Poems from long ago form basis of new CD
Laurence Hart returns to music scene with 'Fragments'
BY SETH MANDEL
Staff Writer

Laurence Hart

Audiences may have to listen to "fragments" to get a complete picture of Laurence Hart's life and career.

About a year ago, Hart, an East Brunswick native and veteran of the Jersey Shore rock scene, came across a box of notebooks filled with his poetry, much of which he wrote as a teenager.

Now 37, Hart had taken a hiatus from recording music in 1997 and was ready to start a new chapter in his career, when he began to turn the pages of those notebooks.

"And I would open up and read it, and say, 'That was a good poem, but why didn't I ever turn that into a song? Why didn't I finish that?' " Hart said. "And I just finally decided, with home studios being what they are, that it was time to get the ideas out."

He wrote music to many of the poems for a new album, but tried to avoid finishing thoughts he started as far back as 25 years ago.

"I formulated verses and choruses, but I didn't want to stretch it into a song and weaken whatever I had," Hart said. "The whole album is in fragments."

The creative process enabled Hart to write some complete songs to accompany the almost dozen that remained unfinished, and the album, appropriately titled "Fragments," is due for release May 15.

"To me, they're complete, because I have no intent of finishing them off, so to speak," he said.

Hart was born in Queens, N.Y., but his family moved to East Brunswick when he was 2 years old.

As a musician in his youth, Hart entered band competitions at East Brunswick High School, and then joined a band called The Push while attending Rutgers University. Hart stayed with the band until the early '90s and eventually formed the band Casaluna with his brother Bob, who is now playing guitar with the up-and-coming band Spiraling.

But after less than two years, Laurence Hart was ready to enter the "real world," though that didn't mean he had to give up music.

He is currently the vice president of an Internet-based music promotion company, Musicforte.com.

"We're kind of putting together marketing schemes to help the independent artist, and doing things such as tour sponsorship, just promotion for bands if they don't want to sign to a label," Hart said. "They're doing some really good things."

The company also backed Hart's renewed interest in his own career. Leaving the music scene as an artist gave him the opportunity to earn a living, which in turn gave him the opportunity to take up music again last year.

"So on that level, I was educated fairly well, and I like making a comfortable living and having the opportunity to dive into projects like this without worrying about money," Hart said.

As children, many people dream of being rock stars and selling millions of records, he noted. The difficult part of that is actually selling the records, especially in the iPod age of digital downloads, where the Internet is more of a source of music than record stores.

"The idea of making an adequate living just selling music, I think, is really tough to attain," Hart said. "I don't know too many people who go out and buy a lot of CDs these days."

Hart, now a resident of Somerset, performed at Tumulty's Pub in New Brunswick Saturday night, continuing to test out his new material in preparation for a West Coast tour this summer. He will also perform at Tumulty's April 14.

Hart said that to avoid confusion, he tells audiences about the idea behind "Fragments" and the music they are about to hear. To make sure the audience fully understands "Fragments," he prefers to play it in its entirety.

"I think it's important to hear those things in the context of the whole recording, which is pretty rare, but I try to do every song in order for this album because it kind of needs to be heard that way," Hart said.

Although it is a solo album, Hart said his friend Evan Klimpl either co-wrote or advised him on the album's 18 songs. As it turned out, Klimpl had some of those notebooks too, Hart said.

Hart has played the Jersey Shore rock scene as well, and watched it evolve from Springsteen and Bon Jovi to a culture that is nostalgic for the same.

Another indication that times have changed from when Hart began his career is the fact that music from the '50s and '60s was considered "oldies" to Hart's generation, he said.

"Well, the music we grew up listening to is, I guess, called 'oldies' now," he said.

But as a musician, Hart said he is still able to connect with fans of different generations. At the coffee houses, Hart plays for college students, and at the bars, such as Tumulty's, he looks out at an audience that ranges in age from 25 to 40.

Hart's life experiences enable him to make those connections.

Whatever the age of a particular fan, chances are, Hart was writing music at that same age.

Despite the age of some of his lyrics, it may have been a more current event that spurred Hart's decision to pick up the guitar once again. Hart was recently divorced, and the experience served as a major impetus for him to pick up where he left off nine years ago.

"When you're a guitar player, you either have a girlfriend or your guitar for a period of time," Hart said. "And the guitar, it's always there. So I might as well play."