Albums

A Sid Hillman Solo Record?!?

Sid Hillman, back in the studio…

A somewhat long story that I’ll shorten. In 2018 I quit all social media. Didn’t just take a break. I stopped, deleted, walked away. It was an experiment of sorts, and I figured I could always get back on, but…I quickly discovered a change (for the better) in my life. A breath, space, silence. And then, for the first time in many years, songs began to come…

I wrote. Then I wrote some more. And after a year or so I realized I had over an album’s worth of songs. My next step was to demo them. In my podcast/music studio – I threw down the songs one by one, and then stepped back for a time until I began to listen. What I heard was an evolution. Songs shaped by a break from music, by a return to my love for music, and to a much different life than the one I had lived for years in LA with the Sid Hillman Quartet.

I sent the demos to the quartet guys – all still in LA – and heard nothing back. Nothing. Silence. So I sat on the songs again, not sure how to proceed because by this time, the ol’ pandemic had taken hold. And then…a random text from the Quartet’s drummer, Mike Taklender. “I have a surprise for you.”

We jumped on a Facetime call and he let me know that after some personal tragedy, he finally made it to the songs and had laid down some test drum tracks. That was it. It was time.

This record is now happening. I drove to LA and went into a studio with Mike for the first time in 17 years and it was like we’d never left. We jumped into the songs and recorded guitar, drums, vocals over 3 very long, very full days. Andrew Bush, the studio’s owner engineer, and damn find musician, recorded the bass tracks over the following few months. I have test mixes in hand and am listening for additional parts – tracks to add etc. I will be heading back down to LA in fall 2022 to continue the work.

This is a solo album. This is me getting back into thing that brings life into my life.

This is “Oxygen.”

Music never leaves you | 4th Full-Length Album to release soon

The cliché that time flies is certainly true here…More than a little burnt on the ‘industry over art’ reality of the otherwise vibrant city of Los Angeles, the Quartet finally wrapped up our fourth full-length album in late 2005. Jack Faith (lead guitar and some gorgeous back-up voice) and his family were moving to Maine of all places, and my wife and I had decided to pack up and head north with our daughter. My intent at the time was to get settled in the small town of Mendocino, and then set my sights on finding a label to release this album which I had aptly named “Round About Way.” Innerstate Records, Evangeline, and Trocadero, the labels that had release Volume 2 and Tercero had shut their doors (a sign of things to come in the independent label world). I did the due diligence of sending the record out and about, but to no avail. Some interest here and there, but nothing concrete, and usually involved more of a financial investment from me than I could muster (having come off the credit card financed recording – the quartet records analog (on tape) which is pricey to say the least). Then…time flew. Each year would come and I’d think “OK, I’ll put the record out this year.” Then the struggle of raising a family, an emerging ‘other career,’ and next thing you know almost seven years has gone by. Over the years, however, I have many a time reflected on the honor it has been to work with such talented and passionate musicians – the quartet: Mike Taklender (drums), Jim Cheydleur (Bass) and Jack Faith (guitar/vocals); not to mention Neil Halstead, Raymond Richards (guitar, pedal steel, and a whole bunch a-other instruments), as well as players Greg Vincent, Ken Baggott, Phil Sparks, Joe St. John, and a host of others. Throwing honest art into the world is no small task, and rarely ever done without a group of like-minded artists who can dive in full-heartedly into what they do.

So. Here we are, 2013. The quartet website has been completely re-vamped for the first time since the release of “Tercero” and the design of “Round About Way” has begun. My life has taken some odd turns over the last few years. I apprenticed and learned to be a letterpress printer, and run a business with my wife and graphic designer, Lisa. My family expanded with the birth of twins in 2009. I became a certified nutritionist/weight management coach (Transitioning to Health) and, I wrote a book which got published and just hit stores this week. And yet….I may have left music for a while, but music has definitely not left me, nor will it ever. Words and music still come to me whenever and wherever, and a new song is in the works for the first time in a while. My children are a bit older now and I find myself with more time to think, create, and play. Mike, Jim, and Jack (who returned to LA) are still in Los Angeles, and we are talking about doing some shows around the release of our fourth album, so stay tuned. I am proud of “Round About Way.” It is the manifestation of a group of artists who have grown together and achieved an authenticity that rings true in the words and music we created.

Here are a few tracks from the forthcoming album …

First 3 Albums available on iTunes, Amazon MP3 & others

The Sid Hillman Quartet’s first three albums (The Sid Hillman Quartet, Volume Two & Tercero) are now available for purchase on the following sites as MP3 downloads:

iTunes

iTunes

Amazon MP3

Amazon MP3

GooglePlay

Google Play

Spotify

Spotify

Xbox Live

Xbox Live


We also have limited quantities of Volume Two & Tercero CDs for sale in our SHQ SHOP, along with a limited edition 12″ Vinyl of The Sid Hillman Quartet LP.