Kevin Hearn | |
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 Kevin Hearn in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kevin Neil Hearn |
| Born | (1969-07-03)July 3, 1969 (age 55) Grimsby, Ontario, Canada |
| Origin | Toronto,Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards, vocals, guitar,accordion,mandolin |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Website | kevinhearn |
Kevin Neil Hearn (born July 3, 1969) is a Canadian musician who is a member ofBarenaked Ladies, and his own group,Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle. He primarily playskeyboards andguitars. He is also a member ofRheostatics.[1]
Hearn was born to a relatively large family, and they lived in a small home inGrimsby, Ontario, Canada.[2] He recalls buyingthe Beatles'Magical Mystery Tour and aBeach Boys greatest hits record, and having them become his first two favourite albums, which led him to an interest in performing music.[2] He has also citedelectronic bandOMD, andfolk punk groupViolent Femmes, as formative influences.[3] Hearn has a classical piano background. He attendedInglenook Community High School. He also attendedSt. Michael's Choir School.[4]
Hearn joinedLook People in 1988 and played with the band until their break-up in 1993.
In 1995, he replaced departed keyboardistAndy Creeggan in the Barenaked Ladies. Hearn did not own any of the band's albums and had to learn all of the band's songs in a matter of weeks. His early contribution to the band can be heard on thelive releaseRock Spectacle, which was recorded on his first tour with the group. He played mostly keyboards on the songs included on the album, and someaccordion. His first music video with the band was "Shoe Box", followed by the video for "The Old Apartment", although he had not played on the recording of either song. Thanks to the opportunities afforded him by his BNL gig, Hearn subsequently released his first solo album,Mothball Mint.
After extensive touring in the United States, building upon the increasing success ofRock Spectacle, the band recorded their fourth studio album,Stunt. This was Hearn's first album with the band. While Andy Creeggan was mostly focused on acoustic keyboards (mainly piano), Hearn was experienced with electronic keyboards, synthesizers andsamplers. This contribution to the band's sound is evident onStunt. Hearn also contributed some lead electric guitar to the album, having a noticeably different style thanEd Robertson orSteven Page. On August 27, 2011, Hearn played piano and sang backing vocals for Steven Page's performance ofLeonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" atJack Layton's state funeral.
Shortly after the recording ofStunt, Hearn was diagnosed withchronic myelogenous leukemia. He began treatment at the same time the band was shooting the video for "One Week", and as such, does not appear in many of the shots.[5] He was hospitalized inToronto while the band continued to tour in support of the new album.[2] Several of the band's friends filled in at different points (includingChris Brown, Andy Creegan, and Greg Kurstin). Hearn ultimately requiredbone marrow transplants from his brother Sean Hearn, and eventually his cancer went into remission.[2][6] He rejoined the band in 1999, though still dealing with the effects of the disease. He also released another solo album, calledH-Wing (named for the hospital wing he was in when he wrote most of the songs) which centered on his illness. This time his album was performed with his band, Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle.
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BNL's next album,Maroon, featured one of Hearn's songs, "Hidden Sun" as a hidden track at the end of the disc; his song "Born Human", later re-recorded for Thin Buckle, was recorded and left off the album. Starting with the release of the band's sixth studio album,Everything to Everyone, the band entered into a new writing process in which Hearn andJim Creeggan brought not only songs, but also song ideas that the band would complete together.Everything to Everyone saw Hearn's first writing credits on the regular body of a BNL album. He learned to play themandolin for the album and it has become a common instrument for him on tour. Hearn also released a third solo album,Night Light in 2003 with Thin Buckle.
A fourth album,The Miracle Mile, was released on July 11, 2006, in Canada and online. The BNL writing process from the previous album continued for their seventh studio album,Barenaked Ladies Are Me, released in September 2006.
Of note are Hearn's collaborations with theRheostatics. For their tribute album to Canadian painters theGroup of Seven, entitledMusic Inspired by the Group of Seven, he co-composed the music, played keyboards, and sang the song "Yellow Days Under a Lemon Sun". For the Rheostatics' 1999 release,The Story of Harmelodia, a thematic, and somewhatpsychedelic, children's album, Hearn is listed as a member of the group in the liner-notes. He contributed significantly to the album and composed the songs "Wingophone" and "Monkey Bird".
In addition to Hearn's contributions to the recordings above, he performed live with the Rheostatics on many occasions throughout the latter part of the group's career. He is pictured in the group's official portrait atZunior Records' Independent Music Hall of Fame.[7]
Hearn was part ofLou Reed's live band from 2007, including a European tour in 2011. He performed on piano and keyboards. His friendship with Reed dated back to 2001, when Hearn received a "get well soon" phone call from Reed during his fight with leukemia.
Hearn currently lives in downtown Toronto, Ontario. He also spends time at a cottage which he acquired in the early 2000s. The isolated cottage is on a lake where his family spent time when he was a child.[2] Hearn has a daughter, Havana Winter Hearn, born in December 2003 with girlfriend Yvonne.
Hearn's cousin is actor and comedianHarland Williams, with whom he spent a lot of time as a child. They released two albums together in 2004 and 2017, as a duo known as The Cousins.[8]
Despite the departure ofSteven Page from Barenaked Ladies, Hearn has maintained a friendship with him.[9]
His ongoing lawsuit against a Toronto art gallery, after learning that aNorval Morrisseau painting he had purchased was an apparentforgery, was profiled inJamie Kastner's 2019 documentary filmThere Are No Fakes.[10] Hearn was eventually awarded $60,000 in compensation in September 2019.[11]
SeeBarenaked Ladies' discography; Hearn's contributions include releases from 1996 until present.
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