George Joseph Hrab is a drummer, guitarist, composer and

podcaster A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...

known for performing rock, funk and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and for exploring atheist,

skeptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the ...

and science themes in his work. He has released six albums as a solo artist. Hrab was born in

Belleville, New Jersey Belleville (French: "Belle ville" meaning "Beautiful city / town") is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population wa ...

and grew up speaking

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

being surrounded by

Ukrainian culture The culture of Ukraine is the composite of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian people that has formed throughout the history of Ukraine. It is closely intertwined with ethnic studies about ethnic Ukrainians and Ukrainian histor ...

.Howell, Dave
"George Hrab to perform his 'Broad Street Score' in Bethlehem"
''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its ...

'', January 21, 2016. Accessed December 3, 2017. "The 44-year-old Hrab (pronounced with a near silent 'h') was born in Belleville, N.J. His parents immigrated to the United States as youngsters. 'I grew up speaking Ukrainian, went to Ukrainian Saturday school, ski and canoe trips, and scouts. You were given demerits if you spoke English,' he says." He graduated from

Montclair Kimberley Academy Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA) is a co-educational private school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade located in Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. One of New Jersey's largest independent day schools, ...

in 1989.

Musical career

Hrab performs in several genres of music, but most often in rock and funk. His songs often reflect his interest in science and skepticism. Hrab lists Frank Zappa and David Byrne as key influences. "You can shake your ass to it, but it's still really smart and interesting," he says. He has described his style of music with one word: Philosophunk! "I’m a big fan of Frank Zappa,

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talki ...

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

, the Beatles, and things like that. Those are my influences, but at the same time, I’m a huge fan of Stan Freberg and

James Randi James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skepticism, scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific cla ...

and

Michael Shermer Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of ''Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientifi ...

and those kinda guys. So it’s sort of like philosophy and music… What I do is I coalesce the vapors of the universe." Hrab has released six albums since 1997 as an independent musician. One of Hrab's approaches as an independent artist 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 The American Advertising Federation (AAF), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest national advertising trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry ...

for their packaging. Aside from his solo work, Hrab has been a member of many bands over the course of his career.

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 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

and the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

Christmas party.

Philadelphia Funk Authority

Hrab's job is playing drums for a

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

-area based band called the Philadelphia Funk Authority. The nine-member band was formed in 1999 and plays corporate, private and club shows in the region around Philadelphia and also tours nationwide. The group has shared the stage with Elton John and other acts.

Band members

* Gary Rivenson – Band Leader, Bass Guitar * Andy Kowal – Trumpet * George Hrab – Drums, Vocals * Dale Gerheart – Lead Vocals,

Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* Larry Ogden – Saxophones * Jill Gaudious – Lead Vocals * Andy Portz – Guitar, Vocals * Dave Burt – Keyboards * Vinnie Puccio – Bass * Marijo Burns – Lead Vocals * Ross Brown – Percussion

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 and other musicians, and has played in a seven-piece configuration among others.

''Trebuchet''

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. The album is 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 (JREF) is an American grant-making institution founded in 1996 by magician and skeptic James Randi. As a nonprofit organization, the mission of JREF includes educating the public and the media on the dangers of ...

. In ten days, Hrab 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 is a past President of the Atheist Foundation of Australia, an award-winning blogger, author and independent podcast host of ''The Token Skeptic Podcast''. A Philosophy and Religious Education teacher with over ten years experi ...

The Blue Turtles

In September 2013, Hrab announced the inception of The Blue Turtles, a band formed to cover Sting's first solo album,

The Dream of the Blue Turtles ''The Dream of the Blue Turtles'' is the first solo album by English musician Sting, released in June 1985. The album reached number three on the UK Albums Chart and number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Five singles were released from the ...

. The debut performance was July 20, 2014 at the Ice House in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania as a part of the Ice House Tonight concert series.

Band members

* Slau Halatyn – Vocals, Guitar * George Hrab – Drums * Neil Wetzel – Saxophone * Vinnie Puccio – Bass * CJ Steinway – Keyboards * Alisa B. Anderson – Vocals * Kiera Wilhelm – Vocals

Occasional Songs for the Periodic Table

In 2015, Hrab performed ''Occasional Songs for the Periodic Table'' as a part of the Ice House Tonight series in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

. While Hrab previously performed the album on his podcast, and live in an abbreviated version in Las Vegas, this was the first time the entire concert was performed live. The concert consisted of a song written and performed by Hrab for each of the 118 elements on the Periodic Table.

The Broad Street Score

In 2016, Hrab performed a greatest hits concert featuring string Quartet versions of songs from five of his albums at the Ice House in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. During the concert, Hrab performed with the Rittenhouse String Quartet. Together they performed arrangements of Hrab’s songs arranged by Veikko Rihu and Slau Halatyn In 2016, Hrab reprised The Broad Street Score at the Fashion Institute of Technology’s, Katie Murphy Amphitheater as part of the annual NECSS conference. The show made its international debut on August 24, 2016 in Turku, Finland.

Podcasting

After being featured on the podcast

Skepticality ''Skepticality'' is the official podcast of The Skeptics Society's ''Skeptic'' magazine. Beginning in May 2005, the podcast explores rational thought, skeptical ideas, and famous myths from around the world and throughout history. Each episode i ...

, Hrab was invited by its hosts to Dragon Con 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 (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...

radio station WLVR-FM. 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. Based on the experience of the radio program and the contacts made in podcasting in 2006, and encouraged by his friend and producer Slau, 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 In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...

and

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...

. The title is a pun on Hrab's first name and his interest in rationalism; the podcast contains "not a hint of geology". New episodes of the program are posted weekly. 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. In one such example, Hrab celebrated his 44th birthday by covering Yes' album '' 90125'' in its entirety. Hrab has also conducted interviews with musicians such as Slau and Milton Mermikides, as well as others. In February 2017, Hrab celebrated 10 years of the podcast with an eight-hour 500th episode which was broadcast as video on

Facebook Live Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...

. The broadcast featured interviews with

Steven Novella Steven Paul Novella (born July 29, 1964) is an American clinical neurologist and associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine. Novella is best known for his involvement in the skeptical movement as a host of '' The Skeptics' Guide ...

Phil Plait Philip Cary Plait (born September 30, 1964), also known as The Bad Astronomer, is an American astronomer, skeptic, and popular science blogger. Plait has worked as part of the Hubble Space Telescope team, images and spectra of astronomical objec ...

and Paul Provenza, among others.

Segments

George Hrab greets fans at the 2016 Reason Rally

* 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

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 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 is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

horoscopes. * Interesting Fauna: News items about unusual animals mentioned in science news. * Minoishe Interroberg's To Make with the Good English: A

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

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 The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. * 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. * Tell Me Something Good: Hrab recounts a positive news story (in contrast to the constant pandemic news). * Things People Love that Actually Suck : Hrab explains the negative aspects of sometimes inexplicably popular items, products or trends. * Weekly Standard: Hrab interpretation of standard songs. 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 the ''Friendly Atheist'', ''

'', ''

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe ''The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe'' (''SGU'') is an American weekly skeptical podcast hosted by Steven Novella, MD, along with a panel of contributors. The official podcast of the New England Skeptical Society, it was named to evoke ''Th ...

'', ''Slacker Astronomy'', ''Sessions with Slau'', ''The Rabbit Zone'', ''The Nonsense Podcast'', ''

The Skeptic Zone Richard Saunders is an Australian skeptic, podcaster and professional origamist. He received recognition by the Australian Skeptics with a Life Membership in 2001, and has twice served as their president. He founded Sydney Skeptics in the Pub ...

'', ''

Point of Inquiry ''Point of Inquiry'' is the radio show and flagship podcast of the Center for Inquiry (CFI), "a think tank promoting science, reason, and secular values in public policy and at the grass roots". Started in 2005, ''Point of Inquiry'' has consist ...

'', ''Inquiry FM'', ''Artist Connection Podcast'', '' The Pseudo Scientists'', ''Maynard's Malaise'', Cognitive Dissonance, The Story Collider, and InKredulous. Hrab also wrote & recorded the theme song for the

365 Days of Astronomy ''365 Days of Astronomy'' is an educational podcast, inspired by the International Year of Astronomy, published daily beginning in 2009. It is produced as a collaboration between Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Astrosphere New Medi ...

podcast, ''FAR''. He created and performed in the associated music video.

TEDx Talk

Hrab's

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

Talk at TEDxLehighRiver on September 19, 2015 was "Rethinking Doubt: The Value and Achievements of Skepticism."

Reason Rally 2016

On June 4, 2016, Hrab served as emcee of Reason Rally in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. On June 5, 2016, Hrab moderated a celebrity panel with Kelly Carlin,

John de Lancie John Sherwood de Lancie, Jr. (born March 20, 1948) is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and comedian, best known for his role as Q in various ''Star Trek'' series (1987–present); beginning with '' Star Trek: The Next Generation ...

Lawrence Krauss Lawrence Maxwell Krauss (born May 27, 1954) is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist who previously taught at Arizona State University, Yale University, and Case Western Reserve University. He founded ASU's Origins Project, now c ...

, Paul Provenza, and

Dave Rubin David Joshua Rubin (born in June 1976) is an American conservative political commentator and YouTuber. He is the creator and host of ''The Rubin Report'', a political talk show on YouTube and on the network BlazeTV. Launched in 2013, his show ...

at the mini-conference that followed the Reason Rally.

Awards

* Won: Gold Award & Best in Show Print (Sheer Brick Studio for "Interrobang"), 2006 Greater Lehigh Valley

* Nominated: Best Audio Production (''Geologic Podcast''), 2007

Parsec Awards The Parsec Awards were 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. They were ...

* Won: Best Comedy Podcast (''Geologic Podcast''), Podcast Peer Awards 5 (Fall 2008) * Won: Best All Around Performer (tie), 2008

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

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 * Won: 20 Year Veteran Award, 2017 Lehigh Valley Music Awards * Nominated: 2018 Emmy Award, Musical Composition / Arrangement for "The Misconception Song" on Dedham TV (Brian Kerby, Producer; George Hrab, composer)

Controversy

After the release of '' ic', Hrab's self-published first album, he was sued for invasion of privacy by a former supervisor from his job at

Moravian College Moravian University is a private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The institution traces its founding to 1742 by Moravians, descendants of followers of the Bohemian Reformation under John Amos Comenius. Founded in 1742, Moravian University ...

. She claimed that a short phrase written in

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking co ...

in the liner notes and one 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 damages, and the album was removed from distribution. Later, Hrab documented the entire affair, including reenacting all of the testimony at trial, on his podcast. In 2007, the album was re-released with the allegedly offensive material removed.

Personal life

Hrab is of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

descent and was born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. His father (also named George Hrab) is a musician who has performed in a band called Tempo since 1959. Hrab has lived in

since attending

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

Discography and other works

* '' ic' (1997),

Orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

* ''Minutiae'' (1999), Geologic Records * ''Vitriol'' (2001), Geologic Records * ''Coelacanth'' (2003), Geologic Records * ''Interrobang'' (2006), Geologic Records * ''Trebuchet'' (2010), Geologic Records * ''21812'' (2013), Geologic Records

With others

* ''Ika'' (1995) – Ika (Hrab played drums & bass) * ''Lullaby'' (1998) – Eric Mintel Quartet * ''The Weight of Words'' (2001) – Slau * ''What if Every Day Were Christmas'' (2006)

Publications

* *

Gallery

File:George Hrab playing in Dublin 3.jpg, In Dublin,

Skeptics in the Pub Skeptics in the Pub (abbreviated SITP) is an informal social event designed to promote fellowship and social networking among skeptics, critical thinkers, freethinkers, rationalists and other like-minded individuals. It provides an opportunity ...

, 2011 File:Aust Skeptic Con 2014 SGU1.jpg,

, 2014 File:Adam Conover & George Hrab CSICon 2018.jpg, With Adam Conover, 2018

References

External links

* *
Philadelphia Funk Authority
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hrab, George 1971 births Living people American people of Ukrainian descent Montclair Kimberley Academy alumni People from Belleville, New Jersey People from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania American atheists American skeptics American podcasters American funk drummers American male drummers American rock drummers American entertainers 20th-century American drummers 21st-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians