Episode 9
Van Hunt
Maybe you never heard of Van Hunt before. The man is a multi-instrumentalist that has a sound reminiscent of Prince. He comes to the attic to play some of Dax's favorite songs. Meanwhile, we also get to hear about his upbringing in Ohio and Texas, plus hear all about the people he has work with in the past.
What's this all about?
This episode is nastier than any 80’s sax solo. As Dax points out to Van, the man’s music is sensual and sexual. It being Dax’s first time interviewing a person that he doesn’t know personally ends up being a real treat, as we get to hear the results of practicing on his wife and friends for the first seven episodes. The conversation touches on what it was like to grow up in the Midwest and what it took for Van to break into the music business. Make sure your pants are on tight because they may just fall off when Van starts playing. Listen here.
What did they say?
- @1:21 “For me, this is my first blind date.” This episode marks the first time Dax interviews someone that he doesn’t already know. Spoiler Alert: It goes very well.
- @3:37 “My fandom is a little dangerous.” Dax explains how he became a fan of Van’s and how much he loves his music.
- @5:40 “They’re willing to die over something pretty insignificant” The conversation begins with Dax and Van talking about growing up in the Midwest and how the notion of standing your ground was very popular in this area. Dax embraced it a bit more than Van though.
- @10:40 “You said in an interview that he was a part-time painter and a pimp.” Van discusses his memories growing up with his father. His father “dabbled” in trying his hand at pimping.
- @18:28 “I can easily adapt, even to assholes.” Van talks about how he handles dealing with difficult people and situations, and how his childhood prepared him for the recording studio.
- @21:15 “Your Dad somehow is friends with the drummer of the Ohio Players?” Van details how he gets into music, starting with his Dad’s friend Jimmy Diamond.
- @24:08 “Who the fuck are these people and their Christmas sweaters?” Van discovers Dax and Kristen through the Samsung commercials. Van’s girlfriend thought Dax was Owen Wilson. Dax brings out his Owen Wilson impersonation.
- @26:34 “Like, Richard Pryor is just, he is as Punk Rock as a man could possibly been.” Dax and Van talk about the correlations between comedy and R&B/Rap music.
- @30:56 “I like it when it’s fuckin’ nasty.” Dax likes nasty sax solos that make you want to take your pants off. Van talks about King Louie, a sax player for Ray Charles. Ray Charles playing sax is discussed, plus the conspiracy theory that Stevie Wonder is not blind. Dax also talks about his love for the movie “The Prestige”.
- @35:07 “To me, I thought you were the closest thing to Prince that I had as a kid.” Dax and Van share their admiration for Prince. Dax compares the sensuality of Van’s music to Prince’s songs. Van brings up musicians like Curtis Mayfield and Al Green. He also talks about his more Punk/Rock influences like Bad Brains, The Stooges, and Fishbone.
- @44:32 “If I had to give you a bumper sticker it would be Stay Weird and Sexual.” Dax makes a bumper sticker for Van modeled after the Austin bumper sticker “Keep Austin Weird”.
- @48:47 “Do you know who Joy Bryant is?” Dax references the Joy Bryant episode and talks about their discussion concerning white privilege. They also talk about the Geto Boys and Bushwick Bill.
- @53:49 “I hit the fucking ceiling when I found out that you wrote Hopeless.” Dax talks about how he figured out why he loved Northern Exposure and The Sopranos so much, they both had David Chase in common. The same goes for Van’s music and the song Hopeless. Ken Kennedy is mentioned.
- @1:08:56 “At no point do I ever lose the confidence that I’m on the level with Prince.” Van talks about his confidence and how it works for him throughout his career. Mentioned during this conversation are Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and Prince’s first two albums.
- @1:19:20 “Did you do a 23 and Me thing?” Van talks about his connection with France. It is not his heritage, just his love for French things. Dax asks him if he used 23 and Me. This pre-dates them being a sponsor of the podcast.
- @1:30:51 “I’m going to play Being a Girl” Van plays his song Being a Girl.
- @1:36:37 “Completely unrelated but do you like Talib Kweli?” Dax asks Van if he likes Talib. Dax mentions that he would like to have him on the podcast, which he eventually does.
- @1:37:40 Van plays his song Dust.
These are the facts...
- @1:47:15 The Fact Check begins
- Monica’s most fun fact check to date.
- @1:49:18 College mascot discussion turns into a debate about racism and mascots.
- Malcolm Gladwell book is called Outliers. Hillbilly Elegy is mentioned.
- Ray Charles sax player was David “Fathead” Newman, not King Louie.
- Van would be considered a multi-instrumentalist.
- Detroit is 79.2% Black currently.
- The median income in Atlanta is $41,300. In Detroit the median income is $25,908.
- Dayton median income is $27,683.
- Bushwick Bill says it was his mom that shot him, not his girlfriend. Monica says that all the articles she found still claim it’s the girlfriend that shot him.
- Fyre Festival was the failed music festival in the Bahamas.
- “Without A Paddle” made $70 million worldwide.
- The Mingus book is called Beneath the Underdog and the Documentary is called Mingus: Charles Mingus 1968.
- The first Prince album was titled “For You” and was released in 1978. Prince was 20.
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Pairs well with...
Joy Bryant – Episode 4