HARVE MANN, who played "The Lounge Singer Character" on the original David Letterman Show has performed his One-Mann Show all over the country. Harve is a crowd-pleasing performer whose versatile voice enables him to sing in a wide variety of styles. He is also a multi-instrumentalist, composer and actor. He has just returned to LA after six years of performing in Las Vegas.
His albums include MY SIDE OF THE STREET, WINNER'S TAKIN' OVER, BALLAD OF ROCKY & OTHER SONGS BY HARVE MANN & COMEDY FROM MY PAST all available at CD Baby, iTunes, Napster, Amazon and other online music services.
Harve, who is known for his clever lyrics which combine a unique blend of romanticism, humor & cosmic awareness, composes music which is both highly original & catchy. He is also one of the rare breed of entertainers who can sing & play literally thousands of cover tunes by heart. He loves to see the smiles on people's faces when they hear him launch into a variety of requests from jazz standards to classic rock, folk & country. Harve believes in the power of music to heal & raise conciousness.
CONTACT INFO: Harve Mann Music [email protected] 818-926-9326
Interview with Harve Mann by Tom Sweeney March 26, 2016
TS: I saw in Time Magazine recently that the original head writer of The David Letterman Show listed one of your performances as number two on her top ten list of favorite Letterman moments. How did it make you feel to be number two right after Andy Kaufman?
HM: I was very flattered to be remembered in that way, especially by Merrill Markoe who I'm a major fan of.
TS: Knowing your work now, I realize that your performances on Letterman were great acting pieces. When Bill Murray played a Lounge singer it was over the top and obviously comedy. Your lounge singer appeared to be the real deal with good vocal chops and sophisticated phrasing.
HM: I felt the material was so funny that it worked better if I played it relatively straight. The downside was a lot of people thought it was the real me and not a character I was portraying. I had done a lot of theatre as a teenager. One of my first cards listed me as Actor/singer/musician.
TS: In many of your original songs you appear to be playing different characters using different voices. Yet there’s an authentic voice at the heart of all of them.
HM: It’s always my intention to be soulful and truthful while freeing The Holy Spirit of Music to make the musical choices.
TS: In the wonderful biography of Tiny Tim by Justin Martell from page 303 on you are mentioned quite frequently. How exciting was it to be on the road as Tiny’s opening act and conductor.
HM: In recent years there’s been a paradigm switch in the perception of Tiny. Young folks dig him and take him seriously as an artist. Justin’s book is great on every level but I love it most for how respectful it is of Tiny as an artist.
TS: It must feel great that Tiny’s recording of your song PERHAPS IN THE NEXT LIFE is suddenly getting such a positive response.
HM: I love his sensitive interpretation of this song.
TS: It’s been said you never plan a set.
HM: That’s true. One of the perks of working solo is that I can create my shows in the moment . It’s very spiritual, always in the Now. I try and keep out of the way and let my higher soul make the choices.
TS: You’re starting to get a lot of praise for your One-Mann Band recordings.
HM: As a full-time performer my entire adult life, I had to wear many hats. If anyone is interested to know the real me, it’s all in those songs and recordings. Becoming my own producer and generally playing everything on my recordings was done initially for economic reasons. I worked at pulling it off until my karma improved along with the technology that enabled me make better recordings and even re-master out some of the flaws in some of my early attempts at making records.
VIDEOS
DAVID LETTERMAN EXCERPT/ MAD ROCKER https://youtu.be/8cGcpcnSxs4
ATTACK OF THE KILLER CLONES http://youtu.be/mXiZvQGCRyo
PARALLEL REALITY http://youtu.be/WRYdICLy0wM
https://youtu.be/pBnYhdOELZI IT'S A LONG WAY DOWN http://youtu.be/Hu1wBhkoZA4
IF I WERE A RICH MAN http://youtu.be/tb8Fm-r2eZ0
FIND THE BEAUTY http://youtu.be/VHsHn68Tn-M
BALLAD OF ROCKY http://youtu.be/z81cu1inhmA
I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN (excerpt) http://youtu.be/Goc-5GHNIX0
READY TO JUMP http://youtu.be/7z2GGuSiEqM
RECHARGE MY BATTERY http://youtu.be/XbProKtvcSk
ANGEL BY MY SIDE http://youtu.be/cETJ8DRFx-8