Grant Hart, Hüsker Dü's drummer/singer, RIP
Grant Hart, the drummer and co-songwiter/vocalist for pioneering psychedelic punk band Hi1/4sker Di1/4, has died from cancer at age 56. Our thoughts go out to Hart's family and former bandmates. Hi1/4sker Di1/4 was the first club show I ever attended and their music meant a lot to me throughout my life. Hart's music and impact on underground culture will not be forgotten. From a post by Hart's Hi1/4sker Di1/4 bandmate Bob Mould:
It was the Fall of 1978. I was attending Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. One block from my dormitory was a tiny store called Cheapo Records. There was a PA system set up near the front door blaring punk rock. I went inside and ended up hanging out with the only person in the shop. His name was Grant Hart.
The next nine years of my life was spent side-by-side with Grant. We made amazing music together. We (almost) always agreed on how to present our collective work to the world. When we fought about the details, it was because we both cared. The band was our life. It was an amazing decade.
We stopped working together in January 1988. We went on to solo careers, fronting our own bands, finding different ways to tell our individual stories. We stayed in contact over the next 29 years - sometimes peaceful, sometimes difficult, sometimes through go-betweens. For better or worse, that's how it was, and occasionally that's what it is when two people care deeply about everything they built together.
The tragic news of Grant's passing was not unexpected to me. My deepest condolences and thoughts to Grant's family, friends, and fans around the world.
Grant Hart was a gifted visual artist, a wonderful story teller, and a frighteningly talented musician. Everyone touched by his spirit will always remember.
Godspeed, Grant. I miss you. Be with the angels.
New York Times obituary here: "Grant Hart, Hi1/4sker Di1/4 Drummer and Singer, Dies at 56"