Heatbox brings the heat to CSU Mall Fest
What are a beatboxer’s eight favorite things?
Boots and cats and boots and cats and boots and cats and boots and boots.
Aaron Heaton, mainly known as Heatbox, performed April 26 at MSU for the last performance of the Serendipity Music Series. He has been performing his music for the last 20 years and got his name as a play on words with his last name and beatboxing.
He started his junior year of high school after hearing a Rahzel album, “Make The Music 2000,” with his friends.
“That album blew all of our minds. So then, just me and all my friends in high school were all beatboxing. They all got real jobs after a while, and I just never did,” said Heatbox. “It’s my two favorite things at once. It’s incredibly silly because you’re making mouth sounds, but it’s also really cool. I’m sort of combining these weird pieces of equipment that weren’t necessarily meant to be combined with each other.”
Heatbox joined the school band when he was 11 years old. He wanted to stand out, so he chose the tuba because it was loud and no one else had. For the following seven years, he would practice the tuba, strengthening his lips and lungs. He had no idea, yet he was beatboxing training.
“I didn’t know what I was gonna do. I thought I was gonna be a radio DJ for a while. Then, I thought I was gonna be a video game programmer. I still want to do that, but I just ended up this way,” said Heatbox.
Heatbox advises those wanting to start beatboxing. He says to begin immediately if it’s something you want to do.
“Do it all the time. I mean, I kind of can’t even help it. I don’t even know I’m doing it anymore. I’m at the Mall of America and am beatboxing by myself while my kid is playing in the playground,” said Heatbox. “There are a lot of cool YouTube videos about how to do cool, weird techniques these days that even I don’t know how to do anymore.”
Heatbox’s new album comes out June 18 and is called “Hilarious and Epeically Legendary.” An album release party will be at 5 p.m. at the Hook & Ladder Theater in the Under The Canopy venue in Minneapolis.
“They’re like funky sounding, really well-produced songs, but the topics are really dumb; why don’t people know how to zipper merge correctly when they drive? For example, there’s a song called ‘Zipper Merge’ on it,” said Heatbox. “There’s this song called ‘Bad Internet Friends’ about how I am not very good at liking and subscribing to other people’s stuff. There’s also a song about Inigo Montoya from ‘The Princess Bride,’ and it’s all about him and his journey.”
Students can visit https://www.heatboxllc.com/ to check out more of Heatbox’s music or see when he is coming in concert.
Header Photo: Aaron Heaton is more known by his stage name Heatbox. His name refers to his last name as well as his talent for beatboxing. (Lilly Anderson/The Reporter)
Write to Lauren Viska at lauren.viska@mnsu.edu