Hart Dementi

Born December 30, 1979 in Virginia Beach, VA.

Instruments:

• Paul Reed Smith McCarty "10-Top" (circa 1999) - i've done a lot of bonding with this thing
• Fender nylon-stringed classical acoustic/electric - i love this guitar
• Yamaha Pacifica - my first electric, currently out of commission
• Martin Backpacker - good for camping trips, not good for baggage handlers
• Samick Banjo - Uncle Rock broke the neck and super-glued it back together, thanks Uncle Rock!

Amps, Effects, etc:

• Koch Multitone 50 watt head
• Koch TS412 Cabinet (4x12" Celestion Speakers)
• Crate VC5212 tube amp
• Sabine pedal tuner
• Ibanez tube screamer
• Boss Flanger
• Digitech Whammy II
• Vox Wah
• Moog Murf Moogerfooger
• Line 6 DL-4 Delay pedal
• monster cables (well, 1 monster cable)
• any pick that I can find, preferably mediums
• Elixer Strings (.10's)

                At the age of 17, Hart “borrowing” his dad’s guitar, and bought himself a couple months worth of lessons from Eric Byland in the West End of Richmond.  Shortly thereafter, he and ex-friend Beau formed the early lineup of 11^th House with Robin.  After graduating high school in 1998, he departed Richmond for the grassy knolls of Greenville, NC. While attending East Carolina University  he formed the band Fortet Habit.  “The Habit” played bars and stages all over the east coast of North Carolina.  Eventually the well ran dry and Fortet Habit ended up disbanding in 2002.  Shortly after Hart moved to Sydney, Australia for six months, where he penned numerous 11^th House compositions.  Following his graduation with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, he returned to his home in Richmond where he resumed playing with 11^th House. Hart left the band in temporarily 2004 to expand his experience and join the Neo-soul band Chikn Grease.  After a year of playing every Tuesday night Hart finally rejoined 11^th House with the temporary lineup with Scott Douglass on bass.

 Harts experience is not only limited to 11^th House and their studio projects.  In October 2005, he was asked to collaborate with nationally renowned music producers (Gerard Thomas and Harold Lilly) to write songs and record for international pop/r&b star Lemar in Los Angeles at the world famous Westlake Studio.  Some of the songs that Hart participated in writing/recording were “picked up” by Sony/BMG and were slated to be released in late 2006 on Lemar’s album. 

Harts style is an acumination of many influences such as Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Garvey, Bruce Hornsby and Bob Marley.  He brings an intensity and showmanship to a performance in the likes of Pearl Jam, Phish, Ween,  and Moe. Harts style adds a brilliant colour to the 11^th House musical tapestry.

Influences:
Chuck Garvey, Jimi (of course), Bob Marley, Miles, my old roomate Stephen, Trey Anastasio, Andre 3000, Gandhi, blah, blah, blah.....I try to keep my ears and eyes open for influence all the time.  It seems that anyone, even non-musicians,can influence me and how I play music in some way or another. 

Most memorable musical experience:
hmmm...I don't really have any 1 particular experience that stands out.  There certainly are highlights, like playing at my old high school gym, or to packed bars full of drunkards.  A couple gigs with my old band, Fortet Habit, were pretty memorable becuase we really rocked hard to a lot of college kids.  Also, playing every Tuesday with another band, Chikin Grease, has left me with lots of memories of great musical moments with amazing musicians.  I'm still waiting to play to a packed stadium, so, hopefully, my most memorable experiences have yet to come!

Last CD listened to in a car:
Bloc Party, "Silent Alarm";  i saw these guys in vegas and they crushed! So I got their cd...there are a few very good songs on it!

Most memorable live band performances:
-Pearl Jam, merriweather post pavilion, 1996
-Phish, 11/22/1997 Hampton, Va
-Bruce Hornsby, 2005, Carpenter Center, Richmond, VA
-moe. w/ trey anastasio, jon medeski, sam bush, Feb. 2005, Roseland Ballroom, NY

Top 3 Fav Music styles:
-jazz
-chill electronic
-neo-soul

Fav all time song:
Brown-Eyed Women (grateful dead)

Fav all time musician:
Bruce Hornsby

Fav musician of your own trade:
Chuck Garvey (moe.)