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Kevin's Bio
Thin Buckle Bio's
Kevin's Bio
 The Miracle Mile: Definitions
1: A stretch of Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Named in the 1920s for the Jewish immigrants who founded the banking industry there and financed miracles.
2: A legendary athletics showdown between Roger Bannister, the world record holder and first man ever to run a mile in under four minutes, and Australian arch-rival John Landy. Held at The Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, 1954
3: The fourth solo album from Toronto-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Kevin Hearn. A world (class) record, 2006.
Kevin Hearn wrote the songs on The Miracle Mile during a stint as resident on the famed strip in The City of Angels. The setting sparked his muse, he explains. “Being in a city where I don’t know many people helps my writing. It makes it easier to focus.” There, he came up with a collection of songs that explore “expectations, hopes and dreams, disappointments and disillusionment. Los Angeles is a city of dreams, and of dreams not coming true.”
With the aid of his longtime band, Thin Buckle, a couple of noted songsmiths (Ron Sexsmith and Steven Page) and top-calibre producers, Hearn has brought these songs to vivid and compelling life. Simultaneously esoteric, adventurous and accessible, it emerges as the finest work yet in a productive and highly successful musical career.
Best known as a skilled multi-instrumentalist in platinum-selling international pop heroes Barenaked Ladies, Hearn has long pursued a parallel solo career path. Over the course of three earlier albums, Mothball Mint (1997), H-Wing (2001), and Night Light (2004), he has operated underneath the commercial radar, but has earned a loyal international following with his highly idiosyncratic yet tuneful sound. That audience seems destined to expand dramatically with this new tour de force (his Warner Music Canada debut).
Hearn’s style defies easy definition, but his own choice is to term it “Avant-Rock,” “rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance.” It reflects the disparate nature of the music that has inspired him. “As a [classically-trained] piano player, I was definitely influenced by keyboard music and the likes of Kraftwerk, Devo and The Residents, and I incorporate custom-made electronic sounds into the songs. I’m also a big fan of singer/songwriters, like Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, and Brian Wilson, so there are some guitar-driven songs on there as well.”
The result is a fascinating sonic hybrid, one in which Hearn’s unerring gift for strong melody shines through. “On The Miracle Mile, I was drawn to the ideas I had that were guided by melody,” recalls Kevin. “A lot of the songs were written on the piano as melodies before there were words. I presented them to the band, and when Bob (drummer Great Bob Scott) and Chris (bassist Chris Gartner) added what they felt their parts should be, I started singing along and that suggested lyrics.”
The musical empathy within Thin Buckle (Hearn, Gartner and Scott first played together back in the late ‘80s, in offbeat rock band Look People) is clearly audible. So too is Hearn’s longtime creative collaboration with co-producer Michael Phllip Wojewoda, who has worked extensively with Barenaked Ladies and produced both Kevin’s solo debut, Mothball Mint, and H-Wing.
Manning the console for much of the recording of the bed tracks was noted American producer/engineer Jim Scott (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash). Securing his services was an unexpected coup for Hearn. “Jim was the engineer on the Barenaked Ladies Maroon record, and we hit it off. I had demos of all these songs, and asked him for advice. He said ‘this is great stuff. When are we recording it?’”
Another high-profile name in the credits is that of legendary string arranger/composer Van Dyke Parks (Beach Boys). He both came up with a brilliant string arrangement on the atmospheric Satie-like title track and insisted on having Kevin sing right through a tune originally envisaged as primarily an instrumental.
Kevin was able to recruit other talented friends for some songwriting collaborations. BNL comrade Steven Page co-wrote the suitably infectious “Good Time Virus,” while Ron Sexsmith co-wrote three songs here, “Rescue Us,” “Here For You,” and “High And Low.” “I drove and Ron gave me directions,” is how Kevin describes the partnership. Solo Hearn compositions do provide many of the highlights of an album devoid of lowlights, as exemplified by the warm and breezy first single, “In The Country.”
High-profile help aside, The Miracle Mile remains driven by Kevin Hearn’s unique vision. In his songs, he probes the human condition with both surgical skill and a deep, hard-earned sense of compassion. His perceptive insights are then framed by gently seductive melodies and sweet and subtle vocals.
As has been well-documented, Kevin faced down a life-threatening illness when he was diagnosed with leukemia in 1998, necessitating a bone marrow transplant. “The silver lining was that it helped me write a lot better, to dig deeper inside and deal with those thoughts. I feel I can sing about dark subject matter with some understanding. I have seen a lot of pain and sadness and I know what it takes to get through those things, humour and friendship, for instance. I think that has some value and can perhaps touch people, through music.”
Indeed. Hearn’s deep sense of humanity is reflected eloquently in songs like “Lancaster Bomber,” “Statue of Los Angeles” and “Human Genome.” Topics like, respectively, World War 1 bombers, cosmetic surgery, and medical research are not your typical pop fodder, but the catchiness of the tunes are such that you’ll find yourself humming and singing along with their unconventional lyrics.
That is a rare gift, one that makes The Miracle Mile an album that demands and rewards your very close attention.
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Thin Buckle Bio's
Bob Scott - Drums and percussion
 Great Bob Scott is an incredible force and mainstay of the Canadian music and entertainment biz. He's a fiendishly dedicated technical wizard; his versatility and sense of timing are legendary amongst veteran musicians across canada. A consumate performer, Scott has tackled numerous television appearances and toured throughout Europe and North America. He keeps busy with regular recording sessions, theatre, film and TV work.
Bob has worked with musical acts such as The Look People, Holly Cole, Mary Margeret O'Hara, Bob Wiseman, Pizzicato Five, Nash the Slash, The Shuffle ODemons, The Rheostatics, John Bottomely, Kevin Hearn, Peter Appleyard, Bern Nix (Ornette Coleman), John Southworth, Colin Linden, German Smurfs and many others. He has also worked with a number of comedians, including Jim Carrey, Harland Williams, Judy Tenuta, Mike Macdonald, Ron Vaudry, and Sean Cullen.
Bob's film and TV work includes "Friday Nite with Ralph Benmurgi", "Dinner at the Edge" (Gemini Award winning film), "Songbird Music" (commercial), 'War of the Worlds"(TV series), a variety peoples comedy festivals, and the Gemini Awards performing with The Royal Jelly Orchestra .
Chris Gartner - Bass, vocals and guitar
 Chris Gartner is a Toronto based multi-intstrumentalist, composer, and producer. As a bassist, he is best known for time spent as a member of the critically acclaimed group, The Look People. While with the group, he toured Europe and North America, appearing in Billboard magazine, performing in Lollapalooza '92, in videos, and in many national television broadcasts. He is a co-composer of their final album 'Crazy Eggs'.
Aside from playing and recording with Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle, Chris has worked with some of Canada's most creative artists and groups, touring in North America and Europe with Sara Craig, in Canada with Spookey Reuben, and in England with the Tamara Williamson Band. Over the last dozen years,
he has worked with: Trichy Sankaran, Martin Tielli, N.O.M.A., The Excalceolators, Mark Hewins, Harland Williams, Sean Cullen, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Patricia O'Callaghan, Jimmy James, Arlene Bishop, and Polmo Polpo. For the last 3 years, Chris has played in celebrated singer/songwriter Mia Sheard's group, performing with her in New York, throughout Canada, and on a number of national television and radio broadcasts. He can be heard on her latest recording: 'Anemone'.
A unique project that that features Chris's bass playing is the Zappa-inspired, cartoon/jazz group: Stoopy. This band includes Toronto jazz lumineries Richard Underhill, Jono Grant, Sarah McCelcheran, Great Bob Scott, and Roger Clown. Their instrumental debut album is due out in summer 2004. Chris is a member of the east-indian/world group: Tasa, led by tabla player/composer, Ravi Naimpally. They have two recordings, the award-winning "Bhakti", and "Soma"(featuring sarangi virtuoso Dhruva Ghosh). Tasa has played all major Jazz festivals across Canada and has recently completed a tour of Europe. They have performed withmaster Indian Classical musicians: Trichy Sankaran, and Dhruva Ghosh.
In the past few years, Chris has taken on the role of producer, most recently in aco-production with acclaimed singer/songwriter Lori Cullen for her latest album: 'Uneven Hill'. Aside from production work, this recording also features Chris'shorn arrangements, percussion, guitar, bass, mandolin, and original composition "Redwood".
Currently Gartner is producing an ambient bass album, and the debut recording of a new duo with Great Bob Scott. This group features his dense computer generated soundscapes, live guitar and bass loops, melded to Bob's explosive drumming and unique banjo playing. Chris's own original vocal album is also taking shape, and will feature many wonderful guests, and surprises.
www.myspace.com/chrisgartner
Brian Macmillan - guitar and vocals
 Once in a while you come across a musician who restores and refreshes your faith in music. It usually catches you offguard; found in some obscure place on some random night when you weren’t expecting it. And it will just happen – one note, one melody, one chord that leaves you feeling that the world is a better place. This is usually what pulls someone to go out and hear music on any given night – the chance that one of those magical moments will happen.
Brian Macmillan, Toronto-based singer-songwriter, seems, if anything, completely dedicated to the making of those moments. He approaches the stage like an old friend; excited, warm, and ready to engage. With him may be just his guitar, or his Rhodes keyboard, pedals, space echoes. Or maybe he has a drummer and bass player. The variables are irrelevant – Brian just loves making music and wants to share that with his audience. Feet start tapping along instantly, hads slap thighs, and bodies gently sway with his sweet rhythms and heartfelt songs.
With original music rooted in folk, pop, and even a hint of reggae – Brian accomplishes the task that most great musicians do; creating a new sound, a new genre, one that weaves in and honors all the great music that has come before while making it genuinely his own. It is the kind of music that can confuse a listener “haven’t I heard this before?”.
Brian’s debut CD, Gone To See the Morning, was a word-of-mouth success, garnering him local recognition and establishing him as one of Toronto’s finest young songwriters. Brian’s submission to the first Winterfolk festival ranked #1 by Tony Quarrington, earning him a showcase at Convocation Hall. He is a two-time Ontario Arts Council grant recipient and was awarded the Colleen Peterson songwriting award in October 2005.
Outside of his solo career, Brian can also be heard playing with the Barenaked Ladies’ Kevin Hearn and his band, Thin Buckle. In 2006, Brian will be releasing his much-awaited Sophomore album, “Let the Darkness Go”. He is one to watch and one to listen to. His obvious passion for music and messages of love and social consciousness make him the kind of artist that keeps us anticipating his next move, next sound, next word. After all, each moment could be that one we were looking for.
www.myspace.com/brianmacmillan
Derek Orford - guitar, mandolin and vocals
 Derek is an artist. He paints with the texture and tone of a guitar, rather than with a brush and easel. Derek has now released 16 solo albums in his Alphabet Series, and is currently working on the 17th.
Derek has led a unique life, even running for the Canadian Parliament at one point. He has played with The Look People as well as many other bands.
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