Kim Hunter was 8 years old when she received her first knock-off Stratocaster for Christmas as a gift from her father. Her parents owned 9 bars in Oklahoma City and Kim would sneak in and peak through the back door to watch Country and Western bands that were on stage. “I was going to be Buck Owens,” Kim joked.
She moved back and forth from Wichita Falls and the Dallas/Fort Worth area starting in 1987 and finally settled here in 2000. Her roots were actually in Punk Rock, with a band called Black Satin that was filled with leather, profanity and insanity. “We got kicked out of more gigs than we played.” Kim confessed.
Her Country roots brought her back to the scene. “I always liked the Outlaw Country, ya know, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings.” Through a karaoke contest, she was able to group up with local musician Toby Wayne to form Renegade, who played throughout the area. The band’s sudden split meant Kim needed to fill scheduled dates with a new band. This began her project with the Terry Allen Band, which she played and toured with for seven years. Eventually she took control of the writing in the band Barefoot Dixie, which included Tammy Billen-Scheiber, Jose Romero Jr., Joe Harris, Jimi Divine, and Tim McMillam.
Sometimes touring will take a toll on musicians and trying to keep up with that, and life in general, can get to be too much. They eventually slowed down, yet Kim continued with acoustic performances that ultimately got her to play solo and join the underground coffee shop circuit. Hunter has continued writing for these shows. “I’ve never done something just for me” Kim reflects, “So I’ve decided to do a personal project called True Stories.” The six song EP will deal with her childhood in east Texas, Honky-tonks and heartaches.
She’s done this, all while fighting Squamous Cell cancer, which was in Stage 4 when they caught it. “It was really hard to get it diagnosed. I’m halfway to saying I’m cancer-free.” Right now she is in between a radiation stint to make sure the cancer doesn’t return. Her struggle is met with the love of fellow musicians, myself included, who are pulling behind her, her battle and her musical efforts. You can hear tracks from her upcoming album on KOLI 94.9 The Outlaw.
-James Cook
