Artist description Sean Hully is a well schooled songwriter and arranger who lives in Toronto, Canada.

Music Style Pop Rock Folk

Musical Influences Paul Simon, Rush, straight-ahead jazz, Beatles

Similar Artists Neil Young, Bruce Cockburn

Artist History Sean Hully's musical life has taken him across Canada, to parts of the U.S., and to most of the Caribbean. Sean grew up in Peterborough, Ontario as the youngest of four sons. He remembers vividly his introduction to music: a guitar lesson given to him by his oldest brother Ian at the age of seven. Music has been a part of his family's tradition which stems from his grandfather's life as a bassoonist, bagpiper and theatre organist in the days of silent films. Searching for a musical identity has been Sean's greatest quest. He has pursued precision by singing in choirs, playing woodwinds in various classical groups (including pit orchestras for musical theatre) and blowing sax in large jazz ensembles. He has also pursued energetic expression through guitar, electric bass and vocals in various rock bands. These bands played everything from early rock and roll to alternative to rhythm and blues. Sean's diverse experiences and influences have moulded him into a musician with many sources of inspiration. Sean received formal training at Queen's University in Kingston where he studied classical saxophone and earned a Bachelor of Music Degree and a Licentiate of Music. In 1994, Sean decided to move to Toronto to study jazz at Humber College with saxophonist Pat LaBarbera and arranging techniques with Dave Stillwell. When his studies were completed in 1998, Sean accepted a position with Carnival Cruise Lines as a tenor sax player and logged over a year of sea time performing in various cruise ships' orchestras. The orchestra's main role was playing cocktail parties and Las Vegas-style shows. During this time, he was fortunate to meet interesting people such as hockey legend Phil Esposito, saxophone player Bill Evans and many quality musicians, comedians, and performers from all over the world. Currently, Sean now has a CD of original songs that stem from his early period of rock and folk. The songs are blended with the his later influences of jazz but the final product is pop, rock and folk oriented that is somewhat progressive. Through this project, he strives for a musical identity that he can call his own.

Group Members On Sean Hully's CD Interaction are the following personell: Brian Collins, bass; Gino Del Sole, lead guitar; Bob Reid, keys; Tim Mulligan, drums.

Instruments Saxophone, flute, clarinet, guitar,voice, recorder,keys

Albums Interaction

Press Reviews Sean Hully's creates music to throw a toe to! I can see how Hully's music might be fun in a live environment, surrounded by friends and good times. There is no doubt the songs on Interaction are compelling enough to satisfy even the most seasoned rhythm and blues fan. Having said that, there are moments on Interaction when one wonders what Hully was thinking? Come To The Sea utilizes a Celtic recorder intro, which opens up to a fairly straightforward pop infused harmony. It all just sounds so geeky! Then on the tune Respect Is A State Of Mind, Hully utilizes churning guitars and slightly more aggressive beats to get his ideas across. This song works well more for what Hully left out than what he put in. It's Alive here is robust with jazzy notions and fiery passion. Hully certainly captures a sounds with this fine tune and others of this kind including Not Fair and the title track Interaction. The styles that mix and mingle on Interaction may have been part of the whole concept of the whole collection of songs. If that was the intention, then fine, I can live with it. But as a whole it seems like Hully can't really decide what directions to go in. This is a very dis-jointed series of recordings which show a lot of promise with each track.

Additional Info Email: info@seanhully.com

Location Toronto, ON - Canada

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).