There is plenty of mileage being put on the car of power blues and rock band Bounty Hunter founders David and Lyn Hinds. The couple had planned a move closer to Sydney, where many of their gigs now happen, on the back of them picking up awards for their songwriting and getting mainstream radio chart success in the USA.
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The Hinds have shared gigs with the likes of Kevin Borich, Robben Ford, and now will open for Phil Emmanuel, after David last jammed with him in the ‘90s. Their Sydney-based drummer Mick O’Shea has played with Rose Tattoo and Swanee, and recently toured with Richie Sambora. David was in ‘70s rock bands Rabbit and Finch, but his 23-year collaboration with wife Lyn has given him success the two never dreamed of.
When Phil Emmanuel contacted David to see if he could line up some dates around a gig he was playing in the Hunter Valley, it was a no-brainer. No sooner had David locked in Club North Haven, Newcastle and Budgewoi, the Hunter Valley festival was cancelled.
“I got onto the Hawkesbury Hotel which we’d added as a solo gig and persuaded the manager to add in Phil and his new band. Speaking to Phil, he’s the happiest with these guys that he’s been for a while. He’s excited to be doing these gigs.”
Meanwhile, America is loving the remixes of songs from the Bounty Hunters, Rise, and Rollercoaster albums. The organisers of song contest Your Music Out Loud in the USA, have become mentors for the pair to get their music to a broader audience there, after Bounty Hunters came third runner-up with Hot on Your Heels.
KlubJumpers, run by successful producer Sam Michaels, (90 hits on Billboard charts) his Aussie wife Liz Scott, who wrote hits for Bardot, and Sam’s brother respected DJ Dan Mathews, approached them to do a dance remix of the song.
“The could see the potential,” David says. “We’d never entertained the idea but we thought, ‘let’s see what he does with it’. When we got it back from him, we had these big grins on our faces.” The track got to No.8 on mainstream charts ahead of Ed Shearin, Miley Cyrus, Harry Styles, and Katy Perry.
The Hinds are in their sixties, but say the market is so diverse in the US, audiences don’t care. “They’ve seen us on the video, there’s no smoke and mirrors. They just like the sound.”
Bounty Hunters will rock Club North Haven for an hour, mainly with originals plus some classic covers, then Phil and the band will do two one hour sets. No doubt there will be a jamming encore.