In the early 1990s, he played in bands such as Candyhateful (previously known as the Brats) and
The Drummed. Candyhateful's song "Stay Down" was featured in the 2000 film adaptation of
Anne Rice's
"Queen of the Damned", In 2001 Hejnal began work on a solo album. He invited singer
Jessicka, whom he had met some months before at a Los Angeles club through mutual friend Lisa Leveridge, to perform vocals on a track he had written; they began recording and rehearsing together and eventually recruited the musicians who would form Scarling. in 2002. In the autumn of 2004, after releasing their first album
Sweet Heart Dealer, Scarling. was invited to join the lineup of the
Robert Smith-curated
Curiosa Festival, performing on select West Coast dates alongside
Interpol,
The Rapture,
Mogwai, and he and Jessicka's long-time favorite,
The Cure. Smith described the band's music as "dark, desperate, chaotic, gorgeous pop music, the sound of the end of the world" and
Sweet Heart Dealer was nominated for the 2004
Shortlist Music Prize. After a series of 7-inch singles on Sympathy, Scarling. announced in early 2005 that their second album,
So Long, Scarecrow, would appear later that year; it was preceded by the single "We Are The Music Makers" and was released on August 23, 2005. Scarecrow was co-produced by
Rob Campanella and received several favorable reviews.
Alternative Press gave the album a 5 out of 5 rating and described Hejnal as a, "guitar physicist who holds court over these atmospheric rockers' second album, approximating everything from space-station climates to sperm whales rollin' on E, all while delivering solid songs." In 2006 Hejnal continued to tour in the US and Europe with Scarling. Along the way, touring with such bands as UK shoegaze outfit
Amusement Parks on Fire and opening for
The Wedding Present and
Depeche Mode. Scarling. are currently working on their new album. ==Film career==