Drummer Mickey Hart celebrates his 75th birthday today. Hart joined the Grateful Dead in 1967 as the band’s second drummer alongside Bill Kreutzmann, and the pair of Rhythm Devils continue to perform together with Dead & Company.
In addition to keeping a busy touring and recording schedule, Mickey remains an ambassador of percussion and rhythm. His various projects such as his guest-aided 2017 solo album RAMU, and his inventions like the notorious Beam, have placed Hart at the forefront of musical innovation for several decades.
Mickey participated last weekend in this year’s Sound Health: Music And The Mind conference at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. Hart led an interactive drumming demonstration with Jonathan Murray of FunDrum Rhythm Circles and neuroscientist Dr. John Iversen. Watch that presentation below:
The Kennedy Center’s Sound Health: Music And The Mind conference showcased a discussion-demonstration featuring Mickey and his longtime collaborator, tabla master Zakir Hussain, as well as neuroscientists Dr. Nina Kraus and Dr. Adam Gazzaley. The Say It With Rhythm! presentation “illustrate[s] the art and science of these vital discoveries” and offers “first-hand examples of how music can strengthen rhythm skills for language, and how interactive computer interfaces can provide a new avenue for digital music medicine.” Watch here:
