Artist description grounded acoustic pop

Music Style folk pop

Musical Influences Neil Finn, The Mutton Birds

Similar Artists Neil Finn, Crowded House, Matthew Sweet, , The Mutton Birds, Michael Penn

Artist History HEMANT RAO Most musicians can sift through the past and identify what drew them to the art. The gentle rhythm of a mother’s cradlesong, the power of a church choir, the dehydrated chanting of a chain gang – there is always a catalyst that draws the musician to the flame. Hemant Rao, born and raised in Montreal, Canada had no such catalyst. He was enrolled in violin lessons at a tender age in order to round out his academic curriculum. Though this early training might have served as a foundation for a budding musical career, it had exactly the opposite effect. Seven years of browbeating by jaded musical instructors took their toll : Hemant convinced his parents he would become a career arsonist if the lessons continued. The first electric guitar, which represented everything the violin didn’t was put in Hemant’s hands at age 12. He retreated to a dark corner of the house, emerging occasionally like the Yeti, in an effort to achieve a blazing metal sound characteristic of the era. As the boy became a man it was always his intent to keep music a mainstay, however family pressure convinced him to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering and later, a career in jet engine design. One day, in a late night technical review where a design group was reviewing high speed film footage of a grocery store chicken disintegrating in a spinning turbine engine, he walked out sickened by the waste of a perfectly good chicken. Was it a metaphor for his life ? The next day he threatened to pack in his engineering career, move to Vancouver and pursue music full time, if he was forced to work long hours. The threat fell flat when his boss insisted on driving him to the airport and thus, he found himself westward bound. His first apartment was furnished with three guitars, a Marshall amplifier, a TV from a bait and tackle shop and spontaneously collapsible lawn furniture. He gave himself food poisoning four times in the first month, buying grocery items well past their “Best Before” dates. The cramps were painless compared to the job of auditioning other musicians. Six months later, he hooked up with Vancouver band ‘Blind Truth’ with whom he recorded the CD ‘The Art of Love’. Though the band did not endure, Hemant met bass player Anthony Kerr and drummer Lindsay Belloc, both of whom have collaborated on numerous musical projects and alleged hand puppet atrocities. Tony and Lindsay can be heard on Hemant Rao’s latest solo effort, ‘Miller’s Lane’. On this album, Hemant has made the transition from guitar player to singer/ songwriter, exposing 11 original songs. The evolution, as Hemant puts it, “Has been like teaching a squid to crochet a doily’. The band has been unleashing its unique sound on Vancouver audiences this summer, targeting clubs which feature either screaming pre-pubescent girls or home style cooking. CONTACT HEMANT RAO at (604) 708-5094 email hrao@intouch.bc.ca PO BOX 54077, Pacific CTR N. Postal Outlet, 701 Granville Street Vancouver, BC Canada V7Y 1B0 Or Indieland Music Services tel (604) 733-3472 fax (604) 732-9752

Group Members Hemant Rao :guitars,violin, vocals, Participating musicians : Anthony Kerr - bass guitars, Lindsay Belloc -drums

Albums Miller's Lane

Location Vancouver - Canada

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