Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart
Mickey Hartis an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971 and from October 1974 to August 1995. He and fellow Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann earned the nickname "the rhythm devils"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDrummer
Date of Birth11 September 1943
CityBrooklyn, NY
CountryUnited States of America
Egyptian drumming happens to be a favorite of mine. It's a really simple instrument, but it's really difficult to play. You can take it anywhere with you - you can play it in your room, in an airport. It's very quiet, so you explore the quiet side.
I thought the '60s was the most exciting time and the most vital music, and we were really together as one mind then. Then afterwards, the songs and the bad drugs, that took its toll.
There were many times during our career when he could've quit and done something else. But he knew that his power was with the Grateful Dead. He didn't want to go solo. Jerry was a groupist. He loved to group.
Yeah, I miss the Grateful Dead. I miss that groove. I miss the brotherhood. Absolutely. There's no doubt about it.
Dreams sometimes foretell the future.
When the Grateful Dead needed a quality sound system to deliver our sonic payload, I learned electronics and speaker design.
Music gives the soul this inner self-expression, a voice. It gives the soul a sound, the sound of the Muse.
When you are drumming and really feeling the music, the beat, it is like you are transported to a different place, where you feel so exhilirated and calm through your whole body.
The Grateful Dead were very kind. It was Santa Claus. It did good things. It allowed other people to benefit. The benefits that we played were enormous, and we played free. So youve got a band that loves to play free, and that was a wonderful thing.
When I heard Grateful Dead music, I knew that it was the most powerful force on the planet.
The voice of the drum is a spirit thing.
Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that’s what we are.
In the beginning, there was noise. Noise begat rhythm, and rhythm begat everything else.
The adventure of composition is a mystery. The muse has her ways, she hides from you, comes for you in the middle of the night, at midday, at dawn. You must believe wholeheartedly in this divine power. Its an elusive gift that can appear at any time, anywhere. Artists are in awe of it.