Iota (singer)

iOTA
Birth name Sean Hape
Born 1968/1969 (age 47–48)[1]
Occupation(s) Singer, songwriter, actor
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Labels Black Yak Records

iOTA, born Sean Hape,[2][3] is an ARIA-nominated Australian musician[4] and Helpmann Award winning actor.[5]

Personal life

iOTA has stated that his parents met in New Zealand;[6] his father is Māori and his mother English.[7] He grew up in Pinjarra, Western Australia,[7][8] where his father worked at an aluminium smelter.[9]

At high school, iOTA took drama and music as electives, so he could "slack off for two hours";[8] he formed his first band, which was short-lived, at the age of 16.[8]

iOTA moved out of home at age 17, into a caravan and lived for several years on the dole, while playing with a hard rock band called Loose Goose.[8] He worked as a mechanic's apprentice before his career as an entertainer took off.[6][7]

Loose Goose moved to Sydney,[9] when iOTA was 23.[7][8]

iOTA changed his name by deed poll when he was 26. iOTA has cited three reasons for this: wanting to begin a new identity as an entertainer, being openly gay, and being a recovering alcoholic.[8][10][11][12]

Music

iOTA's first album The Hip Bone Connection was released in 1999 and earned an ARIA nomination for Best Independent Release in 2000.[4] Following the release of the album, iOTA was labelled as an acoustic/blues/roots musician,[13] a label he does not like. His second, Big Grandfather, was considered less accessible, more atmospheric and was not as successful as his first. His third, La Caravana, "is about the nomadic life of a musician".[1] His fourth and most recent is Beauty Queen of the Sea and uses a full electric band, moving towards rock and away from his previous roots label.[13]

Acting

As an actor, iOTA has performed on stage in Australia as an angel in Sydney Dance Company's Berlin, as Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and in the original productions Smoke & Mirrors[14] and B-Girl.[15]

His acting has won him Helpmann Awards for Best Male Actor in a Musical (for Hedwig and the Angry Inch) in 2007,[16] and Best Cabaret Performer (for Smoke & Mirrors) in 2011.[17] He also received Helpmann Awards for Best New Australian Work and Best Original Score for Smoke & Mirrors.

He appeared in George Miller's 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road (the fourth in the Mad Max series) as the Doof Warrior, a guitarist whose guitar is also a flamethrower.[18][19][20] He has said he learned to act by necessity: "In the country, poofters are there to be bashed, or ridiculed. So I put on a mask, and became tough and rowdy: the long hair, the slouching, the spitting, lots of drinking piss."[21] iOTA can be seen in Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film The Great Gatsby as Trimalcio the orchestra leader.

Discography

Solo albums

Singles/EPs

Cast albums

References

  1. 1 2 Moses, Alexa (29 August 2003). "One iOTA". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (20 May 2015). "Here's The Character Backstory For Doof aka Guitar Flamethrower Dude In 'Mad Max: Fury Road'". The Playlist. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Vine, Richard (18 May 2015). "Mad Max: the story behind the flame-throwing, scene-stealing guitar guy". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  4. 1 2 "ARIA Awards history: iOTA". Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "Vaudeville triumphs among Helpmann accolades". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  6. 1 2 Valerie Lawson, 2007, '"Wear more make-up"', Sydney Morning Herald (October 6). (Access date: 5 April 2013.)
  7. 1 2 3 4 Annika Priest, 2008, "Frocker even more a shocker", Melbourne Leader (9 September) (access 2 April 2013).
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Rabbit redux". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  9. 1 2 Andrew Taylor, 2007, "Given An Inch, Debutant Takes A Yard", Sun Herald (28 January). Archived by: aluminiumfences.com.au. (Access date: 5 April 2013.)
  10. ↑ "iOTA And The Lizard Men @ The Annandale Hotel, 31/07/04". 2 August 2004. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "Master of melancholy". 9 June 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "iOTA battles mental illness to bring B-Girl to the stage". 30 May 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  13. 1 2 Harrington, Stephanie (27 November 2006). "iOTA". Rave Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "Smoke & Mirrors". Craig Ilott. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  15. ↑ "B-Girl". Craig Ilott. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  16. ↑ "Helpmann Awards 2007 winners and nominees". Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Helpmann Awards 2010 winners and nominees". Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  18. ↑ Zalben, Alex (15 May 2015). "That Insane 'Mad Max' Flame-Throwing Guitar Is No CGI Trick — Here's How They Actually Made It". MTV. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  19. ↑ Connelly, Brendon (13 August 2012). "Official Plot Blurb And Cast List For Mad Max: Fury Road". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Full Cast & Crew". Internet Movie Database. Amazon. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  21. ↑ Dow, Steve (3 September 2008). "Frock and horror". Retrieved 2 December 2015.
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