Murray Thorne is a Canadian born performer & songwriter now living on Maui, Hawaii. He spent the early part of his career touring with several bands before branching off as a solo artist. Mostly recognized for his potent live performances, his songwriting blends his rock influences with truthful lyrics that evoke energy and honesty.

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Born on the prairies of Manitoba, Canada, and raised in and around Vancouver BC, Murray Thorne (born Murray Hardacker) took interest in music & theatre at a young age. At 16, he formed a rock band to perform in his high school talent show. His band won, sparking a chain of events that would eventually lead him to abandon his first career choice as a cabinet maker to pursue his music. After graduating, he lasted nearly a year working on an assembly line before joining another band and hitting the road.

As a young veteran of the late '80's to '90s pop rock scene, he gained experience playing small clubs across North America as a singer, guitarist and keyboard player, often playing with musicians much his senior. He was later picked to play with former Guess Who frontman Henry Small, then shortly after was hired to tour with Penta/WEA recording artist Raymond May. After some success, which included opening for Iggy Pop and Aerosmith, the tour ended abruptly when May was dropped from his label. Murray returned to the West coast with mixed emotions of success and failure.

Rather than join another club act, Murray instead spent the following summer writing songs while working as a deckhand on a commercial fishing boat. He later teamed up with Mike Gillies, brother-in-law of record producer Bob Rock. They began co-writing, the two of them greatly influenced at the time by the sounds of American heartland music. They recorded demos in Bob's home studio in Vancouver and formed the band "Hardacker", with Murray returning to the position of lead singer. The band independently released a self titled E/P and played locally but were unable to gain tour support. Mike later moved to Hawaii to work as a digital editor for Bob, who subsequently invited Murray to help with the construction of his Plantation Studios home on Maui. With nothing to lose, Murray took the gig and ended up staying on as a groundskeeper after construction was completed, occasionally jamming with Bob and the studio engineers in a band they formed as an experimental songwriting project. (Rock once called Murray into the studio, covered with rain and mud, to sing backing vocals for Our Lady Peace's "Gravity" album). Enjoying the break from city life, Murray stayed on Maui where he began performing solo to hone his songwriting & performance skills, using his mother's maiden name "Thorne" while waiting for his US residency permit to be approved. The name would later stick.

The following period proved to be a very creative time in his life and career, as he continued writing while exploring folk roots, different lyrical styles and British invasion influences. He returned to performing full time, his goal being to make music that is honest and strong enough that the ideas and energy of the music could translate through one person with an acoustic guitar. Always experimenting both live and in the studio, he carved out a unique style for himself as a solo performer with his intense energetic performances, which led to many offers from local rock cover bands. Instead he joined "Celtic Tigers", a local weekend showband, playing a mix of traditional Irish jigs and celtic rock, which allowed him to concentrate on writing and recording his own material, inspired by rock anthems and folk lyrics. Collecting technical advice from friend and recording engineer Eric Helmkamp, he went to work producing his first solo album.

In October, 2009 Murray released "Tin Can Telephone" through indie label PerSonal Records. It contains 11 tracks that he wrote, recorded & produced himself, and also features him playing all instruments on it except drums. It is currently available at most online retailers and live shows.

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