Saint John Hunt’s band, “Saint John and the Sinners,” plays classic rock almost every night at various local casinos and bars. In a year’s time, the band has played more than 77 shows. Its members said they believe this classifies them as the hardest-working band in Humboldt County.

They just finished their first professional CD, titled “Original Sin,” which has 12 original songs written by Hunt. It’s currently in production and will be on the market soon. It will be sold on their Web site (http://saintjohnandthesinners.com/), on their MySpace page and at their shows. Bear River Casino patrons voted them their favorite band.

Hunt is also the son of notorious American spy E. Howard Hunt.

According to an article written by Erik Hedegaard in the April 5, 2007, edition of Rolling Stone magazine, E. Howard Hunt was the CIA’s chief of the Western Hemisphere, head of the Black Ops. Hunt said that before E. Howard Hunt died, he told him some of his secrets, most of which were about the CIA’s alleged involvement in the John F. Kennedy assassination. The interview can be listened to on Hunt’s Web site at www.saintjohnhunt.com.

E. Howard Hunt died in January 2007. The Rolling Stone article was a story about Hunt and his father.

Hedegaard, in an e-mail to The Eureka Reporter, said, “It really does boil down to a he said/he said type of situation, where the truth is no closer to be revealed than it was before E. Howard’s more-or-less confession. My story was about Saint John, and his beliefs, and his truths. The rest of it is still up in the air, near as I can tell.”

Hunt also attracted the attention of radio host and documentary-maker Alex Jones. Jones interviewed Hunt for a documentary about Watergate and the Kennedy assassination.

“My offering to all this, I don’t think it solves anything or answers any questions,” said Hunt. “I do bring together a few different pieces of the puzzle that needed to be brought out — I feel pretty good about that.”

Hunt also focuses on local issues, writing social justice blues pieces about the police shootings in Eureka and performing free benefit concerts to raise money for nonprofit organizations. On April 19, Saint John and the Sinners played at the Eureka Theater to benefit the Eureka Historical Society.

Jason Trevino plays in Saint John and the Sinners. “The thing that ties the band in with Saint’s history is we like to focus on the local community,” said Trevino.

Hunt said, “Music is our venue to bring about positive social change.”

“We want to get the message out that it’s not enough to just sit around and be bummed out about stuff,” said Hunt. “You have to make your voice heard and get involved.”

Saint John and the Sinners will perform at the upcoming Rutabaga Ball at the Bayside Grange, setting the musical backdrop for the crowning of the new Rutabaga Queen and the silliness of the annual pageant. The ball starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday.