Har Mar Superstar

Sean Matthew Tillmann (born February 6, 1978), better known by his stage names of Har Mar Superstar, is an American singer.

Known in his home country's independent music community for being a singer-songwriter (other projects include Calvin Krime & Sean Na Na), Sean Tillmann is known in the UK indie rock/dance scene recording and performing as R&B alter ego Har Mar Superstar. Har Mar Superstar is a character who often performs his shows nearly nude, and appears obsessed with his own sexual prowess.

After playing in a number of garage bands throughout high school, Sean moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, and joined three-piece noise band Calvin Krime as bassist and lead vocalist. Over the span of three-and-a-half years, they recorded two albums and an EP and regularly toured the country. When Calvin Krime disbanded in 1998, Sean explored his softer pop side in Sean Na Na, but, while the music was often pretty and upbeat, the lyrics were often unexpectedly dark. Tellingly, Sean Na Na performances often ended with dead-on renditions of popular R&B artist R. Kelly's "When a Woman's Fed Up." Reflecting on what led to the creation of the Har Mar Superstar character, Sean said, "I kinda always thought that (I was going to do R&B), I just had to figure out how to do it. ... I just had to figure out how to make beats and write songs in that style." In 2000, Sean enlisted the help of several Saint Paul musician friends and the result was the self-titled album that appeared on Kill Rock Stars in 2001.

If the music during this initial phase could be characterized as often tongue-in-cheek hip-hop, it was the sweaty, profane, and naked live shows that inspired the curious to see what others were talking about. Soon, Sean was touring all over the United States as Har Mar Superstar. Initially, he appeared onstage in a choir robe and was accompanied solely by prerecorded beats emanating from his MiniDisc player. After his follow-up album, You Can Feel Me, elevated Har Mar's popularity in the United States and put him on the map in the United Kingdom, the stage outfits became more theatrical and several live shows featured female dancers. By the time the third album -- The Handler -- was released in 2004, Har Mar Superstar regularly toured with a drummer and a bassist to fortify the prerecorded material. Shows have ranged from club dates to festival engagements (Reading and Leeds Festivals).

In addition to his own headlining tours, Har Mar has opened for The Strokes, Incubus, Tenacious D and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In 2007 Har Mar Superstar supported the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their tour of Australia and New Zealand. Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes) and Tony Bevilacqua (ex-Distillers) have served as Har Mar's rhythm section, playing drums and bass guitar respectively. Har Mar supported Sia Furler on her 2008 tour with Denver Dalley on bass and Nick Slack on drums. Other bassists have included Jenni Tarma, Jeff Quinn, and John Fields, while Bert Thomas, Jeff Brown & Michael Bland have manned the drum stool.