Bravery, Strokes, Joe Henry, Rufus Wainwright, Macy Gray, Steve Earle, Bottle Rockets, Ron Sexton, Fiona Apple, Cracker, Nirvana of course, Elvis Costello, and the triumverate: Beatles, Stones, Kinks.
Plus the great dead guys like Cole Porter and Hank Williams.
I'm in L.A. now, addicted to GarageBand, but last decade i wrote and recorded two albums with real people. I made Wedge and Work Songs in my hometown of Chicago, aided by terrific musicians detailed at www.hughhart.com/music.
In Chicago I played at various times with soulman Nick Tremulus, marching band saxophonist / activist Mark Messing, drummer Jim Hines, now touring with Brian Wilson, dance diva Suzanne Palmer, songwriter Gary Yerkins - okay, they're not famous, but they're good - damned good!
So now I'm in sun-baked Studio City where I've got the trusty spinet piano to my right, a funky acoustic guitar propped up in a milk crate, a batch of harmonicas. Working on new songs about homeless dudes, an apology ballad, part-time idiots, and more.
I also write stories about actors, filmmakers, designers, blog for Wired News, stuff like that, linked to from www.hughhart.com/stories_07.htm
