0
Poised to break free from the claustrophobic confines of the underground club scene, and after many years of wild shows and after-hours adventures with strangers, Har Mar Superstar will soon be touring extensively to support his strongest record yet.
Sean Tillmann named his flamboyant alter-ego after the Har Mar mall in suburban St. Paul, MN where he spent his youth watching movies and writing songs about passers-by in the food court.
“Har Mar Superstar used to be a different person, it used to be my excuse to get away with the more fantastic things in life…it was easier to get onstage as this other guy and be outrageous and have it be glorified. I guess the confidence I got from being Har Mar Superstar translated into my real life so now we’re one and the same.”
For this new LP, Tillmann was inspired by the excitement and the isolation of New York City, and crafted the songs for Bye Bye 17 there, occasionally collaborating with writers like Fab Moretti (Prisoner), Kelly Gately (Rhythm Bruises), and Ryan Olson (We Don’t Sleep), before deciding to permanently relocate to the East Coast from Los Angeles.
“Just walking around NY and seeing people constantly being together alone is, I think, a huge influence on the whole record. I was influenced by the city in general because I wrote most of the songs here before I even lived here. And I just didn’t want to leave, that’s why I moved. It’s a very New York record.”
Tillmann co-produced the tracks with Jim Eno (Spoon) at his Austin studio with a full live band, before finishing work and remixing the album at Cult Records’ New York studios. Focusing this time more on his voice, Tillmann says, “I was listening to a lot of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke at the time, and I’ve always been obsessed with those guys… Restless Leg, We Don’t Sleep, Prisoner and Rhythm Bruises came out of people playing together. But the rest were just like me in a room, gettin’ weird, by myself.”
Tour Dates
12-Nov-13 Norwich – The Waterfront Studio
13-Nov-13 Nottingham – Bodega Social Club
14-Nov-13 Birmingham – Hare & Hounds
15-Nov-13 Manchester – Sound Control
16-Nov-13 Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
17-Nov-13 Hull – Welly
18-Nov-13 Glasgow – King Tuts
19-Nov-13 Carlisle – The Brickyard
20-Nov-13 Bristol – The Fleece
21-Nov-13 Milton Keynes – The Craufurd Arms
22-Nov-13 Bedford – Esquires
24-Nov-13 Brighton – The Prince Albert
25-Nov-13 Portsmouth – Wedgewood Rooms
26-Nov-13 London – Scala