Honing his creative edge in the trenches of the LA music scene for the last 8 years, Sid Hillman started out with just an acoustic guitar and a caffeine headache. The development of his song writing has demanded the accompaniment of additional musicians. This process has evolved into the lineup of individuals who now form The Sid Hillman Quartet.
The Sid
Hillman Quartet is the slow-brewed culmination of Sid's mindful alchemy:
songs that bend the rules; songs that smudge the edges of what your ear will
accept. He warps rhythms, creates a verse where you might expect a chorus and
whispers where others might explode. Not fitting comfortably into any niche
of modern music, the Quartet spiritualizes the languid, southern parch of Vic
Chesnutt, without forgetting how to rock when necessary.
Their sound, a result of intense rehearsal and Sid's strong black coffee, evokes images of driving through the desertdry and sparseand the honest nature of Sid's lyrics comes through in floods of warmth and cold, plaintive vocal lines.
In support
of their first, full-length LP, the SHQ appeared live in-studio on KCRW's
Morning Becomes Eclectic as well as Austin's KVRX, Tucson's KXCI, and Los Angeles'
KXLU. They received substantial nationwide air-play, and made CMJ Top 30 Airplay
lists on stations across the country and Canada as part of their national radio
campaign with McGathy Promotions in New York.
The Quartet performed at the 2000 South by Southwest and North by Northwest to favorable crowds and reviews. In addition, the first LP (self-titled, released July 1999 on CD and vinyl), was the A&R pick in CMJ, and given a rave review.
Beginning last
February, and lasting over four weeks, the SHQ supported Mojave 3 (4AD)
on a sold-out tour across the U.S. and Canada, playing 22 shows in 19 cities.
In the fall 2001, The Quartet completed their second full-length record which
is due for release on Jan. 22, 2002 both in the U.S. on Innerstate Records,
and in Europe on Evangeline Recorded Works. The LP features guest players Jaydee
Maness (Byrds, Beck, Desert Rose Band) on pedal steel and Matt Devine (Possum
Dixon, Medicine) on baritone guitar.
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