Grant Hart

Grant Hart is a talented musician.  I guess you can say he was one of the main influences that would shape up my band The Townedgers with his sort of DIY music.    He was also the drummer for Husker Du, the other band that shaped the garage rock scene in Minneapolis.

I hope I can spell Grant Hart's name right in this blog, it seems like I can't find the right letter and hit D instead of T, which doesn't help my Torrette's Syndrome.   For the most part back in the 1980s I found myself saddled in bar bands more interested of playing hair metal crap.  I wasn't into Motley Crue or Poison or Guns N Roses for that matter.  GNR got heaps of praise of saving hard rock but I just never warmed up to their music.  My forte was playing the garage rock of Husker Du and when I tried to suggest a couple of Du songs to band asking me what I played when auditioning for them, I got shown out the door in record time.

I wouldn't say Husker Du was the ultimate band of the 80s for me, but in the noise filled aura of Jesus And Mary Chain, the cowpunk of Rank and File and the traditional rock of The Blasters, Husker Du fit somewhere into that scheme of my mixtapes.  Husker Du wasn't hardcore punk as originally thought on Land Speed Record or Everything Falls Apart, somewhere in the white noise guitar of Bob Mould, the subtle playing of Greg Norton and Grant Hart playing drums simply of the fact that his late brother had a set and he put them to good use anyway.  Like Tommy Ramone, Hart had a distinctive sound, not by the book but rather by feel.  He may have the only drummer out there that played the cheap Zildjian Impulse cymbals, to which I did get a few myself simply of the fact Grant used them, at least on the videos he did.

From about 1980 to the their demise, and tired of the dictating Mould, insisting HE was the main songwriter and HE had to white the majority of songs and the suicide of their road manager, the band imploded.  Nothing against Bob Mould, I do love his recent album that came out in 2016 and Sugar, the 1990 band Mould put together, but my favorite songs were sang by Grant.  The Girl That Lived On Heaven Hill to which Hart's screams probably influenced the guys in Nirvana.  While fans and critics raved about Zen Arcade, the 1984 double album for SST, my favorite Du album was the final one Warehouse, to which while Mould wrote 11 songs to Hart's 9, it turns out that Hart's songs were the better ones,  She's A Woman and Now He's A Man, She Floated Away and the last song You Can Live At Home which foretold more of the band imploding.  Certainly Zen Arcade needs to be listened to at least once in your lifetime, but for me Warehouse was their over all best album.  With Bob Mould being more of a control freak, him limiting Hart to lesser songs might have diminished New Day Rising or for that matter Flip Your Wig. Candy Apple Gray remains that one Du album that I have never warmed up much to, I don't think it was abrasive enough but I may want to revisit that album one more time before writing it off.  Flip Your Wig did suffer from a few Mould songs that served more as filler, particularly on side 2.

Once Mould and Hart split up, there would never be another reunion of Husker Du, Mould's ego would not let that happened.  They would share the stage one last time in 2005 when Hart did two songs with Mould and that was it. Certainly Bob Mould was more out in front with his solo stuff but Hart did work on a few albums and was trying to finish up a new album before he passed on Wednesday from cancer at age 56.   Nowadays, Husker Du isn't as remembered fondly as say, The Replacements or the other main star, the late Prince but those who was fans remain faithful to the end, up to the release of a big 3 CD set, the Savage Young Du's (Due Nov) to which Greg Norton speaks highly of, Their music was always full of energy, even though the white noise Plans I Make, another of Bob Mould's classic creations.

While three members finally buried the anger of the past down to put out Savage Young Du CD, rumors about a full reunion made social media to which Norton implied that they're only there to sell T Shirts.  Let's face it, even at this point, there was no way Husker Du could ever share the stage again.   With Grant's passing Husker Du is now history, like it had been when they broke up in 1987. Hart's death also reminds us that time is passing and the ones that shaped our music are now no longer a part of life and Grant was about 6 weeks younger than me.

But in the end Grant Hart has proven he could be equal in writing great music for Husker Du and balance out Bob Mould at times.  Grant's place in music history is now sealed.

RIP.