Grant Hart

Grant Hart may be best known as the barefoot timekeeper (and occasional lead singer) for legendary punk rock trio Hüsker Dü, but his pop-leaning songwriting and numerous solo recordings increasingly are being celebrated as well.

During Hüsker Dü's nine-year run, Hart and Bob Mould shared songwriting duties; each sang lead on the tunes he penned. A Lennon/McCartney-style rivalry quickly developed. Both songwriters moved away from the fast-tempo, four-chord punk formula and worked up a massive guitar-driven sound based more on melodies and classic power-pop formulas.

Hart's songs stood out, pop gems as catchy as Cheap Trick's best rockers. The hooks could be sweet, but the lyrical themes and subject matter could be dark, angry and downright terrifying (spin Zen Arcade sometime, why don't you). Hart's high-pitched croon worked to counter Mould's raspy howl.

After Hüsker Dü's breakup in 1988, Hart switched to guitar and swiftly issued several solo discs, including the 2541 EP and the full-length Intolerance. In 1991, he formed a new group called Nova Mob (the moniker was based on William S. Burrough's Nova trilogy) and released a conceptual album titled The Last Days of Pompeii on the now-defunct Rough Trade label.

Unfortunately, it was poorly distributed and under-promoted. But recently, a remastered version of Pompeii saw print for the first time in 20 years via Con D’Or Records—which also released Hart's most recent solo slab, 2009's Hot Wax. (Members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Rank Strangers and A Silver Mt. Zion chipped in on that recording.)

Independent filmmaker Gorman Bechard recently completed a Kickstarter campaign to fund his forthcoming Grant Hart rockumentary Every Everything: The Music, Life & Times of Grant Hart. No release date has been set yet, but Athens fans can catch Hart in person at the Caledonia on Saturday.