Michael Hill
Singer, guitarist and songwriter Michael Hill came up on the Denton, Texas music scene, where he lent his talents to such groups as Marmalade, Mudville Nine and The Nick Brisco Band. His affiliation with rowdy Texas roots rockers Slobberbone gave him an opportunity to transcend the local scene, as the band took to the road in support of two releases for Austin indie label Doolittle Records, Crow Pot Pie (1996) and Barrel Chested (1997).
In 1998, Hill unveiled a new band, 12lb.Test, whose debut album, Harm's Way, was released in 2000 by Hollywood, California-based Miles of Music Recordings to resounding critical acclaim.
”(Hill is) blessed with a passionate alto whine, a deeply sincere delivery and a welcome penchant for grabbing lead guitarist Jake Williams and embarking on some tasty twin guitar tangents that help set the group apart from the pack,” declared Fred Mills of the Phoenix New Times.
Later that same year, Hill packed up and relocated to Seattle, where he took to performing solo and soon fell in with a number of like-minded musician types, including fellow singer-songwriter Nancy K. Dillon and cellist Dylan Rieck. Both Dillon and Rieck contributed to Hill’s solo debut EP, Yours Truly, which was released in late 2002 along with the free 12lb.Test-outtakes EP My Other Life.
“With Yours Truly, Hill takes the listener on an emotional journey to self-discovery where the destination is less important than the getting there,” wrote Tina Potterf in the Seattle Times. ” ‘Yours Truly’ is seven short stories that reflect hardship and hope, hard knocks and hanging in there. Borrowing a page from one of his greatest influences, Bruce Springsteen, Hill explores the human condition and the possibilities that are within reach.”
After co-producing Dillon’s debut solo CD, Hill released a full-length solo album titled The New World in February 2004. Another acoustic-oriented release, it set the stage for 2005's The Vanishing Season, a full-length return to the hard-hitting twang pop of Hill's none-too-distant past.
"What makes the album so good is the way the songs all take different tacks on a central theme, which is the fleetingness of the present - with all its goodness and sweetness - and the certainty of destruction, set against the individual's determination to find them anyhow and no matter what (see "One More Song" or "Go Down Swinging")," says Stephen Marion, novelist and author of Hollow Ground. "The title song captures this beautifully. There's also more than a nod to the sting of betrayal, something that lingered around on The New World as well."
In addition to Hill, The Vanishing Season features contributions by Jim King (drums, mixing, mastering), Teo Benson (violin), Dillon (vocals) and Rieck (cello). After wrapping up work on The Vanishing Season, Hill put together a four-piece rock band called The Bluegills and took to performing with them in and around Seattle. A year later, he relocated to Austin, Texas, where he is currently performing solo.