Grant Hart

Live on Rev 105. Thanks to Shawn Stewart for putting it together. Recorded for Kevin Cole on his birthday. Of growing up, Hart, who passed away in 2017, shared, "The way I grew up, there wasn’t a line between music and visual art. There was creative expression, and there was whatever it is when you’re not creatively expressing. People who are sensuous do sensual things. You live what you express, and you express what you live. I don’t know what you would call that: Thinking outside the box? Playing God? "I did a couple years in the pews and the choir loft at the church I went to. At the age of 13, I started playing in ensembles, rather than being part of an eight-piece percussion section. I got this gig where I was a substitute drummer for this cat who booked all kinds of engagements—weddings, different dances. Sometimes it would be a Hawaiian party, and sometimes it would be with a guy who was all country or all polka, because polka was really big there in the ’70s. If I could hear it in my head, I could play it. I got a reputation that followed me pretty well, which brought me quite a bit of work. They didn’t have to pay for a lot of rehearsal time, so I provided a good value to the consumer. Read the rest of Hart's incredibly candid, often tragic, interview here: tinyurl.com

Remembering Grant Hart today. He performed this live on my birthday in 1996 at Rev 105 in Minneapolis.

Remembering Grant Hart. He performed this live on my birthday in 1996 at Rev 105 in Minneapolis.

For KEXP listener Rich!

CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF 1999 TODAY! This track comes from the second studio album from Grant Hart, formerly of the band Hüsker Dü. It was released in 1999, ten years after Hart's previous studio album, Intolerance (1989). The album was remastered and reissued by Hart’s Con d’Or label in 2014 with new album cover art. bit.ly

2009 solo album from Minneapolis legend Grant Hart, formerly from Hüsker Dü -- kexp.org

*KEVIN COLE'S MUSICAL JOURNEY WITH SPECIAL GUEST SHAWN STEWART Rare recording. Live on Rev 105! Grant surprised Kevin on his birthday & performed a couple of songs to celebrate the day. This was one of them.

*CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF 1989 TODAY! Debut solo release from the former member of Hüsker Dü.

Acoustic version Grant played for me on my birthday! Grant Vernon Hart (March 18, 1961 – September 13, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-songwriter for the punk rock band Hüsker Dü. After the band's breakup in 1988, he released his first solo album Intolerance before forming the alternative rock trio Nova Mob, where he moved to vocals and guitar. His solo career became his main focus after the dissolution of Nova Mob in 1997. As the co-songwriter of Hüsker Dü, Hart's songs (such as "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill" and "Turn on the News") received praise from critics and contemporaries. His vocal style, in contrast to that of Hüsker Dü bandmate Bob Mould, had a more measured and melodic delivery. His choice of lyrical themes, which ranged from teenage alienation in "Standing by the Sea" and the depiction of a murder in "Diane," to playful story-telling in "Books About UFOs," helped to expand the subject matter of hardcore punk. Hart died on September 13, 2017, of complications from liver cancer and hepatitis C. bit.ly

Rare acoustic version of the Husker Du song that Grant played for me on my 30th birthday!