George Hrab
Encyclopedia
George Joseph Hrab is a drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and podcaster known for performing rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and for exploring atheist, skeptic
Scientific skepticism
Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...

 and science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

 themes in his work. He has released six albums as a solo artist.

Musical career

Hrab performs in several genres of music, but most often in rock and funk. His lyrics are often witty. Hrab lists Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...

 and David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...

 as key influences. "I grew up listening to Zappa and the Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...

. You can shake your ass to it, but it's still really smart and interesting," he says.

Hrab has released six albums since 1997 as an independent musician. One of Hrab's unique approaches as an indie is to customize the packaging of each his albums. One features a tin box, one in a DVD case, etc. "Each one stands out as a piece of art, giving his fans a genuine reason to buy the physical disc as merchandise, not just a music holder." Two of his albums have won ADDY Awards
Addy Awards
The ADDY Awards is the world's largest advertising competition with over 50,000 entries annually. Founded in Florida in 1960 it was adopted by the American Advertising Federation, a not-for-profit industry association, as a national competition in 1968....

 for their packaging.

Aside from his solo work, Hrab has been a member of many bands of the course of his career, he listed the entire history in one episode of his podcast. The most notable groups are listed below.

Eric Mintel Quartet

In 1998 Hrab was the touring drummer for the Eric Mintel Quartet, and recorded one jazz album with them. The highlight of this tour was when the group played "cool '50s swing" at the Kennedy Center and the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

 Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 party.

Philadelphia Funk Authority

Hrab's "day job" is playing drums for a Philadelphia-area band called the Philadelphia Funk Authority. The nine-member band was formed in 1999 and plays corporate, private and club gigs in the region around Philadelphia and also tours nationwide. The group has shared the stage with Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

 and other acts.

Geologic Orchestra

When performing his own material with a band, Hrab has called the group the Geologic Orchestra. The band is made up of some members of the Philadelphia Funk Authority as well as other musicians, and has played in a seven-piece configuration among others.

Recent work

Hrab's sixth independent album Trebuchet was released in June 2010. As a means of promoting the album, he offered the full album to any podcast who wanted to run it, uncut, in their feed. Many podcasts such as Skepticality, American Freethought and We Are Not Delicious took him up on his offer. (See below for background on Hrab's ties to the podcasting community). The album is also available as a conventional CD and digital download.

The Styrofoam Tour

From November 26 - December 5, 2010, Hrab embarked on an entirely fan-organized tour of Australia and New Zealand. The tour began with appearances at The Amazing Meeting Australia, a skeptical and freethinker conference co-sponsored by the Australian Skeptics and the James Randi Educational Foundation
James Randi Educational Foundation
The James Randi Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. The JREF's mission includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of accepting unproven claims, and to support research into paranormal claims in controlled...

. In ten days, Hrab traveled to and played in four Australian states, the Australian Capital Territory and the north and south islands of New Zealand.

The tour was named "Styrofoam" after a malapropism created as an inside joke by Kylie Sturgess
Kylie Sturgess
Kylie Sturgess is an award-winning blogger and independent podcast host of 'The Token Skeptic Podcast'. A Philosophy and Religious Education teacher with over ten years experience in education, Kylie has lectured on teaching critical thinking, feminism, new media and anomalistic beliefs worldwide...

.

Podcasting

After being featured on the podcast Skepticality
Skepticality
Skepticality is the official biweekly podcast of The Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine. It explores rational thought, skeptical ideas, and famous myths from around the world and throughout history...

 Hrab was invited by its hosts to DragonCon in 2006. There he performed and met many podcasters who became interested in featuring his music. He credits this exposure for worldwide interest in his music. "Folks from Australia and Singapore who should have no idea who I am have downloaded songs and bought albums. That is purely due to podcasts," Hrab said.
Around the same time (summer of 2006) Hrab hosted a weekly program called The Geologic Radio Hour on the Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...

 radio station WLVR. Listed as "free form eclectic" and running at midnight on Tuesdays, it featured spoken word segments and a number of comedy sketches developed by Hrab. (A segment of one of the programs is available on Hrab's website)

Based on the experience of the radio program and the contacts made in podcasting in 2006, and encouraged by his friend and producer Slau
Slau
Slau is an American singer/songwriter and producer of Ukrainian descent living in New York City...

, Hrab launched his own podcast in February 2007.

Geologic Podcast

The Geologic Podcast is a weekly podcast consisting of personal stories, comedy sketches, news commentary, music and interviews, starring Hrab. The content often draws from Hrab's musical career, the music industry in general and from topics that relate to skepticism, atheism, rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...

 and humanism
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....

. The title is a pun on Hrab's first name and his interest in rationalism, the podcast contains "not a hint of geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

". New episodes of the program are posted on Thursday or Friday.

The podcast content varies from week to week, but often includes several of a number of recurring segments. Some are Hrab speaking on a particular topic or relating a story, others are comedy sketches in which Hrab plays characters. Occasionally the podcast will take the form of a concert, with Hrab singing and playing guitar. Hrab has also conducted interviews with musicians such as Slau
Slau
Slau is an American singer/songwriter and producer of Ukrainian descent living in New York City...

 and Milton Mermikides, as well as others.

As of January 2011, 200 episodes have been produced for the Geologic Podcast.

Segments

  • Ask George Hrab responds to questions from listeners.
  • Captivating True Stories from The Adventures of The Philadelphia Funk Authority Hrab tells a story from a Philadelphia Funk Authority gig.
  • Dr. Damian Handzy's Facts That’ll Fuck Y’up A Ukrainian
    Ukrainians
    Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

     professor (named for a friend of Hrab's) explains bizarre facts from science.
  • Geo's Mom Reads Jay-Z Lyrics Hrab's mother reads the lyrics of Jay-Z
    Jay-Z
    Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...

     songs and chats with Hrab.
  • Grandma's Entertainment Report A Ukrainian grandmother reports entertainment industry news.
  • The History Chunk Hrab recounts (and comically embellishes) notable historic events that occurred on the date of the podcast.
  • Horror-scopes Hrab composes his own demented version of astrological
    Astrology
    Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

     horoscope
    Horoscope
    In astrology, a horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, the astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word horoscope is derived from Greek words meaning "a look at the hours" In...

    s.
  • Interesting Fauna News items about unusual animals mentioned in science news.
  • Minoishe Interroberg’s To Make with the Good English A Rabbi
    Rabbi
    In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

     expounds on grammar and word usage errors.
  • Misinformed Science Podcast A badly researched podcast about science.
  • Mortimer Hrab speaks on the phone with a codger named Mortimer ("I'm old"), who largely ignores him and rants on.
  • Readings from notThe Bible Hrab reads completely bastardized versions of chapters from The Bible.
  • Religious Moron of the Week Hrab laments the excesses committed by religious believers in the news.
  • Rupert McClanahan's Indestructible Bastards A Scottish character recounts news stories of people who simply would not die.
  • Science Minute Hrab explains a recent scientific development.
  • So Where Are You Calling From? Hrab's world traveling "Uncle Thaddeus" calls in and fancifully describes his current location.
  • Things People Love that Actually Suck
 Hrab explains the negative aspects of sometimes inexplicably popular items, products or trends.


Other than Hrab's mother and the interviews, nearly all the voices on the program are provided by Hrab.

Other podcasts

Hrab has performed on or has been interviewed by a number of other podcasts including Skepticality
Skepticality
Skepticality is the official biweekly podcast of The Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine. It explores rational thought, skeptical ideas, and famous myths from around the world and throughout history...

, The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is a weekly, 80 minute podcast hosted by Steven Novella, MD, and a panel of "skeptical rogues". It is the official podcast of the New England Skeptical Society, and is produced in conjunction with the James Randi Educational Foundation...

, Slacker Astronomy
Slacker Astronomy
Slacker Astronomy is a weekly audio podcast about astronomy news that aired weekly from February 14, 2005 to September 14, 2006. After that, it branched out as a video podcast, blog, forum and a wiki called Slackerpedia Galactica....

, Sessions with Slau
Slau
Slau is an American singer/songwriter and producer of Ukrainian descent living in New York City...

, The Rabbit Zone, The Nonsense Podcast, The Skeptic Zone, Point of Inquiry
Point of Inquiry
Point of Inquiry is the radio show and podcast of the Center for Inquiry, a think tank promoting science, reason and secular values. Started in 2005, Point of Inquiry has consistently ranked highly among similar podcasts. It has been celebrated for its guests, and for the quality of its interviews....

, Inquiry FM, Artist Connection Podcast, and The Pseudo Scientists.

Hrab also wrote & recorded the theme song for the 365 Days of Astronomy
365 Days Of Astronomy
365 Days of Astronomy is an educational podcast, inspired by the International Year of Astronomy, that has been published daily since 2009. The podcast episodes are written, recorded and produced by people all around the world....

 podcast, FAR and performs in the associated music video.

Awards

  • Won: Gold Award & Best in Show Print (Sheer Brick Studio for "Interrobang"), 2006 Greater Lehigh Valley ADDY Awards
    Addy Awards
    The ADDY Awards is the world's largest advertising competition with over 50,000 entries annually. Founded in Florida in 1960 it was adopted by the American Advertising Federation, a not-for-profit industry association, as a national competition in 1968....

  • Nominated: Best Audio Production (Geologic Podcast), 2007 Parsec Awards
    Parsec Awards
    The Parsec Awards are a set of annual awards created to recognize excellence in science fiction podcasts and podcast novels. The awards were created by Mur Lafferty, Tracy Hickman and Michael R. Mennenga and awarded by FarPoint Media...

  • Won: Best Comedy Podcast (Geologic Podcast), Podcast Peer Awards 5 (Fall 2008)
  • Won: Best All Around Performer (tie), 2008 Lehigh Valley
    Lehigh Valley
    The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...

     Music Awards
  • Won: Best Wedding Music (The Philadelphia Funk Authority), 2010 Best of the Philly Hot List.
  • Won: Gold Award (Sheer Brick Studio for "Trebuchet"), 2011 Greater Lehigh Valley ADDY Awards
  • Won: Best Wedding Music (The Philadelphia Funk Authority), 2011 Best of the Philly Hot List.

Controversy

After the release of Hrab's self-published first album [sic], he was sued for invasion of privacy by a former supervisor from his job at Moravian College
Moravian College
Moravian College a private liberal arts college, and the associated Moravian Theological Seminary are located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Lehigh Valley region.-History:...

. She claimed that a short phrase written in Cyrillic script in the liner notes as well as one short track on the album were intended as a disparaging remark directed at her, which embarrassed her in front of her coworkers. Hrab denied the charges and the case went to trial in January 1999. Hrab lost the case and had to pay a small amount of damages, and [sic] was removed from distribution.

Later, Hrab documented the entire affair (including re-enacting all of the testimony at trial) on his podcast. In 2007 the album was re-released with the offending material removed.

Personal life

Hrab is of Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

 Catholic
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , Ukrainska Hreko-Katolytska Tserkva), is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with the Holy See, and is directly subject to the Pope...

 descent and was born in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. His father (also named George Hrab) is a musician who has performed in a band called Tempo since 1959. Hrab has lived in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...

 since attending Moravian College
Moravian College
Moravian College a private liberal arts college, and the associated Moravian Theological Seminary are located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Lehigh Valley region.-History:...

 where he received a Bachelor of Music in 1993. In the summer of 2011, Hrab revealed on his podcast that he is allergic to penicillin.

Discography and other works

  • [sic] (1997), Orchard
  • Minutiae (1999), Geologic Records
  • Vitriol (2001), Geologic Records
  • Coelacanth (2003), Geologic Records
  • Interrobang (2006), Geologic Records
  • Trebuchet (2010), Geologic Records

With others

  • Ika (1995) - Ika
  • Lullaby (1998) - Eric Mintel Quartet
  • The Weight of Words (2001) - Slau
    Slau
    Slau is an American singer/songwriter and producer of Ukrainian descent living in New York City...

  • What if Every Day Were Christmas (2006) - Podsafe for peace
    Podsafe for peace
    Podsafe for Peace is the name established by a group of podsafe artists who first came together in 2005 to perform a Christmas charity song that could legally be played on podcasts. In late 2005, Adam Curry played the song "If Every Day Were Christmas" on his Podcast...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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