The Life and Music of Aaron Hardy

Although he’s a native of the U.S. west coast, Boyne City singer-songwriter-guitarist Aaron Hardy counts Michigan as his real home. Born in Glendora, California, Hardy moved to mid-Michigan at a young age, where he was homeschooled and begam singing and playing the guitar. 
Hardy, who can be seen regularly performing at venues around Northern Michigan and who was one of the key regular performers at the now-defunct Toast & Jam Open Mic at Roast & Toast in Petoskey, has more influences coming out of him than what he can explain. 
Inspired by his older brother, who gave Hardy his first Beatles CD and who is still a huge inspiration, the upstart performer also took to the ’80s band, The Police. Today he notes that both bands are his biggest mainstream influences. 
That strong family influence is still there as well, though. “There was a local band in Alma, Michigan, that was my brother’s band.  They were called Stranger,” he chuckles, “and they were the main reason that I picked up a guitar in the first place.”

PERSONAL NATURE
Listeners point out echoes of a more tuneful Bob Dylan in Hardy’s songs; a pared-down Dave Matthews; a less commercial-sounding John Mayer.  But for Hardy, it’s the personal nature of his songs that he feels really makes people stop
and listen. 
“I would have to say that the songs my audiences mainly enjoy are the ones that are the most heartfelt,” he explains.  “There is something about someone singing their heart out that makes the audience connect with that feeling at that very moment. The best feeling in the world is that feeling of connection with someone that you don’t even know.”
Hardy’s songs have been connecting with a lot of Northern Michiganders lately.  Songs like “And Then Again,” the urgent “Somewhere Will Do,” “Unravel,” and perhaps one of his best songs, the Latin/Ska influenced “I Never Know,” with its chugging rhythm and singalong refrain, are memorable enough for fans to request them at Hardy’s shows and open mic appearances.
His lyrics are catching on too. “My song topics are basically whatever I’m feeling at the time; love, hate, the blindness of human beings, human nature, the obvious, mystery, infatuation, competition...
all that stuff.”  
Hardy writes his songs in a poetic way with a touch of irony that is perhaps part of what his fans find so appealing, and dips into his own emotions in order to touch others.  “It can be very hard to express true emotion to someone you have never met,” he says, “but without emotion fueling my songs, they would be null and void.” 

CD COMING
Hardy is working on a plethora of new material, and is making plans to complete a full-length studio effort, on which he may do some collaborating with good friend Kevin Paul, who plays lead guitar for another Northern Michigan band, the blues-rock influenced Shark Sand Witch. He may also attempt to throw in some rapping, another genre he’s flirting with.  And he’s already hard at work promoting it all - in addition to his live performances, Hardy has conceived a strong online presence that includes a MySpace page (www.myspace.com/themusicofaaronhardy), a Cafe Press store (www.cafepress.com/aaronmhardy for those of you wanting an Aaron Hardy t-shirt, hat, or button), and his own website, www.aaronmhardy.com, which includes updates, show dates, Aaron’s personal musings, and plenty of downloadable MP3s.
For the fall, Hardy plans to continue work on his new album, and will also be playing shows in the Boyne City and Grand Rapids areas; those interested can check out the tour dates on his website and MySpace page. And how about a record deal for the upstart Northern Michigan performer?  “Well, a record deal would be amazing,” Hardy says, “but until then, my music is just a way of life.”
 
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