AUTHOR BIOS:
Since leaving Los Angeles , brothers Heth and Jed have turned on millions to their unique Jambient sound as they transform public spaces into concert halls, using live looping and an array of effects to explore sonic textures never before heard on the streets and subways of New York City. Hardcore Heth and Jederz memorize their favorite songs, make their own Heth and Jed jackets, stickers, posters, and track the duo from show to show, subway station to street corner (200 hundred plus busking shows annually). You can also find the dudes playing indoors at many of the top clubs across the U.S. Other press/media appearances include: the New York Daily News, New York Sun, Relix Magazine, and New York Metro, MSG Network’s Sound Tracks (busker reality T.V. show), ABC T.V.’s Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin Eve and their full length concert Heth and Jed: Live From New York currently airing nationally on RAVE T.V The boys were also featured in the forthcoming Documentary film, Playing For Keeps (2010) , Directed by Denis O’Hare (Charlie Wilson’s War, Michael Clayton, A Mighty Heart, Brothers & Sisters), produced by Silverwood Films (Half Nelson). The documentary chronicles the highs and lows of the life of a working busker. You can visit them at their website, and hear their music at: www.hethandjed.com
BOOKS:
BUSKERS: THE ON-THE-STREETS, IN-THE-TRAINS, OFF-THE-GRID MEMOIR OF TWO NEW YORK CITY STREET MUSICIANS
The inspiring story of two musician brothers who managed to beat the odds—and a blueprint for how others can follow
Frustrated by the indifference of the music industry and the stacks of homemade CDs gathering dust in their closets, brothers Heth and Jed Weinstein made the radical decision to bring their music directly to the masses. They began playing on street corners, in subway stations, and wherever else they could connect with a lie audience. To their surprise, far from this being the terminal stop of a dead-end career, busking turned out to be just the beginning as crowds of stressed-out commuters gathered around, cheering them on, subscribing to their mailing lists, and actually buying some of those stockpiled CDs—40,000 and counting.
In Buskers, Heth and Jed recount their turbulent, drug and crime-filled adolescence in the nowhere-land of Livingston, New Jersey, their valiant attempts to achieve rock ’n’ roll success through traditional channels, and their unexpected path to circumventing the outmoded music industry. They divulge fascinating details about the technical and legal aspects of street performance, New York busking culture, and the lives of their fellow troubadours.
A world of possibilities opens up when the brothers take it to the streets, proving the value of their music to themselves and anyone who’ll listen. Read their story, and your commute will never be the same.
Heth and Jed – “… an unusual oasis amid the blandness of commercial mass culture.”
—NPR Radio
Buskers is...an affirmation of all [The Weinsteins] have endured to get where they are and an inspiration to aspiring musicians everywhere. The message is: With hard work and detremination - and of course loads of talent - you can make your own destiny. -- NY Journal of Books