Michael Hearst

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Michael Hearst
Michael Hearst.jpg
Michael Hearst performing at Joe's Pub in New York, NY.
Background information
Born (1972-12-27) December 27, 1972 (age 52)
Origin Virginia Beach, Virginia, US
Genres Indie rock, Experimental, Children's, Film
Occupation(s)Composer, musician, writer
Instrument(s)Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals, Claviola, Theremin, Bass, Drums, Daxophone
Years active1991 to present
LabelsPlanetary Records, Barbès, Bar/None Records, Urban Geek Records
Website michaelhearst.com

Michael Marcus Hearst (born December 27, 1972) is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, writer, and producer. He is best known for his solo albums Songs For Ice Cream Trucks, Songs For Unusual Creatures, Songs For Fearful Flyers, Songs For Unconventional Vehicles and Songs For Extraordinary People, as well as the children's books Unusual Creatures, Extraordinary People, Curious Constructions and Unconventional Vehicles. He has composed the music for a number of films including The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin , Chicken People , To Be Takei , Magic Camp , and House of Suh . In 2014, he co-produced and co-directed Unusual Creatures, a ten-episode series for PBS Digital Studios. [1] Hearst is also a founding member of the eclectic musical group One Ring Zero.

Contents

One Ring Zero

One Ring Zero was founded in 1997 by Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp. The groups works are often programmatic and/or collaborative. They include the album As Smart As We Are , featuring lyrics by Paul Auster, Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Lethem, A.M. Homes, Neil Gaiman, Rick Moody and Dave Eggers. The book/CD The Recipe Project is a collection of recipes set to music and sung word for word in the musical style suggested by the chefs, including Mario Batali, Chris Cosentino, Andrea Reusing, David Chang, John Besh, Mark Kurlansky, Michael Symon, and Isa Chandra Moskowitz. [2] Planets is a collection of compositions representing the Solar System and beyond. [3] Hearst says of Planets, "It had been just about 100 years since Holst had composed his song cycle The Planets. It seemed like it was time to musically revisit our solar system and come up with our own song cycle." [4]

Songs For Ice Cream Trucks

In 2007 Hearst composed a collection of songs to reminisce ice cream truck music. According to Hearst, "I got really frustrated with ice cream trucks passing by and playing the same songs over and over again. I thought somebody needs to write new songs for ice cream trucks. I realized that was going to be me. There was no one else who was going to do it." [5] [6]

Songs For Unusual Creatures

Hearst's album Songs For Unusual Creatures is the musical companion to his book Unusual Creatures. It is a collection of songs inspired by lesser-known animals, and includes works composed for Kronos Quartet, The Microscopic Septet, Margaret Leng Tan, and the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots. [7]

Songs For Fearful Flyers

Songs For Fearful Flyers includes seven long-form instrumental compositions intended to calm nervous travelers. The album features a spoken word cameo from actress Whoopi Goldberg. [8]

Songs For Extraordinary People

In 2017 Hearst released Songs For Extraordinary People as a companion to his children's book Extraordinary People. The album features songs about Billie Jean King, Lawnchair Larry flight, Ibn Battuta, William Kamkwamba, Jeanne de Clisson, Roy Sullivan, and Marie Curie among others. Guest vocalists include Taylor Mac, Claudia Gonson, and Tanya Donelly. [9] [10]

Songs For Curious Constructions

In 2019 Songs For Curious Constructions was released as a companion EP to Hearst's children's book Curious Constructions. The six-song album features compositions about Coney Island's Parachute Jump, Coral Castle, El Pulpo Mecanico, Finca Bellavista, and various Paul Bunyan statues. [9] [11]

Songs For Unconventional Vehicles

Songs For Unconventional Vehicles (2021) is a companion to Hearst's children's book Unconventional Vehicles. The album features a miniature songs for all 45 entries in the book, which include Bertha (tunnel boring machine), Lockheed XFV, E-Ship 1, LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, Hyperloop, De Lackner HZ-1 Aerocycle, and the Zamboni Ice resurfacer among others. Guest vocalists include Syd Straw, Neil Gaiman, and Tanya Donelly among others. [12] [13]

80 From The 80s

In the fall of 2024, Hearst began releasing a series of reinterpretations of 1980s songs under the project title 80 From The 80s. Over the course of the project, eighty songs will be released as singles, with a new track dropping every other week. The releases feature guest vocals from a variety of artists, including Amanda Palmer, Stephin Merritt, John Linnell, Jonathan Coulton, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Krystle Warren, John Cameron Mitchell, Amber Martin, and Syd Straw. [14] Hearst says of the project, "80 From The 80s aims to entertain and perhaps provide a little bit of respite from the current political climate, reminding us of a time when you could still 'catch the deluge in a paper cup.'" [15] [16]

Other work

Hearst established Urban Geek Studios and Urban Geek Records, where he has produced, recorded, and worked on post-production for Guided by Voices, Tanya Donelly, Kansas, The Holy Modal Rounders, and Robert Creeley.

Hearst has performed and given lectures and workshops at universities, museums, and cultural centers around the world. He has also appeared on NPR's Fresh Air, [17] [18] A+E's Breakfast With The Arts, and NBC's The Today Show.

As a writer, Hearst's stories have appeared in literary journals such as McSweeney's Internet Tendency , [19] Post Road, [20] Parenthetical Note, [21] The Lifted Brow , [22] and The Muse Apprentice Guild. [23] He wrote the non-fiction children's books Unusual Creatures, [24] Extraordinary People, [25] and Curious Constructions. [26]

In 2008, Hearst toured with The Magnetic Fields as their support act, reading flash-non-fiction stories, and performing selections from Songs For Newsworthy News. [27]

In April 2009, Hearst performed Terry Riley's Concert in C alongside the Kronos Quartet, Philip Glass, Dave Douglas, Osvaldo Golijov, Morton Subotnick, and many others at Carnegie Hall in New York City. [28]

Hearst began co-writing music with Tanya Donelly in 2010 for her album Swan Song Series, and in October 2011 performed with her at concerts in New York City and Boston, along with Rick Moody, Claudia Gonson, Hannah Marcus, Sam Davol, and Carrie Bradley. [29]

On February 28, 2012, the Kronos Quartet performed the world premiere of Hearst's composition "Secret Word" at Zankel Hall. The work is a tribute to the late-1980s television series Pee-wee's Playhouse. For the debut performance, Hearst joined the quartet on stage, performing claviola, theremin, and daxophone, and also conducting a toy instrument orchestra of audience members who took the stage. [30]

Hearst earned a degree in music composition from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1995, where he studied under Dika Newlin. In 2017 Hearst returned to VCU to deliver the commencement address to the graduating class of the School of the Arts. The commencement ceremony took place at the Altria Theater in Richmond, Virginia. [31]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles (80 From The 80s)

Film Scores

Books

Video

  1. "The Aye-aye" (pilot episode)
  2. "The Jesus Christ Lizard"
  3. "The Elephant Shrew"
  4. "The Giant Anteater"
  5. "The Glass Frog"
  6. "The Magnapinna Squid"
  7. "The Blobfish"
  8. "The Sea Pig"
  9. "The Tardigrade"
  10. "The Chinese Giant Salamander"
  11. "The Bilby"

References

  1. ↑ "Songs for Unusual Creatures". PBS.
  2. ↑ "One Ring Zero's Recipe Music Project". seriouseats.com.
  3. ↑ "It May Not Be a Planet, but Pluto's Still a Rock Star". NPR.org.
  4. ↑ "Planets". American Museum of Natural History News. Archived from the original on December 11, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Michael Hearst at IDEACITY in Toronto 6/20/13". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via www.youtube.com.
  6. ↑ Thill, Scott (July 23, 2007). "Serves Novelties for the Ears" – via www.wired.com.
  7. ↑ Borrell, Brendan. "Band of Bots Don't Play Musical Instruments--They Are the Instruments". Scientific American.
  8. ↑ "If holiday flying gets you down, we've got a CD for you". Public Radio International.
  9. 1 2 "A Selection Of Songs For Extraordinary People". NPR.org.
  10. ↑ "Michael Hearst's Extraordinary People". Michael Hearst's Extraordinary People.
  11. ↑ "Curious Constructions by Michael Hearst & Matt Johnstone". Kids Lit Review.
  12. ↑ "Michael Hearst Delivers 'Unconventional Vehicles'". geekdad.com.
  13. ↑ "Children's Books: 'Enduring Freedom' Review". Wall Street Journal.
  14. ↑ Dorn, Lori (September 15, 2024). "'80 From the 80s', Michael Hearst Invites Talented Musicians to Cover 80 Classic Songs From the 1980s". Laughing Squid. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  15. ↑ Hearst, Michael. "80 From The 80s by Michael Hearst". www.michaelhearst.com. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  16. ↑ Friedman, Dan (September 17, 2024). "In the words of the Torah and the music of Toto and Peter Gabriel, now is the season of renewal". The Forward. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  17. ↑ "One Ring to Rule Them: 'Ice Cream' Songs Hit Big". NPR.org.
  18. ↑ "Rock Band One Ring Zero". NPR.org.
  19. ↑ "McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Can You Hear Them? Part Two". Archived from the original on August 12, 2006. Retrieved August 28, 2006.
  20. ↑ "Post Road Magazine". www.postroadmag.com.
  21. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 29, 2006. Retrieved August 28, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ↑ "The Lifted Brow". The Lifted Brow.
  23. ↑ ""the mag, the m.a.g., muse apprentice guild, international literary quarterly "". www.muse-apprentice-guild.com.
  24. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. ↑ Hearst, Michael (May 12, 2015). Extraordinary People: A Semi-Comprehensive Guide to Some of the World's Most Fascinating Individuals: Michael Hearst, Aaron Scamihorn: 9781452127095: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN   978-1452127095.
  26. ↑ Hearst, Michael (April 25, 2017). Curious Constructions: A Peculiar Portfolio of Fifty Fascinating Structures (Uncommon Compendiums): Michael Hearst, Matt Johnstone: 9781452144849: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN   978-1452144849.
  27. ↑ Dunham, Brittan (October 14, 2008). "Last Night: The Magnetic Fields At The Majestic Theatre". Dallas Observer.
  28. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 4, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  29. ↑ "Joe's Pub at The Public". Joespub.com. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  30. ↑ Kozinn, Allan (February 29, 2012). "Kronos Quartet at Zankel Hall" – via NYTimes.com.
  31. ↑ "Michael Hearst's May 2017 Commencement Address". VCUarts. May 12, 2017.
  32. ↑ "One Ring Zero: Addendum - A Collection of One Ring Zero Music Videos Made by the General Public" – via www.imdb.com.
  33. ↑ "As Smart As They Are: The Author Project" – via www.imdb.com.
  34. ↑ "Unusual Creatures" – via YouTube.

Further reading

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