Bio

Born on the prairies of Manitoba, Canada, and raised in and around Vancouver BC, Murray Thorne (born Murray Hardacker) took interest in music & theatre at a young age. At 16, he formed a rock band to perform in his high school talent show. His band won, sparking a chain of events that would eventually lead him to abandon his first career choice as a cabinet maker to pursue his music. After graduating, he lasted nearly a year working on an assembly line before joining another band and hitting the road.

As a young veteran of the late ’80’s to ’90s pop rock scene, he gained experience playing small clubs across North America as a singer, guitarist and keyboard player, often playing with musicians much his senior. He was later picked to play with former Guess Who frontman Henry Small, playing a short east coast tour with Henry’s band, which included Zak Starkey on Drums. Afterward, Murray was hired to tour with Penta/WEA recording artist Raymond May, who had a top 10 single in the U.S. The Raymond May Band toured the midwest, opening for Iggy Pop, Aerosmith and the Georgia Satellites.

Upon returning to the West coast when the tours ended, Murray began writing songs with the intention of forming his own recording act. After working a season as a deckhand on a commercial fishing boat, he teamed up with co-writer Mike Gillies, who introduced him to record producer Bob Rock. Rock gave Murray part-time work at his home while he & Mike recorded demos in Bob’s home studio. They formed the band Hardacker, with Murray returning to the position of lead singer. The band independently released a self titled E/P and played locally but were unable to gain tour support. When Rock relocated to build a studio on Maui , he later invited Murray to help with the construction. With nothing to lose, Murray took the gig and ended up staying on as a groundskeeper after construction was completed, occasionally jamming with Bob and the studio engineers in a band they formed as an experimental songwriting project. (Rock once called Murray into the studio, covered with rain and mud, to sing backing vocals for Our Lady Peace’s Gravity album). Enjoying the break from city life, Murray stayed on Maui where he began performing solo to hone his songwriting & performance skills, using his mother’s maiden name “Thorne”.

The following period proved to be a very creative time in his life and career, as he continued writing while exploring folk roots, different lyrical styles and British invasion influences. He returned to performing full time, carving out a unique style for himself as a solo performer with his intense energetic performances. He helped form Celtic Tigers, a local showband playing a mix of traditional and Celtic rock, which allowed him to keep performing steadily while concentrating on writing and recording. Collecting technical advice from friend and recording engineer Eric Helmkamp, he went to work producing his first solo album. In October, 2009, Murray released Tin Can Telephone through indie label PerSonal Records. It contains 11 tracks that he wrote, recorded & produced himself, and also features him playing all instruments on it except drums. The track “Butterfly Kisses” won an independent artist award as a certified top 100 for international artist streaming. The show he did for the album release party led to him being asked by the sponsoring radio station to help create Zeptember, a live tribute to Led Zeppelin, which yearly features various local Maui musicians. The Celtic Tigers would also go on to become one of Maui’s longest running and most popular shows, with Murray on lead vocals and guitar.

In 2012, Murray debuted In The Flesh, a solo performance of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, complete with a live interactive movie he created specifically for the show. The show sold out 4 performances on Maui and garnered rave reviews from both the press and the public. Actor/director Woody Harrelson attended one of the shows, afterward giving personal praise for the performance, calling it an “amazing experience”.

Murray continues to write and work on various music projects, performing regularly on Maui with the occasional road trip to the mainland.