred percent sure, I hope so, I have a script written that we are going to follow I think.” In addition to bringing us visuals for his debut single, Thomas is also looking forward to future releases in 2021. “Another single or two will be coming out this year and then for the album I am just looking forward to getting it finished up, we will have some more opening shows but I can’t announce them yet.”
While still keeping his upcoming bookings close to his chest, Thomas does have a few confirmed performances where you can see him live. “We will be with Wade Bowen north of Austin on August 13, and at the Steamboat Music Festival in January, I have probably five other opening shows in our back pocket that we are looking forward to announcing too.” To learn more about Hunter Thomas, visit his website, or follow him on his Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube pages.