Playradioplay!

by Mark DemingDan Hunter, the man behind the electronic pop project Playradioplay!, once told an interviewer that he'd been able to score a contract with a major label because "I had already proven that kids want to hear my music before they even came knocking on my door." Of course, Hunter had an advantage in understanding the mind of the American teenager, since he was only 17 years old when Island Records signed Playradioplay! to a record deal. Born and raised in Aledo, TX, Hunter began writing electronic music when he took a class in music technology during his early years of high school. Hunter discovered he enjoyed creating music on computers, and put together a small electronic music studio at home, based around his laptop and sequencing programs like FL Studio. Hunter began writing songs inspired by his own life experiences -- the death of his father, his descent into drug abuse, his experiences in rehab, his subsequent embrace of the "straight-edge" lifestyle and Christianity, and his relationship with his girlfriend Madison, all married to slick synthesized melodies -- and started posting them on a MySpace page under the moniker Playradioplay! As word spread on the Internet about Hunter's music, Playradioplay! became one of the most popular groups on the networking site, eventually racking up over 6.5 million plays of his posted music, and Hunter found himself juggling high school with a burgeoning career, playing live shows on weekends (singing and playing guitar along with preprogrammed accompaniment) while keeping up with his studies during the week. Playradioplay!'s independent success led to a number of major labels courting Hunter, but he opted to sign with Island, citing their success with younger acts such as Fall Out Boy, the Bravery, and the Killers. Taking early graduation from high school, Hunter produced and recorded Playradioplay!'s EP The Frequency primarily on his own, which was released in April 2007 through Island's Stolen Transmissions subsidiary, but he teamed with producers Garrett Lee and Lester Mendez for work on his first full-length album, due for release in 2008. Meanwhile, Hunter spent much of his summer in 2007 touring as part of the West Coast leg of that year's Warped Tour. The full-length debut Texas was released in March the following year.