Music Style Folk Rock

Similar Artists Suzanne Vega, The Wallflowers, James Taylor

Artist History Though Bob Hillman may like to have fun with words and employ irony and humor to entertain his listeners, he above all tries to say something interesting about the way we live now. On Welcome to My Century, his second collection of honest, literate songs, Bob revitalizes timeworn themes by getting at them from unusual angles. For example,the works of Tolstoy provide the backdrop for a song about a romantic evening in New York City ("Tolstoy"), and geographical and political facts about Greenland inform the story of the disintegration of a relationship ("Greenland"). In "Bolted Down," he turns an absurdist's eye on the neuroses of city dwellers. Produced by Tommy West in his studio, Somewhere in New Jersey, Welcome to My Century features some of New York City's finest musicians,including guitarist Dave Schramm, who has worked with Freedy Johnston, Richard Buckner, Yo La Tengo, and the Replacements. West, who produced and played piano on all of Jim Croce's recordings, adds vocal harmonies and shares keyboard duties with organist Brian Mitchell. Bob has showcased in many of the country's best-known listening rooms and theaters, including San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium, where he opened a sold-out show for Suzanne Vega in March 2001. By the end of 2001, he will have opened more than twenty dates for Ms. Vega in the Midwest and on the East Coast. He has also opened for, among others, like-minded singer-songwriters Freedy Johnston and Dan Bern. Bob won the songwriting contests at the 2001 Sisters Folk Festival and at the 1999 Tucson Folk Festival. He is a regular at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. Sliced Bread Records released Playing God, Bob's debut album, in 1998. It was favorably reviewed in Sing Out!, Music Reviews Quarterly, and other periodicals, and received airplay on a handful of radio stations around the country. New York DJ Vin Scelsa championed "Everyone's An Actor in New York," an insightful, comic take on the endless proliferation of actors, writers, and other artists in New York.

Group Members Bob Hillman

Albums Playing God, Welcome to My Century

Press Reviews What they said about the 2001/2002 Suzanne Vega/Bob Hillman tour: "Bob HillmanŠremember that name, because I predict that we will be hearing some interesting things from this very articulate and expressive young singer-songwriter." -- radioio.com "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 " Bob Hillman, a young, engaging, somewhat jocular singer-songwriter in the college-coffeehouse tradition, was an entertaining opening act." -- Seattle Times "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 "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) "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 "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. "Communists are no longer dangerous," he informed his listeners, and Maine is safe from attack because "terrorists do not like lobster." 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) "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

Location Los Angeles, CA - USA

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