Last Saturday, The Bottom String sat down with Daniel Hart of The Physics of Meaning and got to talk a bit about what has made Daniel the musician he is, some of his favorite moments in his career, and what's up next for one of North Carolina's best on the scene. When Daniel isn't busy touring with St. Vincent or performing for bands such as Polyphonic Spree, John Vanderslice, Annuals, The Rosebuds, and Pattern is Movement he is writing his own music and performing with The Physics of Meaning.
Daniel immediately caught the attention of everyone in the building at Broad Street Music when he started to play the first notes of the night all alone with his two band mates standing in the crowd. Daniel began his loop on his violin and the crowd all perked up and turned their attention towards the stage. When Daniel began to pluck the familiar opening notes of "Concerning the UFO Sightings Near Highlands" by Sufjan Stevens a select few in the crowd, myself included, felt a huge grin come across their face. After the breath taking performance of a Sufjan favorite, the rest of the band came on stage and it only got better from there. Daniel's voice resonated through the room of Broad Street Music and by the end of the night the entire crowd had fallen in love with The Physics of Meaning. However, before the set even started Daniel graced The Bottom String with a solo performance as well. Covering "Tears in the Typing Pool" by Broadcast, Daniel Hart performed for the first ever Bottom String Session. The video for this can be found below.
Bottom String:
Throughout your career you've worked with quite a few well respected musicians; working with St. Vincent, John Vanderslice, Polyphonic Spree. Which one has been your favorite to work with thusfar?
Daniel:
Uhm, well St. Vincent is Annie Clark's band, Annie and I have been friends for a long time. We grew up in the same part of Dallas together so that makes it very easy to work on music with her. We've been working on music together for over ten years and it's fun, she's a friend. John Vanderslice is someone that I really looked up to, he was a big inspiration for me as a songwriter before I ever started playing with him. So to play with him was a real honor.
Bottom String:
So far what has been the proudest moment of your career?
Daniel:
Oh, man. When I was on tour with Polyphonic Spree we went on tour with David Bowie and we got to sing a song with him for his encore every night and that was really exciting.
Bottom String:
That's awesome. So when did you start playing violin and what really inspired you to do so?
Daniel:
I started when I was a little kid, my parents started me. I don't think I was really inspired by anything then, I think i just did it because they told me to do it. But I started getting really into the violin in college when I had a music professor who encouraged me to explore a bunch of different styles of playing.
Bottom String:
So I guess this is what came of that?
Daniel:
Yeah, this is what came of it.
Bottom String:
So who were some of your biggest inspirations, musically, while you were growing up?
Daniel:
I really liked Michael Jackson when I was a little kid. I used to listen to his records in the living room and dance around on the carpet. I'd do the worm and try to do the spin on your back...I couldn't really do that. When I got into junior high, Led Zeppelin. High School was Yes. College was Radiohead, Ben Folds Five, Prince, Bjork, and Andrew Bird.
Bottom String:
Out of all of the comparisons that you've heard people make with The Physics of Meaning, which are you most proud of?
Daniel:
Uhm...haha...somebody told me we were like a cross of R.E.M and Hall and Oates. Which I think is one of the most innaccurate comparisons I've ever heard but the fact that they thought we sounded like two incredibly successful, pretty awesome, mainstream bands was a pretty big compliment.
Bottom String:
Right, and I mean...Hall and Oates!
Daniel:
Hall and Oates...can't go wrong with Hall and Oates.
Bottom String:
How did you come about becoming a member of the Trekky Records family?
Daniel:
Well I met Will and Martin when they were in junior high and they just started putting on shows on a regular basis. I really liked the band they were in called Alvarez Painting so I started asking them to play shows with the band that I was a part of, and we just became friends through that. Then we just decided it would be fun to work together.
Bottom String:
Who do you feel is a band to watch in the North Carolina music scene?
Daniel:
Well lets see, I'm going to try to think of something people might not have heard of. Lost in the Trees is on their way up and they're incredible. Bowerbirds are on their way up and they're also incredible. Uhm, but beyond those two and like, The Love Language, but most people know those bands, I can't think of anyone I've seen recently that really stood out that people don't already know.
Bottom String:
So what's really up next for the band? I saw that you guys posted a Kickstarter project for the new album.
Daniel:
Yeah, we finish this record in the next month. I'm going to China in October to play some shows. After that we'll probably go on a U.S tour sometime in January or February.
You can find a link to Daniel's Kickstarter project here. The funds raised from this project will go towards the mastering of The Physics of Meaning's new album called "The Orientalist" and if you contribute something then you will get prizes varying from an unreleased track from the album all the way up to a private concert held in your city. Check it out and support this amazing band!
Loveley!
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