BRAD HART

Brad Hart was born two weeks late – and came out the opposite gender that his parents were told he would be. He’s sorry for any confusion that might have caused…

Born and raised in Toronto, Brad became interested in music at an early age. The first time he can remember being on stage was as a boy soprano, singing the lead in an amateur production of, fittingly, The Little Drummer Boy.

Brad’s interests soon turned to hitting things, and if he wasn’t to be found with a pair of headphones on, obsessively listening to music while poring over someone-or-other’s album sleeve, he was more than likely in the basement, banging away on the drums.

Brad’s obsession with music and performing has fueled his career as a drummer, songwriter, singer, actor and writer. He is passionate about what he does.

As a drummer, Brad has had the good fortune of working with amazingly talented folks from a wide variety of genres. He has recorded and performed with such artists as Treasa Levasseur, Ken Whiteley, Claire Jenkins avec band, Evalyn Parry, The Undesirables, Eve Goldberg, Daniel Sky, Peter Katz, Karyn Ellis and Garth Hudson of The Band. Brad is a songwriter himself, and approaches the drum parts for other people’s music with a keen ear on serving the song above all else. He is particularly adept at playing sensitively, and has earned praise for being able to drive a band while actually being quiet! (A rare compliment in the drumming world…) He can also hit really hard… Brad has lent not only his drumming but also his voice to many of these projects. His vocal range stretches from a low baritone to an ethereal falsetto. More than one producer has embarrassed him by describing it as “angelic.”

At some point along the way, Brad played a gig as a singer/songwriter at an alternative comedy show. Having grown up as a huge fan of comedy legends like Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin and the Monty Python troupe, the show was the impetus he needed to try his hand at stand-up comedy.

For the next couple of years, Brad performed as a “stand-up monologist.” His pieces are a hybrid of stand-up and storytelling, with a focus on the pain and humour inherent in growing up. He is a recipient of the Tim Sims Encouragement Award for comedy writing and performing, and once in a blue moon you can find him doing a stand-up set.

He is also an occasional actor (allowing for long, long breaks between auditions to let his spirit mend) and can be seen in a principal role in the Canadian cult classic Phil The Alien.

For most of his career, Brad has kept his “musician” self and his “comedy” self separate, but he has recently married the two with his new one-man show, OH GOD – THE DRUMS, an hour-long comedic exploration of growing up as a drummer.

His love of writing has also led him to the movies. The film Hidden Driveway, which he wrote, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011, and has gone on to screen at various festivals around the world. His current project, the feature film Bridging, is slated for production in the summer of 2013. There are some other scripts lingering on his desktop as well…

Brad lives to collaborate, create and perform. He resides in Toronto, in the wonderful neighbourhood of Parkdale. He feels ridiculous writing about himself in the third person, but he did it for this bio anyway. He did it for you. He’s just going to assume you’re grateful…