Michael Hearst

Michael Hearst
Michael Hearst performing at Joe's Pub in New York, NY.
Michael Hearst performing at Joe's Pub in New York, NY.
Background information
Born (1972-12-27) December 27, 1972 (age 53)
OriginVirginia Beach, Virginia, US
GenresIndie rock, Experimental, Children's, Film
OccupationsComposer, musician, writer
InstrumentsKeyboards, Guitar, Vocals, Claviola, Theremin, Bass, Drums, Daxophone
Years active1991 to present
LabelsPlanetary Records, Barbès, Bar/None Records, Urban Geek Records
Websitemichaelhearst.com

Michael Marcus Hearst (born December 27, 1972) is a Brooklyn-based American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and author known for his thematic, multi-media projects and use of unconventional instrumentation. He is a founding member of the eclectic indie band One Ring Zero and the creator of several book-and-album pairings, including the Unusual Creatures series and the multi-volume 80 From The 80s project. As a film composer, his work includes the scores for the documentaries To Be Takei, Chicken People, and Hunky Jesus.


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. Planets is a collection of compositions representing the Solar System and beyond. 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."

Songs For Ice Cream Trucks

The 2007 album Songs For Ice Cream Trucks features original instrumental compositions designed as alternative music for ice cream trucks.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

80 From The 80s

In the fall of 2024, Hearst began releasing a series of singles as part of his 80 From The 80s project. Over the course of the project, eighty songs will be released, featuring guest vocals from a variety of artists, including Martha Wainwright, Stephin Merritt, John Linnell, Jonathan Coulton, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Krystle Warren, John Cameron Mitchell, Amber Martin, and Syd Straw.

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, 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, Post Road, Parenthetical Note, The Lifted Brow, and The Muse Apprentice Guild. He wrote the non-fiction children's books Unusual Creatures, Extraordinary People, and Curious Constructions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Discography

Albums


EPs


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

Further reading