Alec Hutson: Working Outside of the Music Box.

Alec Hutson at the Bloc 11 Cafe

Alec Hutson: Working Outside of the Music Box.

By Doug Holder

It is hard to label Alec Hutson, and that's OK with him. He is an eclectic artist who is involved with many different projects. I met Hutson in the backroom of my usual haunt, the Bloc 11 Cafe in Union Square, Somerville. Hutson is a 30ish looking man, with a shaved head, a well-trimmed beard and an intense intellectual look about him. Hutson told me that he has lived in Somerville for the past 4 years.

He said he loves living here, but qualified it. “It is very expensive. Because of gentrification artists have to be very creative about how they earn income. Hutson lives in a cooperative house in the Spring Hill section of the city. He works as a freelance graphic designer, a waiter at the famed Club Passim, and the leader of the band, aptly named, “Alec Hutson.”

He defines the music he and his six piece band play as experimental pop music. Hutson explained, "It is a tricky genre. My music revolves around several different types. Categories like soul, rock or folk don't quite fit. My music is both catchy and experimental.” Hutson told me that the band “Talking Heads,” is an inspiration. Like the Talking Heads he incorporates many different types of music into his work like: Bossa nova, jazz, Russian and Jewish music, etc...

Hutson told me he started out studying classical piano. He went on to play the guitar in high school. He went to school at U/Mass Amherst for architecture, but as a post graduate he trained himself in video production, design, and multi-media production, thus his part time gig as a freelance designer.

In terms of lyrics for his music Hutson counts singer/songwriter Ainslie Wills, and Jeff Buckley as influences. He said, “ I like how they draw things from their experience, not from whatever is popular at the time. The lyrics feel true. They write about what moves them. I can relate to what they are saying.”

Hutson told me he has been involved in Buddhist meditation for the last year and a half. He recently went on a 10 day retreat. Hutson believes that these periods of silence and meditation help him as a person and a musician.

Hutson told me there are Somerville residents in his band, one of whom is his roommate. Another one of his bandmates lives down the block from him. It is evident that Somerville is fertile ground for a harvest of creatives.

Hutson has played at a number of venues in Somerville such as :The Burren, Thunder Road, Bull McCabe's and others. He told me he is about to embark on a three week West Coast tour with his band this summer and he hopes it bears fruit.

I imagine Hutson will progress with his work, and will be another artist who has lived and thrived in the “Paris of New England.”


For more info go to:  https://www.alechutson.com/