Doctor and Musician Sam Hunn

by Stephanie Williams

Sam is one member of Hobart band, Verticoli, who launch a new album this month. He’s also a doctor and the self-proclaimed nagger of the band!

Where did you grow up and where do you live now? I grew up in Hobart. I’ve lived in a few places recently, but currently back in God’s country.

Tell us a little about your work? I’m a doctor by trade. I’ve been a guitarist since I was 10. I’ve always had a passion to keep music going in my life, hence Verticoli’s new album!

How has the covid pandemic affected you? I was fortunately reasonably unaffected in the work I was doing at the time. I was in Geelong working at an emergency department at the Covid peak in Victoria, and it was actually very quiet. I think people were worried about getting sick. I was lucky in that regard. I have some mates who were truly flogged though, and good on them for the work they did.

How does participating in the band and being a doctor work together? They inform each other in the sense that I think they both require discipline. Even the more relaxed looking musician works harder than you’d ever think behind the scenes. It definitely serves as an escape, but the headspace required for music clashes a bit with the work mentality, which sometimes can be uncomfortable.

How did you get into music? My brother started playing bass and I decided I’d like to play guitar. He said I wouldn’t last more than six months which spurred me on to keep cracking away at it. After six months I was practicing hours a day and the motivation became and has remained very spontaneous. Dad was always cranking Kiss, Led Zeppelin, and bought Californication when we were young, which certainly didn’t hurt!

What’s your role in the band? Guitarist, singer, producer of demos, which the other boys build upon with me. Also probably constant nagger is part of my job description. Someone’s gotta do the nagging.

What do you love doing outside work? Music, sleeping, hanging out with my dog and the dog’s Mum.

Who do you admire? Too many people! Hamish Blake, Eddie Vedder, Raj Gollapali. Great people who do great work.

Secret vice? It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you! Not so secret vice is Emily in Paris seasons 1 and 2.

What are you reading now? The History of Metallica, haha.

What gets your goat? People who don’t practice what they preach. And slow walkers.

What was your first job? Underwater ceramic technician.

What are your daily news/social media habits? I used to froth the news and current events like nothing else. Covid put me very much off the news much to my detriment. I use Instagram, the ABC and Sydney Morning Herald apps and there’s an Insta page called Roca News I quite like. I play guitar vids and gags on Insta, not much else.

Your favourite place in Hobart for…

Breakfast: Lansdowne Crescent.

Lunch: Subway.

Dinner: Sonny.

Favourite team? West Coast.

Favourite TV show or podcast? I love Justin Hawkins Rides Again on Youtube. The frontman of the Darkness. He is great, super smart, and very entertaining. Stranger Things is definitely my favourite TV show. When Eddie Munson played Master of Puppets I cried. I know this happened to a few high school metalheads.

Favourite Hobart secret? I dunno if it’s a secret at all but State Cinema rulz.

What’s next for the band? We’re running a little tour in November through December, album releases 9 November. It’s called ‘The Echo’. We’ve got a bunch of other demos in the pipeline as well, so we’re ready to keep cracking on!

Parting words? Party words? Party on Wayne.

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Setting up shop during a pandemic was a risky move, but if the crowd at Dāna Eating House (Dāna) on a Friday night is anything to go by, it’s one that’s paid off. With tables of diners chatting and laughing over drinks, the music and conversation buzzes off the monstera-leaf-green walls. Low-hanging rattan lights and worn wooden floorboards give the newly opened South-East Asian fusion venue in Hobart’s CBD a relaxed vibe.

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Just when you think your cousins are alright. NZ Opposition Leader Judith Collins took aim at Tassie during her recent (unsuccessful) campaign, calling us Australia’s “poor cousin.” She also seems worried about us nabbing tech businesses, “It’s a lovely part of the world but do you necessarily want to go there with your high- tech business? Possibly not,” she said. We beg to differ!