Har Mar Superstar - Life and Career

Life and Career

Sean Tillmann is known in the United States' independent music community as a singer-songwriter (other projects include Calvin Krime and Sean Na Na), but is best known in the UK indie rock/dance scene as R&B alter ego Har Mar Superstar. Har Mar Superstar is a character who bears several behavioral and physical similarities to (and one notable physical dissimilarity from) porn star Ron Jeremy; he is chubby (though he has slimmed down considerably as his stage shows and frequent touring have become more physically demanding), he often performs his shows nearly nude, and appears obsessed with his own sexual prowess. His primary musical genres are contemporary R&B and pop music.

He originally claimed to be Sean Tillmann's twin brother, Harold Martin Tillmann, from which he claimed his name originated. The name actually comes from a shopping center in Roseville, Minnesota called the Har Mar Mall.

Tillmann was born in Marshall, Minnesota on February 6, 1978. In 1987, his family moved to Owatonna, Minnesota. He graduated from the Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, Minnesota. His family is still based in Owatonna, where his mother and father work as educators.

After playing in a number of garage bands throughout high school, Tillmann moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, and joined three-piece noise band Calvin Krime as bassist and lead vocalist. Over the span of three-and-a-half years, they recorded two albums and an EP and regularly toured the country. When Calvin Krime disbanded in 1998, Tillmann explored his softer pop side in Sean Na Na, but, while the music was often pretty and upbeat, the lyrics were often unexpectedly dark. Tellingly, Sean Na Na performances often ended with dead-on renditions of popular R&B artist R. Kelly's "When a Woman's Fed Up." Reflecting on what led to the creation of the Har Mar Superstar character, Tillmann said, "I kinda always thought that (I was going to do R&B), I just had to figure out how to do it ... I just had to figure out how to make beats and write songs in that style." In 2000, Tillmann enlisted the help of several Saint Paul musician friends and the result was the self-titled album that appeared on Kill Rock Stars in 2001.

If the music during this initial phase could be characterized as often tongue-in-cheek hip-hop, it was the sweaty, profane, and naked live shows that inspired the curious to see what others were talking about. Soon, Tillmann was touring all over the United States as Har Mar Superstar. Initially, he appeared onstage in a choir robe and was accompanied solely by pre-recorded beats emanating from his MiniDisc player. After his follow-up album, You Can Feel Me, elevated Har Mar's popularity in the United States and put him on the map in the United Kingdom, the stage outfits became more theatrical and several live shows featured female dancers. By the time the third album, The Handler, was released in 2004, Har Mar Superstar regularly toured with a drummer and a bassist to fortify the prerecorded material. Shows have ranged from club dates to festival engagements (Reading and Leeds Festivals).

In addition to his own headlining tours, Har Mar has opened for The Strokes, Incubus, Tenacious D and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In 2007 Har Mar Superstar supported the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their tour of Australia and New Zealand. Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes) and Tony Bevilacqua (ex-Distillers) have served as Har Mar's rhythm section, playing drums and bass guitar respectively. Har Mar supported Sia Furler on her 2008 tour with Denver Dalley on bass and Nick Slack on drums. Other bassists have included Jenni Tarma, Jeff Quinn, and John Fields, while Bert Thomas, Jeff Brown and Michael Bland have manned the drum stool.

As well as being a solo artist, Har Mar Superstar is a songwriter. He has written songs for artists including The Cheetah Girls, Jennifer Lopez, Kelly Osbourne, and Ben Adams. While "Tall Boy" was rejected by Britney Spears's management, Har Mar decided to record the song for his own album, Dark Touches.

Over the years, Har Mar has performed on several television shows, including The Sharon Osbourne Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the United States. In the United Kingdom, he has appeared on Channel 4 music programme Born Sloppy, Bo Selecta and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. In 2003, he was a guest on Never Mind the Buzzcocks.

Har Mar has been spokesman for Vladivar Vodka, who produced a series of television commercials that gained an underground cult appreciation for their blatantly sexual content. Har Mar has also been a spokesman for Lynx brand deodorant in the UK.

He made a cameo in the 2004 movie Starsky and Hutch as 'Dancin' Rick', a disco dance champion who faces off in a contest with Ben Stiller's character.

In 2008, Har Mar Superstar was part of the touring live set-up of Neon Neon: the band created by Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys and producer/solo artist Boom Bip. Har Mar sings plus plays percussion during live shows and features on the recorded version and video of "Trick for Treat": a song on the band's debut album, Stainless Style, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2008. Har Mar also performed backing vocals and appeared in the video for "Catch My Disease" by Ben Lee.

Har Mar's fourth studio album, Dark Touches, was released on October 12, 2009, in the UK and on October 13, 2009, in the U.S. He also appeared in Whip It!, a film by Drew Barrymore. 0n October 26, Har Mar Superstar appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in which he earned rave reviews for his performance of "Tall Boy", immediately increasing his popularity within North America as noted in an article by MTV. Playing cities throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in 2009 and 2010, Har Mar's "Dark Touches" touring band features Denver Dalley on guitar, Jeff Quinn on bass and Will Rockwell-Scott on drums.

In February 2011, Har Mar started recording and performing with the soft rock-inspired band Gayngs, and experimental rock group Marijuana Deathsquads. Har Mar and Marijuana Deathsquads teamed up for month-long residencies in Los Angeles at Spaceland (February 2011), in New York City at Bowery Electric (October 2011) and in Austin, Texas (February 2012).

Har Mar & Father John Misty joined forces for a tour in May 2012. While Sean Tillmann & J. Tillman are not related, the tour was informally referred to as the "Two Tillman(n)s Tour." Har Mar performed material from his upcoming soul album, and his band consisted of Macey Taylor on guitar, Jeff Quinn on bass, and J. Tillman on drums.

On September 10th, 2012, Earwolf released Har Mar's inaugural podcast, Nocturnal Emotions. Each week Har Mar has hour-long conversations with a different musician, actor, or artist. Regular features include embarrassing moments, "Let Me Ruin Your Favorite Song," & "Let's Create a Show." Guests have included Ellen Page, Macaulay Culkin, Alia Shawkat, Adam Green (musician), Flea (musician), Father John Misty, Jon C. Daly, MNDR & Gavin McInnes. Nocturnal Emotions is available on Earwolf.com and iTunes.