By Joseph Mazzola & William Sealy
On Saturday, March 29th, the 40 Watt held A Celebration of the Joyful Life of W. Cullen Hart, a memorial show for the late Elephant 6 member, multi-instrumentalist, painter, and friend, Will Cullen Hart. Hart was one of the original E6 founders in Ruston, Louisiana, where he formed The Olivia Tremor Control with friends Bill Doss, Jeff Mangum, and Robert Schneider. Hart, along with Doss and Mangum, moved to Athens in the 1990s. Here, The Elephant 6 Recording Co. grew into the collective we know it as now, including projects like Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples in Stereo, Of Montreal, and Circulatory System.
Hart died on November 29th at 53 from natural causes. Robert Schneider, the frontman of The Apples in Stereo, broke the news of Hart’s passing in a heartfelt tribute. Music publications like Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, as well as friends and other Elephant 6 affiliates released tributes in the following days. In February, The Elephant 6 Recording Co. announced a tribute show for Hart at the 40 Watt with proceeds going to benefit Nuçi’s Space in Athens. The concert included performances from The Rishis, Elf Power, Giant Day, Laura Carter, John Kiran Fernandes, Marshmallow Coast, and many more.
The night was an eclectic assemblage of instruments—which is to say, par for the course with Elephant 6 projects. Some of the more bold choices, and they were some of my (Joseph) favorite moments of the night. This included: Oliver Domingo of Organically Programmed playing theremin with Robert Schneider, Robbee Cucchiaro performing a solo electronic set with autotuned vocals set in a truly astounding costume that looked as if a cat were growing out of a flower, and John Kiran Fernandes playing clarinet solo and with other performers throughout the evening. It was captivating, weird in the best way, almost magical. The passion that Will Cullen Hart had for his creative projects, and the spirit and love that he had for his friends reverberated throughout the 40 Watt all night long.
For most sets, performers played music and talked about Hart as a friend and collaborator. Scott Spillane of The Gerbils performed the first song he ever heard Hart play live, recounting a story of watching Hart play at a festival in Ruston. Spillane told the crowd about Hart making mix cassettes on a boombox in the 1980s and giving them out to friends, before covering “Rigor Mortis,” the song he heard Hart play at that festival.
After a heartwarming plethora of artists played, Marshmallow Coast took to the stage and played “Define a Transparent Dream” by The Olivia Tremor Control. It was truly a stunning experience as it seemed the whole world froze for a moment while Will Hart’s art flickered being projected onto the stage. It was a beautiful, yet haunting experience as we were stuck between wanting to cry, and wanting to cheer on. For me (William), who is a huge fan of The Olivia Tremor Control, my eyes began to swell with tears, as my arms waved around in excitement.
Speaking of excitement, once Robert Schneider appeared on stage in a Spice Girls shirt the atmosphere became much more energetic, as we patiently waited to see what this musician-mathematician had in store for, not only us, but his friend Will Hart. Along with his Spice Girl shirt, he also wore a button-up that he had since high school, which was briefly borrowed to Will Hart, for “many many years.” Along with this Schneider spoke about his adventures with Hart and in different bands, and cracking jokes about his journey with prime numbers.
Joining Schneider onstage was his son, Max, and some of their friends performing “Warm Milk and Chocolate,” including Domingo on theremin. Schneider told the crowd about writing that song in 1986 in Ruston. Although Schneider only played this song with Hart acoustic a couple of times, The Olivia Tremor Control performed it live often. Schneider then brought out the rest of The Apples in Stereo to play some Apples songs, including the live debut of “The Silvery Light of a Dream Pt. 2” from Tone Soul Evolution.
The last song that Robert Schneider, and Apples in Stereo played was their hit, “Energy,” and all the pent up excitement from the crowd instantly erupted as we all recognized the hook. That night Robert Schneider truly proved how the world is made of energy, as his performance released it all with us singing, dancing, cheering them on, while celebrating the amazing life of Will Hart. A life which has imbued Athens, Georgia with so much energy, that despite him “going to the mountains,” this energy continues to march on.
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