Hilary Rawk

Missouri-bred DJ and musician Hunter Husar has been sharing his favorite music with crowds for more than a decade. He DJs an eclectic mix of "anything"—which generally ends up being music from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s—and has played everywhere from established venues like Rodan and the Hideout to dirty loft parties and art shows to events like Version Fest (an annual art/music/fashion festival).

Hunter got his start after a tiny accident in high school. He explains, "[He] was at the park. [He] climbed up a swing set and did a back flip off of it and ended up breaking [his] leg. It was a hot summer and [he] was cooped up, living alone for the first time, so [he] was forced to occupy [his] time and acquired some turntables and speakers, decided that instead of bringing home good marks that semester [he] would spend [his] days emulating the life and style of London junglists from [his] dial up connection in mid-Missouri. Something called finesse was definitely missing."

Hunter says what he plays really depends on "[his] mood and the atmosphere of the room and how it sounds." As a DJ, he says his goal is to "make [him]self and others happy through color and resonance."

When asked if he thinks there is such a thing as an "appropriate" term to categorize types of music, Hunter says, "To me, talking about music is a lot like talking about food. Hopefully you and your audience are devoid of pretense [and starving]. Some people may say, ‘I like Mexican, but I hate Chinese,’ or, ‘I like rap, but I hate disco,’ when the core ingredients are basically the same, at least at the restaurants I go to. That said, it's a slippery slope when you try to describe a 'good' term because it's impossible to prove one person's opinion is better than any others. Unlike food, you don't need it for survival. I often play with prescribing to the platonic notion that there's a sort of 'universal narrative' to music that is actually the mind of God, but then I would be contradicting myself. I don't cook so I don't know how things are made, but I can still consider myself an 'expert.' Music is like that."

Hunter has lived in several non-traditional art loft/practice/event spaces which have been shut down one by one. He says, "Mayor Daley is making Chicago a place where it's very hard to party, where you need a license, even if you're a group of pretty respectable people, basically, to dance anywhere, even at home. I am not going to mention any of these places because I am afraid they will be destroyed by some serious dudes with bulletproof vests. It happens time and time again.

"There's nothing so comical as a S.W.A.T. team threatening to arrest a grown man wearing a diaper and a construction hat dancing to Congolese funeral music, or a white shirt screaming into my face, ‘How many of your friends have died because of these RAVES?! How MANY?’ ‘None.’"

Performing in non-traditional spaces and at parties has given Hunter opportunities to improvise and really flex his performance skills. In fact, he says he once "got a dance party started with no records: by hitting the turntables with [his] hand and 'scratching' [literally] with [his] fingers on the needle. [He] made a juke beat. People want good energy, a beat, a smile."

Hunter is also involved in a musical project called Mahjongg, which released its first full-length album, "Raydoncong" (2005), under the boutique label Cold Crush, run by Steve Aoki (Dim Mak) and Derek Fudesco (Pretty Girls Make Graves).

He says, "Being in Mahjongg is like having your head in a vice made out of banana peels. We just finished our third album, for K Records. Very excited, best one yet. It took a long time and we worked as hard as we could stand. It's coming out in January and we've got a celebratory show coming up at Sub-T on August 24. I like Mahjongg, it's fun. It's like being a DJ and being in a band at the same time. All of us are good DJs which makes the music more interesting."

Hunter believes being a good DJ is about, "Having a beer in your hand, matching beats sorta’ sloppy, going onto the floor to move your body, not playing the same type of music all night, and feeling the crowd—don't get greedy, be cheesy!"

Hunter Hussar headines Lumpenalooza, with Rand Sevilla and Logan Bay at Sonotheque, 1444 West Chicago, (312)226-7600, on August 3, 10pm-2am. $5.

(2007-07-31)

Also by Hilary Rawk

Spin Control
DJ Joe Bryl, the club’s co-owner, spins his favorite tracks in the Sampa Nova style. He says Sampa Nova has slowly evolved over the past decade and is "a more recent trend in Brazilian music that fuses the indigenous rhythms of the Samba with more modern musical currents"
(2007-07-02)

Say It Loud
Chicago has been celebrating Pride all of June with plays, exhibitions, tours and parties—leading up to the 38th Annual Chicago Pride Parade in Lakeview on Sunday, June 24. Here are four key players in Chicago’s nightclub scene talking about our city’s gay community and nightlife
(2007-06-22)

Cocktails and Dreams
Listening to music by Dimitri from Paris will make you feel like you are cruising at 30,000 feet drinking a dry martini—shaken, not stirred. Ranging from swanky, loungey and smooth-to-house disco, his newest compilation album, "Cocktail Disco," showcases some of the lushest and rarest underground tracks in his collection
(2007-06-05)

Spin Control
After a successful eight-year run on "That 70s Show," Danny Masterson has been focusing lately on music and art
(2007-05-08)

Master of Trades
(2007-04-24)

Crobar Craze
(2007-04-03)

Global Electro
(2007-03-20)

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