Color Theory

Color Theory is the musical alter ego of Huntington Beach singer-keyboardist-songwriter Brian Hazard. Hazard creates piano-driven electronic pop for romantics, combining the emotional intensity of Tori Amos with a spacious backdrop of luscious synths and dance floor beats to create a distinctly modern brand of pop sophistication. "Hazard writes songs that are intensely personal and uses technology to enhance material that is as emotive as the best folk." (Robert Kinsler, Orange County Register)

Color Theory’s latest release is Color Theory presents Depeche Mode, a one-man tribute to Depeche Mode, complete with two new instrumental interludes. The album reinvents eleven of their most underappreciated songs, and also includes the track "Ponytail Girl", the Color Theory original that was mistakenly credited as a Depeche Mode track from their Exciter album. To this day, several European web sites sell alternate versions of Exciter with “Ponytail Girl” included as a so-called “bonus track”.

The Southern California based one-man band has been stirring emotions since the 1994 release of Sketches In Grey. The first pressing sold out quickly, due almost exclusively to word-of-mouth. Demand was high for a new album, and Color Theory responded with the 1997 release of Tuesday Song, which includes a daringly non-fiction song used for a real-life marriage proposal. 1999 heralded the release of Perfect Tears, which is so intimate that it was successfully promoted through a series of personal ads. The album was in regular rotation at over 40 European commercial radio stations. While 2001’s Life’s Fairytale further explores Hazard’s electronic tendencies, 2002’s Something Beautiful features only acoustic instruments, falling somewhere between a rock band and a Broadway musical: piano, vocals, fretless bass, drums (courtesy of the legendary Jonathan Moffett), string quartet, vibraphone, flute, and harp. Twenty-six weekly demo recordings were posted on the web as part of the “Bad Song of the Week” project, which allowed fans to vote for their favorites and decide which songs would ultimately be included on the album.

With a fiercely loyal fanbase, persistence, and clear artistic vision, Color Theory creates music of substance to savor for years.