NEAL HAVENER BAND

Singer-songwriter Neal Havener (pronounced "Hey!"  ... "Vin" ... "Er") claims he’s working on a triple album, to be released in vinyl, each one packaged with a working Victrola.

“Well, that way, people will have something to listen to during the zombie apocalypse,”  Havener explained. “Plus, it’s traditional for me to lose money making music, so I figured I’d up the stakes a little.”

Havener, hailing from Ohio, is no stranger to silly bios.  

“Well, I’d rather be glib than tell you how amazing I am,” Havener said. “I mean, I AM amazing, but, honestly, EVERYBODY'S amazing. And I don’t think life’s about besting our fellow humans – I think it’s more about finding, then being true, to yourself. However odd you may be.”

Though the triple album isn't quite done, singles from the project are now available! (And if you just click on that “play” button, the one on the bottom of this page, RIGHT NOW, you can hear the first one, “The Right Time to Be Here” (featuring Shawn Booker) 

Better yet, go to your platform of choice (Amazon? Apple?) and BUY something by The Neal Havener Band. Support the arts! (Yeah, I'm biased.) If you can't find it where you shop, let me know, I'll see what I can do.

WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING:

"Neal’s musical output and back-catalogue is tremendous… a pretty mind-blowing body of work! Whether the tempo is slow or fast, his songs are always powerful pop… super-melodic with impressive, innovative arrangements! Sometimes playful, but always passionate singing too. Do not miss a chance to see Neal in his various band configurations live… or listen to his records & CD’s!" -Jon Peterson, WCBE

“Neal Havener is such a stylish veteran of songcraft, and continuously delivers the same joyous impact, which is ... somewhat unexpected, exciting, and greatly satisfying — it’s the musical equivalent of finding extra fries at the bottom of the bag!”   --  Patrick Testa, WOSU Public Media

“His music is very much like Simon and Garfunkel -- earnest, thoughtful, crafted with respectable chord changes”   --  John Petric / The Columbus Free Press

"Hypothetically Neal is a bit of a pop star / Optimistically he's gonna be a big cheese"  -- Stefan Farrenkopf, The Everlasting Happiness

AND MORE!

“Quirky and Catchy"  …  

"Fun!" …   

"An authentic, heartfelt wordsmith" 

"Now THAT’S the kind of reaction I'd like from people listening to my music,” Havener said, to himself, as he worked on this bio.   “Plus, of course, ‘Boy, it sure is fun to see him in concert!'”

“Tragically, I don’t always get this reaction,” he admitted.   “But, hey, a girl can dream, right?”

A LOOK BACK

His first band, “Oswald and the Herringbones” (OATH) *, toured extensively throughout the Midwest, and won MTV’s national “Basement Tape Contest.”  (Music Columbus / City of Columbus calls OATH "local rock legends" ... Which is super flattering, but begs the question:   "WHO'S OSWALD?")

His second (and still existing) band, “go robot, go!” (aka "GRG" / formerly “Shinola” / does this really matter?) ** got some nice buzz in the national press ...

( “In the same vein anyone curious as to how OK Computer recorded with the help of Prozac would have sounded  ... smart electronic pop you can't help but smile at … “ --  Adam Garratt - Columbus Alive)

... And  played some super cool gigs (Neal's favorite being opening up, TWICE, for David Byrne of Talking Heads fame.  "The cool part was being invited back!" he gushed. )

"Cool" via association?   

"Yeah, that's a bit lame," Havener admitted. "It's weird, writing bios.   Because, honestly, I'd love you to listen to some of my music, I'd love it if you'd come out to see me play.   So that means hyping myself up.  But maybe I'm not your cup of tea.   Or maybe I'll be having an off night if you do show up!"

Actually, Havener isn't really a “solo” act.    Not usually.   He prefers to play with his friends and bandmates whenever possible. 

Luckily, for his live performances, he has the support of an AMAZING team of lovely human beings who are also incredibly talented musicians:

Dave Skite on percussion and vocals

Rebecca Sutton on flute, keyboards, ukulele and vocals

Dan Thompson on double and electric bass

Check out their videos, or, better yet, check them out live.     

Oh, and please, sign up for the mailing list!

More videos, and singles (and YES, the triple album, in VINYL!) are all on the way.

Stay tuned!

And, if you’ve read all this – WOW!    Thank you so much!   You’re my kind of people!