Kevin Hearn

Keyboardist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Kevin Hearn was born July 3, 1969 in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. As a kid he discovered the music of the Beatles and the Beach Boys and clearly saw his avocation — he took it seriously. He studied classical piano and attended St. Michael's Choir School. He lived and breathed music. His professional career began when he joined the Look People in 1988, remaining with the band until its demise in 1993, and then, as luck would have it, two years later in 1995, he stepped in for keyboardist Andy Creeggan in Barenaked Ladies just as the Canadian band was exploding into the U.S. market. What was considered a temporary gig turned into a permanent one, and Hearn used the doors opened to him to start a sideline solo career, releasing a solo project, Mothball Mint, in 1997. He continued to play with Barenaked Ladies, and shortly after the group's fourth studio album, Stunt, was released in 1998, Hearn was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, and ended up hospitalized in Toronto while the band toured in support of the album. Hearn received several bone marrow transplants from his brother, Sean Hearn, and eventually the cancer went into remission, allowing Hearn to rejoin Barenaked Ladies in 1999. He released a second solo album, H-Wing, in 2001 that creatively addressed his illness and treatment — and was even named after the hospital wing he was in while he wrote most of the songs. At this point Hearn had assembled his own band, Thin Buckle, to back him in his solo endeavors. He remained a member of Barenaked Ladies as well, taking on some of the writing for the band as his role with them broadened. He released a third solo album, again with Thin Buckle, called Night Light in 2003. A fourth, The Miracle Mile, appeared in 2006. Three years later, Hearn released his fifth solo project, Havana Winter, followed in 2011 by the ten-track Cloud Maintenance, which featured a guest appearance from Garth Hudson (the Band) and was released on Hearn’s own Celery Music label.