AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID HART
ARTIST’S HOUSE: Who is David Hart?
DAVID HART: David Hart is a 67-year old song-writer, rhythm guitarist, a former elite athlete, and a semi-retired professional coach living in Hamilton, Ontario.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: How did your journey with music start?
DAVID HART: I was introduced to music at an early age through my father who constantly played Rogers and Hammerstein musicals on his turntable in our family home; music was always a huge part of my childhood and in my teen years I grew up on the British Invasion, especially the Rolling Stones and Beatles music. I decided to learn the guitar at the age of 28 and essentially taught myself, learning to play along to vinyl records. I tried writing my own songs immediately and made hundreds upon hundreds of demo recordings at home using reel-to-reel tape machines and cassette decks. In 1991 I formed a Rolling Stones tribute band in Ottawa which lasted 15 years. I began serious song-writing efforts in 2003 and have subsequently written and recorded 10 albums-worth of material.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What is your biggest accomplishment in life or music?
DAVID HART: I am a 4-time Olympian in the sport of water polo, having competed as an athlete in 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games and as a coach at the 1984 and 2000 Olympic Games. As a musician I played at Ottawa Bluesfest in 2011 with The Powergoats as an opening act for internationally-known ‘Rise Against’; in 2017 my band The Occasional Angels recorded with Grammy-winning producer Rob Fraboni at Raven studio in Ottawa.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What’s something else you want to accomplish someday?
DAVID HART: I would love to have a major artist record one (or more) of my compositions
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What is your biggest dream ever?
DAVID HART: To open for The Rolling Stones, perform on stage with Keith Richards, and be nominated for a Juno Award.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: Your favourite food?
DAVID HART: OMG – too hard to decide, I love so many foods from all over the world. How about Polish!
ARTIST’S HOUSE: Out of every song you created, which one do you love the most and why?
DAVID HART: This would be like asking me which daughter is my favourite or which of my grandkids I love most; it’s far too difficult to decide.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What inspires you to compose songs?
DAVID HART: I love the process of sitting with a guitar and finding interesting/innovative chord progressions upon which to build melody and eventually lyrics. I don’t need any particular inspiration, I love creating music.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: If you could give advice to your younger self, what would you say?
DAVID HART: I would tell myself to study music and to learn to play the guitar at a much, much earlier age. I didn’t know I had any musical talent until much later in my life and by the time I learned how to play guitar I had missed those critical early years when the brain was ready-and-wired to develop my potential to it’s fullest..
ARTIST’S HOUSE: If you could meet any artist you want, who would you choose and why?
DAVID HART: I did get the chance to meet Keith Richards back in 1988 at his solo concert in Boston but I would have loved the opportunity to speak for a much longer period of time than was available that night.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: The best moment of your life?
DAVID HART: So many great moments……Opening Ceremonies at the 4 Olympic Games I attended, the birth of my children, the birth of my grandchildren, induction into several sport hall of fames, standing at the stage for the infamous Rolling Stones concert at the El Mocambo club in Toronto March 1977.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What makes your heart sing?
DAVID HART: Great music – whatever the genre --- jazz, classical, R&B, Soul, Pop and Rock.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What are you working on right now?
DAVID HART: I have just wrapped up The Occasional Angels 5th studio album ‘Intermezzo’ and am now piecing together approximately 20 demos which will form the basis of a 6th studio album. I am also planning the release of ‘The Very Best of The Occasional Angels’ which I hope to release later in 2019.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: How can your fans get in touch with you?
DAVID HART: Several ways to reach me: email – occasionalangelsrecords@yahoo.com or contact me through the band’s Facebook page.
ARTIST’S HOUSE: What would you like to say to your fans?
DAVID HART: I’d like to thank each and every one of our fans for their words of encouragement, their feedback on our releases, their attendance at our live shows and their support through purchases of our vinyl and CD releases. For anyone else who has just discovered us and/or heard about us you could find out lots more about the band at our website – all our music is there for listening and/or purchase. https://theoccasionalangels.bandzoogle.com/music
FEBRUARY 2019