Rob Cantor
Cantor performing with Tally Hall in 2006
Cantor performing with Tally Hall in 2006
Background information
Birth nameRobert Howard Cantor
Born (1983-08-26) August 26, 1983
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
Years active2002–present
Labels
Member ofTally Hall

Robert Howard Cantor (born August 26, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and creator of multiple viral videos. He is mostly known as a vocalist, guitarist, and co-writer for the indie rock band Tally Hall.

In addition, Cantor is also known for his solo work as a comedy musician and viral video creator, particularly from the viral comedy song "Shia LaBeouf", in which actor Shia LaBeouf is depicted as a cannibalistic serial killer. His other work has included a solo album titled Not a Trampoline, and another viral video, "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song".

Early life

Cantor was born and raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.[1] His father is an OB-GYN. Cantor is Jewish; he had his bar mitzvah at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan.[2]

Later, in 2002, while attending University of Michigan, he formed Tally Hall with bassist Zubin Sedghi and musician Andrew Horowitz. He majored in molecular biology, with a minor in nonprofessional music. He graduated in 2005, and turned down a full scholarship to medical school in order to pursue music full-time with Tally Hall.[1]

Career

Tally Hall

Between 2002 and 2011, Cantor performed as a guitarist and vocalist of the Michigan-based band Tally Hall. Tally Hall is currently on hiatus. The band's five (said to be six) members are distinguished by the color of their neckties, with Cantor's signature color being yellow.[3]

Cantor's career as a member of Tally Hall saw the release of two full-length albums: Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (2005), and Good & Evil (2011). The band also released one full demo album, titled Complete Demos (2004).[3] "The Bidding", which Cantor co-provided lead vocals for, was certified gold by the RIAA on July 12, 2023, along with the band's song "Hidden in the Sand".[4]

Work with ミラクルミュージカル (Miracle Musical)

In 2012, Cantor would make contributions to the musical project ミラクルミュージカル, spearheaded by Joe Hawley of Tally Hall. He performed vocals alongside Hawley for both the single "Variations on a Cloud," released on September 11, 2012, and for the track "Time Machine" from the album Hawaii: Part II, released on December 12.[5]

Viral videos

Since 2011, Cantor has worked on multiple viral projects, including songs and corresponding viral videos, posted on his SoundCloud and YouTube pages. In 2012, he released the comedy songs "Christian Bale Is at Your Party" and "Shia LaBeouf" (also known as "Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf").[6] In the latter, Cantor narrates a story about the actor Shia LaBeouf as a cannibalistic serial killer. Cantor posted a demo of the song to his SoundCloud page, from which it spread virally.[7]

On July 1, 2014, Cantor posted a video titled "29 Celebrity Impressions, 1 Original Song", in which he and his friend from Tally Hall, Andrew Horowitz performed Cantor's song "Perfect" in 29 different celebrity impressions. A week later, he released a making-of video, demonstrating that the act was a hoax done through audio and video editing, and in fact featured 11 different impressionists dubbing over his voice.[8]

On October 21, 2014, Cantor posted a video titled "'Shia LaBeouf' – Live", the music video to his 2012 song of the same name. The video is a mockup of a live performance, featuring numerous dancers and performers, primarily the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles, the West Los Angeles Children's Choir, and the Argus Quartet. At the end of the video, the actor Shia LaBeouf is seen applauding the performance, in a parody of a scene from Citizen Kane.[7][9][10] Cantor has stated that the video took four months to organize and one day to shoot, and that it was worked on by 161 people, including Cantor's former musical collaborators Zubin Sedghi, Bora Karaca and Zach Krasman.[10] The video was nominated for best "Individual Short or Episode (Online Film & Video)" at the 19th Annual Webby Awards and won.[11]

Not a Trampoline and other work

During Tally Hall's hiatus, Cantor has focused on his solo career, working as a commercial songwriter and eventually releasing a solo album, Not a Trampoline, in 2014.[6][12] Cantor later worked with Intel in 2016 in a promotion for True Key.[13][14] In recent years, Cantor has done a notable amount of work with several Disney TVA properties – contributing his musical talents to the soundtracks of multiple shows, including Disney Junior's T.O.T.S. and Disney Channel's The Ghost and Molly McGee.[15][16] He frequently partners with Genevieve Goings in producing Disney-affiliated nursery rhymes, lullabies, and other simple children's songs, and The Ghost and Molly McGee features one-minute Cantor originals once per each episode.[17][18] Cantor also contributed the song "I Stand by Your Side" to the soundtrack of 2023 film River Wild.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 Lax, Rick. "Tally Hall: Welcome To Tally Hall". Unrated Magazine. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ Chessler, Suzanne (January 5, 2006). "Building Buzz: Ann Arbor–based band Tally Hall boasts a debut CD, a national tour and three Jewish members". The Detroit Jewish News. pp. 45, 49. Retrieved June 13, 2023 – via University of Michigan.
  3. 1 2 Cantor, Rob (August 4, 2011). "Tally Hall's Rob Cantor Estimates That His Band's Cult Following Counts 200 Billion Fans". Dallas Observer (Interview). Interviewed by Darryl Smyers. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  4. ↑ "American single certifications – Tally Hall – The Bidding". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  5. ↑ Larson, Sarah (November 9, 2020). "Hawaii: Part II Album Review". Dakota Student. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Paltrowitz, Darren (April 7, 2014). "Rob Cantor Is Not A Trampoline, Even If His Career Seems Like One". The Improper. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  7. 1 2 Fixell, Ethan (October 27, 2014). "Here's How You Get Shia LaBeouf in Your Cannibal Music Video". MTV News. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (July 9, 2014). "29 Celebrity Impressions Music Video Was a Hoax; Singer Reveals 'Making Of' Video". TheWrap. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  9. ↑ Worland, Justin (October 24, 2014). "Shia LaBeouf Doesn't Mind Being Called a Cannibal". Time. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Ramisetti, Kirthana (October 22, 2014). "Shia LaBeouf gives his approval to wacky 'cannibal' music video". Daily News. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ Muscarella, Anne (April 7, 2015). "19TH ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED". The Webby Awards. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  12. ↑ Cantor, Rob (June 1, 2014). "Interview:Rob Cantor". Artistdirect (Interview). Interviewed by Rick Florino. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  13. ↑ Kulp, Patrick (April 12, 2016). "Intel tries to make online security fun with commercial full of Internet stars". Mashable. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  14. ↑ O'Reilly, Lara (April 13, 2016). "Intel 'Nobody Else Quite Like You' Rob Cantor Ad". Business Insider. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  15. ↑ Palmer, Roger (May 8, 2019). "Disney Junior Orders A Second Season of 'T.O.T.S.'". What's On Disney Plus. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  16. ↑ Zahed, Ramin (May 3, 2023). "'Pupstruction' to Wag Its Tail on Disney Channel, Disney Jr. and Disney+ in June". Animation Magazine. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  17. ↑ Higuera, Diego (July 24, 2022). "SDCC '22: Disney haunts San Diego Comic Con with THE GHOST AND MOLLY MCGEE". Comics Beat. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  18. ↑ Betti, Tony (August 15, 2023). "Disney Junior's "The Wonderful World of Songs" To Debut August 16th". Laughing Place. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  19. ↑ Hough, Quinn (August 5, 2023). "River Wild Soundtrack: Every Song in the 2023 Movie". Vague Visages. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
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