MUSIC

Mickey Hart is best known for his nearly three decades as an integral part of an extraordinary expedition into the soul and spirit of music, disguised as the rock and roll band the Grateful Dead. As half of the percussion tandem known as the Rhythm Devils, Mickey and Bill Kreutzmann transcended the conventions of rock drumming. Their extended polyrhythmic excursions were highlights of Grateful Dead shows, introducing the band’s audience to an ever-growing arsenal of percussion instruments from around the world. Exposure to these exotic sounds fueled Mickey’s desire to learn about the various cultures that produced them.

Hart recently released a new record called Mysterium Tremendum in April of 2012. Prior to the album’s release, Hart sat down with Andrew Greene of Rolling Stone to describe the effort:

"For the last two or three years I've been sampling light waves from the cosmos, starting 13.7 billion years ago with the Big Bang," he says. "The signals come from radio telescopes around the world and I work closely with NASA to take the light waves and bring it into our limited spectrum of hearing. Then I add a little spice to them with some reverb and some delay. It makes for a hot little stew."

BAND MEMBERS
Mickey Hart Band features vocalists Crystal Monee Hall and Tim Hockenberry, bassist Dave Schools (Widespread Panic), drummer Ian "Inx" Herman, guitarist Gawain Matthews, percussionist Sikuru Adepoju, and keyboardist Ben Yonas.