Van Gogh Music - Biography

The seeds, of what would become Van Gogh, were planted in 1991 as a studio project of Robby Heisner's. Having disbanded his hard rock band Blitz, Robby was eager to explore more subtly intricate musical territory. He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

The adventure began when Robby invited his brother Ricky over to his house to help write some songs. Over the course of the next three days and two nights — armed with a guitar, a keyboard, a drum machine, and a 4-track tape recorder — they wrote and recorded several songs.

They were both extremely excited about the new songs, but weren't sure that anyone else would share their enthusiasm. Then, while on vacation in Florida, Robby played the songs for various people who (after persistently trying to buy the tape from him, or at least a copy of it) convinced him that the songs were too good not to be released. Upon returning to Georgia, Robby set about the task of writing enough songs with Ricky to fill a whole album, and recording them in a professional studio.



The seeds, of what would become Van Gogh, were planted in 1991 as a studio project of Robby Heisner's. Having disbanded his hard rock band Blitz, Robby was eager to explore more subtly intricate musical territory. He had no idea what he was getting himself into. The adventure began when Robby invited his brother Ricky over to his house to help write some songs. Over the course of the next three days and two nights — armed with a guitar, a keyboard, a drum machine, and a 4-track tape recorder — they wrote and recorded several songs. They were both extremely excited about the new songs, but weren't sure that anyone else would share their enthusiasm. Then, while on vacation in Florida, Robby played the songs for various people who (after persistently trying to buy the tape from him, or at least a copy of it) convinced him that the songs were too good not to be released. Upon returning to Georgia, Robby set about the task of writing enough songs with Ricky to fill a whole album, and recording them in a professional studio. As the songs were being recorded, and the artwork was being designed, there was still one small problem: they had yet to come up with a suitable name for the project — a name that would accurately capture and convey a sense of the eclectic elements at work in the new songs they were writing. Late one night, after unsuccessfully brainstorming via telephone, Robby and Ricky decided to give up and try again the following day. As it turned out, during the night, independently of one another, they both experienced the same flash of inspiration: "Van Gogh" would be the perfect name for the project! The next time they talked, each eager to tell the other the name he'd thought of, they were amazed to discover that they had thought of the same name. They decided it was too perfect to even consider another. Apparently, it never occurred to them that naming their band after an artist who saw no success in his lifetime was tantamount to naming a new cruise ship "Titanic". Van Gogh has a gift for juxtaposing dark lyrics with upbeat, happy-sounding music, and vice versa. Nothing is ever exactly as it appears, which always makes for a more interesting and rewarding listening experience. But the subtle complexities of their songs never get in the listener's way, due to their understanding that, first and foremost, a song has to be good and listenable, otherwise, it's just a waste of time. They've proven themselves to be more than capable of balancing artistic vision and commercial sensibilities. They take making music seriously, but not themselves. Van Gogh's motto seems to be to "astound and confound. Amuse and confuse." Or, as Finley Peter Dunne put it, to "comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable." And with a documentary and videos in the works, Van Gogh shows no signs of going away anytime soon. Read more about Van Gogh and their music on the Discography page.

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