Aaron Shekey

A short biography

Specialization is for insects.

While I mostly get paid to be a product designer, I’m also a musician, a songwriter, producer, carpenter, a writer, an audio engineer, a front-end developer, an app developer, an investor, a director, an animator, speaker, a homeowner, a remodeler, and just a generally curious fella. I believe in following passions and exploring.

Beyond the things I do, I love films and television. I like watching things critically and enjoying the craft—figuring out how my favorite things got made, and where my least favorite things went wrong. With MoviePass I had one of the best summers of my life.

I love to swim. I could wade around all day. I also absolutely love hot tubs. What’s better than a night at the Hewing with your friends? Recently, I’ve really gotten into float tanks, though 2020 put a pause on that.

My home is Minneapolis, MN. I love to travel. I adore New Orleans. I’ve failed to visit Japan on two separate occasions. I’d love to see everywhere twice. A little wonder goes a long, long way.

Bucket list

Press

The New Yorker, September 7, 2015

Writing by Omission

John McPhee mentions my blog post “It’s What You Leave Out” to my complete dismay.
BuzzFeed News, September 22, 2017

After A Big Bank Bought Simple, Things Got Complicated For Customers

Caroline O'Donovan interviewed me talking shit about my dumb bank, Simple.
The Journal, June 22, 2015

Minneapolis residents open their doors with Airbnb

For a while there I was a pretty active Airbnb host. Eric Best interviewed me about it.
City Pages, June 29, 2017

The Usual Things reveal the details of their ‘Backup Plan’

Youa Vang interviewed my band about our album “Backup Plans” and we touch a bit on Hum.
Cityview, February 4, 2015

Business as usual

Iowa State Daily, February 5, 2015

The Usual Things hits stage for next performance

Isthmus, October 19, 2007

Name that band! Stories behind Madison’s strangest pop monikers

StarTribune, January 28, 2014

Minneapolis musicians build buzz on Hum, a new songwriting app

Chris Riemenschneider came to my house and interviewed me and Joseph about Hum.
City Pages, January 24, 2014

Hum: The ultimate smartphone app for songwriters?

Erik Thompson was kind enough to feature Hum on City Pages.
Forbes, June 30, 2013

Minneapolis-Based Songwriter Music App Company Hum Seeks Funding On Kickstarter

UMN College of Design > Fall 2014

Things that make you go Hum…

I was featured in the University of Minnesota’s alumni magazine.
Flypaper, July 23, 2015

Entrepreneurship in Music: Hum

Jeremy Young interviewed me about Hum as part of a series on entrepreneurship in music.
Forbes, February 14, 2013

Adobe Releases New HTML5 Edge Reflow For Responsive Web Designers

“None of these tools design the site for you… but they sure make the multi-screen design process a lot more accessible to a lot more designers. Someone deserves to be knighted for that!” Hey, they’re talking about me!