Kaplan Hasanoglu

Kaplan grew up playing classical guitar; a background which laid his musical foundation and still influences his style to this day. While developing as a musician he was also influenced by the greats of classic rock such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. What is more, Kaplan was swept up in the fertile pop/alternative/jam music scene of the 90's. Bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Sound Garden, Counting Crows, Ben Harper, Phish, and The Dave Matthews Band all made a huge impression on the young musician.

After high school Kaplan left his home state of Wisconsin and headed west. He was accepted at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, and once there he promptly established himself as an emerging young musician. It happened like this. In 2000 he made his first home recording--an assemblage of songs he had written over the past couple of years. On a whim he dropped the CD off at the offices of CSU's college radio station, KCSU. The staff there recognized talent, and the result was that he was able to play at the premier clubs in town like the Aggie and The Starlight (now Hodie's Half Note), sharing the bill with acts like Tim Reynolds, The Young Dubliners, and Peter Prince. Kaplan also enjoyed college radio success, thanks to the DJ's at KCSU throwing his songs into heavy rotation. This culminated with his song "20/20" reaching number one for several weeks on KCSU in 2001.

While at CSU Kaplan immersed himself in philosophy, physics, and mathematics. In 2002 he decided to pursue philosophy more seriously. After a lot of hard work, he was eventually accepted into the philosophy PhD program at the University of Iowa in 2006. While living in Iowa City, Kaplan was able to establish himself once again in another music scene. As a member of a couple of different bands (The Cellar Door, Substatic), and as a solo performer, he frequently appeared at several bars/clubs in the area, including The Yacht Club, the industry, The Mill, The Q bar, The Union Bar, and The Third Base-Fieldhouse. However, after living in Iowa City for 3 years Kaplan and his wife decided to change things up and move to the Boston area in the summer of 2009.

In the early part of 2010, Kaplan was able to record three songs in a renowned studio in Nashville. These three songs are the centerpiece of his much-anticipated album entitled 'The Good Part of Guessing.' While promoting the album, he continues to write, record, and perform in the Boston area.