Hunter’s Stories

“The Story of Black Out Band”

“To live in a world where our youth follow their hearts.”

That’s the vision of Hunter’s Fund. Since our founding in 2016 Hunter’s Fund has provided grants to more than 30 young people to help them follow their dreams.

But some say it all began more than 10 years before, when a trio of 10 and 11 year old musicians made a video that took YouTube by storm. Black Out Band, as they were known, included Hunter Watson on vocals and guitar, Matt Salutillo on drums and Robert “Tug” Hunter on bass. Their song, “Video Games” penned by Hunter and his mom Judy, has an up-tempo pop-style melody that made it an instant hit at school assemblies and local festivals.

Like many kids their age, these boys were obsessed with video games. Judy recalls Hunter not wanting to go to music lessons or even to school. He told her, “I just want to play video games.” Judy and Hunter’s music coach suggested he write a song about it. So, he did — writing the chorus and one verse. And when he got stuck, his mom helped out with the other verses.

The band began practicing the song and adding it to their repertoire of covers. Then came the big debut, the band performed on Field Day at Matt and Tug’s school and everyone loved the song. Matt recalls, “It was great. We were rock stars for the day in front of all our friends.”

During one of the band’s Saturday practices in the basement of the Watson home, the subject of doing a video came up. Hunter’s mom Judy Watson recalls, “We were thinking it was something fun to do on a weekend. A way to encourage the kids in their creativity. We never imagined it was going to be so big.”

But the video blew up on social media. As of this writing, the song has been viewed more than 10 million times on YouTube. You can check it out yourself by searching on YouTube for “Black Out Band Video Games”. In the months after its release, the Watson’s had to stop answering their phone at home because they were receiving so many calls. Judy remembers, “Everyone was looking for the video games kid.” As the boys got older and had other demands on their time, Black Out Band stopped performing. They never had a hit record or became professional musicians. And truth be told, as young adults, they endured some teasing from their friends about their ‘tween band’ fame.

Plus, Matt and Tug acknowledge that losing Hunter has made the band memories a tad bittersweet. But both young men look back with gratitude to their summer as rock stars. Tug recalls, “The summer we made the video, it became my whole life. We were only 11 and 12 but we were artists…playing gigs and having video shoots.”

Matt shared, “I still think of Hunter all the time. The hurt never goes away. But it reminds me to focus on doing the things that make me happy. Hunter was really good at that. He didn’t worry too much about what other people thought. I think that piece of him is a little bit inside of me now and that’s a good thing.”

Tug and Matt both support Hunter’s Fund and appreciate the organization’s focus on supporting young artists. According to Tug, “Life isn’t worth living without artists, without creativity. Anything I can do to make it easier for the next kid who’s into film or music or art, I’m all in.”

Not all families have the resources to hire music coaches and video producers, but all kids have dreams. According to Judy, “With the Hunter’s Fund grants, we are nurturing creativity in other young people just like we were able to do for Hunter, Matt and Tug with this video. It’s been a wonderful way to carry on Hunter’s passion.”

With the support of our generous donors, Hunter’s Fund invests in young people’s dreams each year. Within 5 years 60 grants have been awarded and whether the grants provided to these young people result in a successful career path, or a few months of YouTube fame, we are proud to invest in a world where they can follow their hearts. Thank you for believing in their dreams.