(Chipster) Steve Hill celebrates the release of his new studio album "Hanging On A String" by sharing a music video for the title of the record that was produced at Studio 606 in Los Angeles.
Like the album bearing the same name, the title track "Hanging on a String" is about resilience in the face of adversity, cheating death, and moving on no matter what. Accompanied by an eye-catching music video, it is a great introduction to what Powerplay Magazine calls "This year's must have Blues album.''
"I've been a touring musician for thirty years," reflects Hill. "I have experienced too many accidents and bumps in the road to remember all of them, but I remember a few. Car crashes, waking up in a house on fire, a plane crash, broken ribs, a broken hand and a broken heart. So far, it's been quite the trip and I'm looking forward to the rest of it because it's all worth it. For two hours when I'm on stage I can make the crowd forget about their worries and that makes me happy. That's my job and I love it to death."
Recorded and produced by 10 X Grammy Winner Darrell Thorp (Foo Fighters, Radiohead, Paul McCartney) and mastered by 6 X Grammy Winner Michael Romanowski, Steve Hill's latest album is as close to the heart as you can get. Decades of dedication to the lifestyle of a working musician have shaped him and his craft, and Steve's new batch of songs are based on his own successes and failures and the life lessons he's learned from them.
Steve has always loved concept albums. Even though the songs on Hanging on A String weren't written with a concept in mind, when you put them all together, it feels like a concept album, set in a dystopian world where music is the only salvation.
The funny thing is that it's not set in the distant future, it's right here and now, and the hero is not a made-up character, it's just Steve doing what he's been doing for decades. Its themes are both very personal and universal. It's about a one-man blues-rock band trying to make a living and dealing with accidents and bumps in the road and forging ahead no matter what, it's about the life of a musician as it gets harder to tour in these post-pandemic times, having to deal with new challenges like being replaced by artificial intelligence.
The album starts with the line "Woke up in a house on fire," and the conception of the album started with that line. Steve had just finished a tour in Western Canada and was sleeping in a friend's basement when he woke up surrounded by smoke.
Like the song says, "I got my buddy out of there. Good thing I generally have a hard time sleeping..."
He then went to the airport and before taking off, posted a photo of him on his socials, with these words: Woke up in a house on fire. His buddy Brian Laudenslager who owns the Lauten Audio microphone company wrote back, "Man, that's a good line for a song!" to which Steve agreed! Brian had been telling Steve to record in Los Angeles for years.
"He had hired me in the past to do demos of his microphones at events like the NAMM show and other industry events," says Steve. "His good friend, 10X Grammy winner Darrell Thorp, was the sound engineer whenever I did those shows."
A few days and conversations later, Brian had booked Darrell and the Foo Fighter's Studio 606 (yes, the one with the classic Neve console that used to be at Sound City) to record his next album. He then had 90 days to write an album's worth of material and learn how to play it live (he recorded every instrument at the same time in the studio)!
He spent 5 days a week in his home studio for 3 months crafting the songs and was ready to nail it all down. He flew to LA where his friend and songwriting partner Johnny Pilgrim picked him up at the airport and 20 minutes later, they were hit by another car that ran a red light. This was his second car accident in less than a year, as he had previously totaled his van, fallen asleep at the wheel coming home from a gig 9 months earlier, and miraculously survived a massive wreck that all witnesses said should have killed him...
He did his best to record with some broken ribs, but his injuries got the best of him and the producers decided to postpone the recording. He healed and perfected the songs for another 3 months and finally came back to 606 in January 2024, and this time nothing could stop him... He had 6 days to record the album, and he did it in 5! Never were more than 3 takes needed and most of what you hear are first or second takes.
Says Steve, "I've never been prouder of anything I've done in all my life. This is the music I've been wanting to do and never thought I could ever perform that as a one-man band. Raw, in your face and straight to the point. This record is about perseverance, resilience in the face of adversity and my never-ending love for guitar music."
"I truly believe this to be my best work so far and I hope you enjoy it, too."
We've heard a lot about Steve Hill over the past 30 years, and we're about to hear a lot more. From backing up some of the biggest acts in his native Quebec as a teenager, to becoming a bandleader in his 20s, to solo artist, to writer, performer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, to one-man band extraordinaire, Steve has followed his own path for most of his life.
That path has brought him Juno Awards and Maple Blues Awards along with accolades from the biggest guitar magazines on the planet. The man has had an incredibly busy life and more than his share of ups and downs, but you haven't heard the best of it yet...
His latest album is as close to the heart as you can get. Decades of dedication to the lifestyle of a working musician have shaped him and his craft, and Steve's new batch of songs are based on his own successes and failures and the life lessons he's learned from them.
His latest album, Hanging on a String, a true "concept album by accident", shows this one-man orchestra at its best, on an extraordinary recording that is undoubtedly the finest of his career!
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