By Christy Wolyniak, contributor

Mickey Hart, drummer of the Grateful Dead, has searched the cosmos for the sound only found in the crevices of nature and deep in the memories of the world’s best musicians.

Formed in August of this year, The Mickey Hart Band is made up of individuals who share his passion for percussion. Hart said this was a long-time coming band. He had been working on the music for a while and was just waiting for the right people to play it.

Made up of vocalists Crystal Monee Hall and Tim Hockenberry, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Ian "Inx" Herman, guitarist Gawain Matthews, percussionist Sikuru Adepoju, and keyboardist Ben Yonas, Hart described his new band as a dance band.

“Rhythm is life. Without rhythm, there is no life. Without rhythm, it would be difficult to make the music I want to make,” said Hart.

Music is woven into everything Hart pursues. He is the modern-day August Rush of sorts, hearing music in the woods and even in nature. Married to an environmentalist, he shares his wife’s passion for preserving beautiful things.

“There is a direct connection between endangered music and endangered cultures. The environment is music to me; I love the sound of the woods and birds. We spend a lot of time outdoors,” said Hart.

World music has always been of interest to Hart. These beautiful, deep, moving lyrics and rhythms seem to be the heartbeat of everything he lives for.

He has collected and sampled percussion instruments around the world. His favorite instrument is a damaru: a sacred Tibetan instrument made from a human’s cranium. He said it is one of the rarest of instruments on the planet and represents the impermanence of life.

Although life is impermanent, music can last forever if preserved properly. Hart seeks to preserve endangered music for the Library of Congress National Recorded Sound Preservation Board. Recently he helped uncover Indie-Native American music for the federal cylinder project at the Library of Congress. They will restore 2000 wax cylinder recordings that date back to 1890, and will give them back to the Native Americans.

Beyond at risk music restoration, Hart also has a serious passion in researching the healing powers of music. Music therapy can assist the motor-impaired patients who struggle with diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Autism, and Parkinson’s.

Hart is the author of numerous books and research on the benefits of Music Therapy – a growing field of study in which music is put into the hands of patients Given the opportunity, Hart believes that music can restore neurological disconnections for these patients.

“Since music is vibratory in nature, it reconnects these broken pathways,” explained Hart.

Hart said that performing is still his first love. If he wasn’t making music, he wouldn’t have anything to write about, he said.

The Mickey Hart Band will perform at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard Thursday, December 1 at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are selling for $25-30.

One hundred percent of ticketing fees from tickets sold on MickeyHart.net will go directly to the furthering of Music Therapy.

The band will feature new songs as well as some Grateful Dead.

“[Be ready to] hear a band fresh out of the shoot,” said Hart. “We’re very energized to play and ready to rock.”

This article was edited by Anne-Marije Rook.