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Biography
In a music world increasingly compartmentalized into tiny musical pigeonholes, Bob Hillman's songs live in several neighborhoods at once. Hillman's third album, IF YOU LIVED HERE YOU'D BE HOME, bears the melodic hooks and infectious feel of power-pop, the rootsy, organic vibe of Americana rock, and the conceptual heft and lyrical insight of the singer/songwriter. With sharp social satire that harkens back to vintage Kinks and a literary bent as book-smart as the Decemberists but as heartfelt as Elliott Smith, Hillman delivers concise, punchy tunes short on pretense and long on wit and wisdom.
Originally from Los Angeles, Hillman came to New York City in the '90s to pursue songwriting with a vengeance. He quickly insinuated himself into the local scene and it wasn't long before he was opening shows worldwide for everyone from Suzanne Vega to Dave Alvin, stealing audiences' hearts with a mix of spontaneous humor and perspicacious songcraft, and stealing the show everywhere from the Fillmore Auditorium to the Newport Folk Festival. A move to the midwest found Hillman in the heart of the Iowa City songwriters' scene that spawned storied troubadour Greg Brown. Far from the lights of New York, Hillman put together a band of crack local musicians and made IF YOU LIVED HERE YOU'D BE HOME, a homegrown record that matches his worldly observations with small-town heart and musical muscle.
Hillman will be touring throughout 2006 in support of his third batch of expertly crafted, hard-hitting songs, demonstrating the commanding skills that have won him numerous songwriting awards and placed him on hand-picked compilation albums alongside the likes of Vega, Aimee Mann, and Bruce Springsteen (all of whom have been mentioned by the press as reference points to triangulate Hillman's broad-ranging style). As one reviewer put it, "he may be one indie-movie soundtrack away from bigger things." Whether or not the silver screen becomes Hillman's entree to the mainstream, IF YOU LIVED HERE YOU'D BE HOME makes an even bigger mark on the musical map this formidable songsmith has already tacked up on the windshield.
What
they said about Bob Hillman:
"The
audience was also thrilled with opening act Bob Hillman, a performer
one-third Bruce Springsteen, one-third Bob Dylan, and one-third
Conan O'Brien."
- Cambridge Star (Cambridge, MN)
"Opener Bob Hillman wowed the crowd with a stunning set
of material that is available only on the internet. A member of
New York's "Songwriter's Exchange," Hillman should be teaching classes
in how to warm up an audience. Disarming them with a humorous tune
written expressly for the occasion, "I Am the Opening Act," his
material ranged from the gently political to the wildly romantic.
Although he was not prepared for the unexpected encore, Hillman
complied by covering Tom Petty's "Waiting Is the Hardest Part."
-Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Opening act Bob Hillman was a little bit like a male Suzanne
Vega with a wackier sense of humor, a less tentative Elliot Smith
or perhaps a folkie Tenacious D. His set was good enough to suggest
he may be one indie movie soundtrack away from bigger things."
-Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)
"Lyrics don't get much smarter and funnier than those in
the songs by singer-songwriterBob Hillman. Hillman nearly stole
the show when he opened for Suzanne Vega at the Barrymore last December,
regaling the crowd with hilarious songs about communists and the
pitfalls of being an opening act."
-Capital Times (Madison, WI)
"Opening act Bob Hillman was wry and a bit loopy. When not
singing in a minor key about Las Vegas, he likened "Greenland" to
his love life, all with a self-deprecating smile. It's good to know
that Suzanne Vega will not be the last quirky folkie to emerge from
New York."
- Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME)
"Opening act Bob Hillman charmed the crowd with his funny,
winsome 40-minute set, which included a song about being the opening
act. ("No, you can't have your money back.") The singer-songwriter
also performed a song about Communists that he admitted swiping
from an article in the Onion, and he also hilariously re-created
the moment in 1965 when Bob Dylan went from acoustic to electric.
The audience dutifully played its part with a chorus of boos and
shouts of "Judas!"
-The Capital Times (Madison, WI)
"The charming Bob Hillman (who'd recently opened for Suzanne
Vega at Clowes Memorial Hall) came next as "the second opening
act," singing a ditty with the same name that he'd obviously
crafted that day. His was a solo acoustic set of clever, literature-inspired
tunes about the likes of Tolstoy, Faulkner and Wilde, with a breathy,
sepulchral voice. Bravo."
- NUVO (Indianapolis, IN)
"Singer-guitarist Bob Hillman opened the show with a set
of sweet, smart tunes that ran the gamut from a melodic indictment
of the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop to a ballad that relates
the works of Tolstoy to a romantic night out in New York."
-The Boston Globe
"Bob Hillman--remember that name, because I predict that
we will be hearing some interesting things from this very articulate
and expressive young singer-songwriter."
-radioio.com
"Bob Hillman, a young, engaging, somewhat jocular singer-songwriter
in the college-coffeehouse tradition, was an entertaining opening
act."
-Seattle Times
"Singer-songwriter Bob Hillman opened for Vega with a 45-minute
set. Accompanied by his own guitar and one other guitarist, Hillman
delivered some witty, thoughtful music. The humor in his music is
of a thoughtful variety. He laments the Communists, for instance,
because they were a good enemy, one we all understood. His is a
breathy, earthy sound that is remarkably like his speaking voice."
-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
What
they said about Welcome to My Century:
"The
album avoids the overly-earnest bent of so many of today's serious
writers, with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor and an offhand
vocal delivery reminiscent of alternative rock back when it was
alternative. These songs may sound pop but are folk in a deeper
sense - distilling the life experience of city denizens, carefully
disguising wisdom as casual observations. This album is highly recommended."
- Sing Out!
"Acclaimed in major dailies nationwide, Bob Hillman is a
sharp-witted troubadour akin to Louden Wainwright III, Richard Thompson,
and John Hiatt. A purveyor of intimate, wry, and nakedly honest
autobiographical pop songs cloaked in a folk-rock context, Hillman's
second release is an engaging journey through the emotional highs
and lows of human relationships and not-so-simple twists of fate."
- Minor 7th
"Welcome to My Century is a storytelling melting pot of
skilled musicianship and serious yet often comical compositions
that are sure to please. I've never
heard of this Mr. Bob Hillman but that song about War and Peace
is enough to make you want to pick up War and Peace and start reading
it."
-Host Susan Stamberg on NPR's All Things Considered
"Hillman sings in a deadpan vocal style and brings a dry
sense of humor to the table; so dry that some listeners may not realize
just how clever and insightful a lyricist he can be. But Hillman's
lyrics have a lot of meat on their bones. Bob
Hillman is a formidable talent. Here's hoping that Welcome to My
Century is the second of many albums to come."
- Acoustic Live
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