We were lucky to catch up with Hunter Gromala recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hunter, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

It’s been a year now since I decided to take the leap into being a full time musician and singer as my career. I’ve always had the passion for singing and performing (growing up in the church worship bands, school higher choirs, and theater), but I guess I always thought, “who would want to see me?”, “I’m not good enough for that life”, or “that’s too hard, and I don’t know enough”. I had a million excuses as to why I wasn’t a “real” musician, singer, artist, etc. But then I started to look at the evidence around me….I had been performing on stage and singing in front of people since I was 5 years old. I had notebooks and notebooks full of songs and poetry I had written as far back as middle school. I had auditioned for many choirs, bands, events, etc, and received roles and praises. Obviously- I can’t be as awful or unqualified or untalented as I tell myself I am…right?
Well here we are a year after finally going all in on my true dream that I had kept secret for so long when asked. Because wanting to grow up to be Hannah Montana is a pretty high expectation bar to set, am I right? And how embarrassing of an answer is “I wanna be a singer when I grow up”, when kids around you are always saying doctor, writer, firefighter, or something less cringey and vulnerable and automatically met with judgement? Anyways, after a year of piano lessons, gigs with audiences ranging from hundreds to only the sound crew/fellow musicians, bad deals, scraping by financially at times, and learning from my amazing musician friends around me- it’s time. Time to go through the pile of notebooks and the voice memos, and create my own music. To find my own voice in this industry and create something (hopefully) beautiful, vulnerable, and filled with the difficult emotions we wade through in this life. My next goal and project that I’m putting my whole heart, life, and soul into is my first album.

Hunter, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

When describing myself or my music or what to expect at a Hunter Gromala show, I would say expect to hear some favorite pop and r&b throwbacks you didn’t know you needed to hear, expect to see probably a lot of pink or an elaborate outfit/visual aspect of the performance, and hopefully expect to be touched by some emotional or telling lyrics. I’m always drawn to songs and music that make me feel so deeply just through the artist’s tone, the song’s melody, or the honest and brutal lyricism, and I hope to share that with my audiences at every show.

Also coming from an art background with previous work in murals, design, sculptures, etc, I find the visual aspect of the performance, artist’s brand, and stage presence is very important. I tend to have a very distinct and “extra” style that I’m known for, and I try to carry that from show to show. I don’t care whether I’m performing for 4 people or 400- I’m going to be dressed in something beautiful and in something I would wear on my dream stage. My favorite thing to do is collaborate with local designers and stylists that I’ve met or seen at local runways I’ve walked in, and have them dress me for my own performances and shows. I love showing my vision to another creator and artist and being able to see what they come up with to blend both of our worlds together. It’s so beautiful to feel like I’m building a tiny community of talented designers, producers, musicians, technicians, photographers, and friends to bring alongside me on this journey and be able to share with all of them. The first local designer I collaborated with was Ashley Knepper (@chismosacompany) and my most recent was with the lovely Sydney Lenox (@sydneylenox). They’re both stunningly talented and are always able to bring my hyper femme fantasy to life.

Community is so important and so hard to find sometimes-in any industry. The music industry, even on local or smaller scales, can be full of egos, unknown rules and social cues, cliques, secret bias, and it’s hard to weed through it all to find the genuine souls sometimes. This last year I’ve learned some hard lessons- mostly the hard way- when it comes to friendships vs business relationships, having contracts, setting boundaries, being vulnerable, talking about payment, etc. Thankfully though, I feel like I’ve found some of the most talented, uplifting, encouraging, and genuine people around me, and I’m so grateful to have their support. Music is a very honest and vulnerable craft, so it matters the people you let in and around your art. It’s also nice to have people to help guide you through and answer questions I feel like some people are scared to ask/answer. Finding my little music community and set of friends has helped me so much, and I’m so grateful for them.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Everyone is going to have a specific idea of how your journey, your route to your dream, should go. They’re all going to have an opinion and an idea of the exact steps you have to go through to reach your goal because they/someone else did, and that’s how it works.

It’s not. You make your own path. You know your audience, your art, your brand, your energy, etc better than anyone else. Trust that. Now- don’t ignore all and every piece of advice you get. Be open to wisdom and help, but also know what works for you.

If you’re trying to be Lady Gaga, maybe those specific themed local bars aren’t the venues you need to book. If you work best with certain accommodations or needs, you probably don’t need to put yourself in uncomfortable situations just because someone else did first and says you have to. In the end, look where that person is, and if it’s not where you wish to be in the future, their advice probably isn’t as important as your own intuition.

In the end, trust your vision for yourself, your art, and the people you look up to and trust. This is your passion and dream- you know what you’re doing.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I truly feel like this dream of mine takes all of my passions I had growing up- singing, dancing, acting, photography, fashion, design, modeling- and brings them all together. I feel truly myself and seen when I’m on stage or performing. As a non-binary person, to not have the anxiety of how I’m being perceived every time I step on stage, is a sigh of relief and a blessing. Playing music is where I feel at home and understood, and being able to use my other talents to fully bring that to life is an amazing experience.      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/huntergromala
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/huntergromala?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC3MjpnKLGV20Ym3c-9B8kZw

Image Credits
@R Dodson Photography @shots.by.jordan