For the last six years, fans of The Dear Hunter have been anxiously waiting for the fourth Act of the six envisioned Acts of the Dear Hunter narrative. Casey Crescenzo brought The Dear Hunter – both the band and the character of the same name – to life with his 2006 debut full-length, Act I: The Lake South, The River North. The following two acts, 2007’s Act II: The Meaning Of, And All Things Regarding Ms. Leading and 2009’s Act III: Life And Death, got fans excited and garnered the band a loyal following. However, between 2010 and 2011, the band recorded a series of nine four-track EPs known as The Color Spectrum, where each EP was a musical interpretation of a color from the visible spectrum, showcasing the increasingly far-reaching ambitions for Crescenzo’s musical vision and his inventive interpretation of the world around him. Two years later, the more mellow and straightforward fifth full-length Migrant showcased a different side to the songwriter’s talents, and last year Crescenzo composed and recorded his first symphony Amour & Attrition.
The fourth act, Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise, features an community-based orchestra based in Berkeley, CA, Awesome Orchestra and picks up where the story left off – with the eponymous protagonist assuming the identity of his late brother and returning home. “Revisiting something that was six years removed from my life,” explains Crescenzo, “and going back to doing these records was actually a suggestion of my manager and friend Mike Marquis. We got talking about the title of the record and it really just made sense, both within this story – which is about this character returning to a familiar place as a different person – but also in terms of the music, which was returning to a familiar place as a different person for myself. So it was the perfect middle ground of describing conceptually, and as far as the plot goes, a story, but also a very perfect paralleling between my personal life and the story of the record – that revitalization and rejuvenating that comes from revisiting something with a newfound perspective.”
B-Sides On-Air was treated to an acoustic performance of “Waves” by Crescenzo during the band’s San Francisco tour stop. Crescenzo spoke with B-Sides On-Air host, Pete Mar, about Act IV: Rebirth In Reprise, his ties to the San Francisco Bay Area and more.
Check out the performance and the interview:
