Canadian queer girl band, Hunter Valentine, to rock out in Denver

Ontario-based openly queer all-girl punk-rock band Hunter Valentine is continuing its U.S. tour and making a stop in the Mile High City Sept. 12 to play at the Marquis Theatre.

The badass female trio use their often emotional lyrics to propel their ideations of taking a stand and fighting for change.

The vanguard band is taking the U.S. by storm as thousands of fans are lining up at sold-out shows to catch a glimpse of one of the hottest new chick bands of the year.

Lead singer and guitarist Kiyomi McCloskey talks about about wearing her heart on her sleeve and reveals the softer side of Hunter Valentine.

How does sexuality play into your music?
We try and really stay focused on playing the music and not defining the music through our sexuality but at the same time, our music defines who we are, and yeah, we are queer and we are female and that’s gonna come across in some of the songwriting. We’ve been lucky enough to have the support of the queer community since we first started.

Talk about the name Hunter Valentine.
Hunter Valentine is supposed to be like a fictional character who is the ultimate heart-breaker. Kinda like a James Dean character but we don’t really say whether Hunter Valentine is one gender or another gender. It’s the idea that everyone has a little bit of Hunter Valentine in them. It’s also kind of about the space in between where you’ve been broken and where you are able to break.

Are you in a relationship?
No! I’m single. Do you wanna hook me up with somebody? (laughs)

You look like a very tough bad-girl. Does this accurately represent you?
Not at all. I’m a big soft teddy bear. It’s all a sham. You say that I present myself like that but, ya know, I’m playing these songs where I’m basically wearing my heart on my sleeve every single night.

You’re absolutely right about that.
Yeah, maybe I should tone down the eye-liner?!

Do you really drink Jack Daniel’s?
I love Jack Daniel’s; well I love bourbon. Yeah, ya know. I like Woodford or Maker’s Mark, I like all that stuff.

Talk about the dark quality of your music like in the song “Revenge.”
Songwriting for me is an outlet to describe the emotions that I’m dealing with. Revenge is a bit darker subject matter. The song is basically about standing up for yourself and not taking any crap and not allowing yourself to be a victim. Do we need to display it in an extreme fashion? I guess so. It leaves a little bit more of a mark on people and helps them understand that it is a serious thing that happens to people on an everyday basis. We can’t allow for that to happen.

Do you have a message of hope for the LGBT community?
That’s a really good question. I would say the same thing as what our message is for our band. That you need to stand behind what you believe in and be strong and continue to fight for change.
Catch Hunter Valentine perform Monday, September 12 at the Marquis Theatre.

More on the web at http://huntervalentine.com.