Hurricane Dolly (2008) were destroyed with hundreds more damaged, and the storm surge caused many boats to be brought onshore, some into homes. The Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, declared 14 counties in South Texas a disaster area. Insured property damage estimates are near $525 million (2008 USD) with total property damage estimates (based on a 2–1 ratio of total damage to insured damage) near $1.3 billion (2008 USD) in the state (with a large proportion of the losses being agricultural), and the Rio Grande cotton crop was expected to be a complete loss. After weakening to a tropical storm, Dolly spun off
What Were You Hoping For? in 2008. Two songs from those sessions, "Moving Targets" and "Eyes Like Pearls", were included on "What Were You Hoping For?". After setting up his own label in 2009, Hunt began a new process for "What Were You Hoping For?", writing and recording songs for 10 months. In an interview for the "Chicago Tribune", he said of his expectations for the album's recording: "I really wasn't sure what it would wind up being sonically. I love Bach cello suites, I love punk music, I love old blues, negro spiritual quartets, Muddy Waters' 'You Need Love.' There is a simplicity but