Chris Hillman
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shamustwin
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Chris Hillman
My friend recently saw Chris (at Macabes I believe), said it was a great show, Mr. Hillman played mandolin throughout. Mentioned on Hillman's new CD there's a bluegrass version of Eight Miles High! Can't wait to hear it. Anyone here heard it?
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jingle_jangle
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mark_telfer
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I have the new CD and I also saw Chris and Herb Pedersen playing Eight Miles High live in Bury, UK, in June.
Don't be put off by the mandolin, by the way. This is no "joke" version of 8MH - it's a serious, yet very enjoyable, musical statement from somone entitled to make the song his own.
Chris and Herb sing together almost like family members do and although certain Byrds members have preferred to go solo, you have to admire Chris for having found a true and lasting musical partner.
Don't be put off by the mandolin, by the way. This is no "joke" version of 8MH - it's a serious, yet very enjoyable, musical statement from somone entitled to make the song his own.
Chris and Herb sing together almost like family members do and although certain Byrds members have preferred to go solo, you have to admire Chris for having found a true and lasting musical partner.
"But the man has a 47-string guitar." (Grace Slick on Paul Kantner's attempt to tune his 366/12 during a Winterland show of October 31 1969).
I saw Chris Hillman and Herb Petersen Saturday night in Houston, and Mark is dead right. Their version of "Eight Miles High" for two vocals, guitar, and mandolin really flew.
I had no idea what to expect when I went in. Would it be Hillman by himself? Would he have a full band? There were four microphones on stage, in pairs. Each set had one at Vocals height and one at Instrument height. There was a barstool right between the microphones, and two speaker cabinets at the back. No drums, no guitar amplifiers. That told us that it would be two people playing acoustic instruments.
They started with "Time Between," and then played several Bluegrass and Gospel songs, as well as some from the Byrds (including "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," "The Christian Life," "Turn! Turn! Turn!," "Mr. Tambourine Man," and "Eight Miles High," all in arrangements for two voices, guitar, and mandolin. In between songs they were very relaxed, and joked around a fair bit. Several times Pederson got confused about which key a song was in, and Hillman, who was keeping a close eye on him, corrected him several times before starting ("No, no, this one's in A, remember?"). They joked about old age as the culprit. Only once did they actually start a song in different keys, and they quickly corrected it. They had their set list on the barstool and consulted it throughout the evening ("How about this one next? No, wait, how about this one instead?").
It was a fairly short program; they had started soon after ten, and finished up at around eleven-twenty (after one encore). The crowd loved them and made a lot of noise. I did get a chance to talk with Hillman briefly, before he had to rush out the door. I was halfway tempted to tell him about my Byrds tribute band the Mockingbyrds, but just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Before playing "Mr. Tambourine Man," Hillman told the story of the Byrds's producer Jim Dickson getting the demo from Bob Dylan before even Dylan had released it. He had played it for the Byrds, suggesting that they record it. Hillman told us, "Yeah, we listened to it, and... we hated it. Hey, bunch of twenty-year-old kids, what did we know? McGuinn arranged it for us, we recorded it, and we did fairly well by it."
One comment; Hillman looked so old! I think it was the bushy white mustache. He sure didn't seem old when he talked and sang.
I had no idea what to expect when I went in. Would it be Hillman by himself? Would he have a full band? There were four microphones on stage, in pairs. Each set had one at Vocals height and one at Instrument height. There was a barstool right between the microphones, and two speaker cabinets at the back. No drums, no guitar amplifiers. That told us that it would be two people playing acoustic instruments.
They started with "Time Between," and then played several Bluegrass and Gospel songs, as well as some from the Byrds (including "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," "The Christian Life," "Turn! Turn! Turn!," "Mr. Tambourine Man," and "Eight Miles High," all in arrangements for two voices, guitar, and mandolin. In between songs they were very relaxed, and joked around a fair bit. Several times Pederson got confused about which key a song was in, and Hillman, who was keeping a close eye on him, corrected him several times before starting ("No, no, this one's in A, remember?"). They joked about old age as the culprit. Only once did they actually start a song in different keys, and they quickly corrected it. They had their set list on the barstool and consulted it throughout the evening ("How about this one next? No, wait, how about this one instead?").
It was a fairly short program; they had started soon after ten, and finished up at around eleven-twenty (after one encore). The crowd loved them and made a lot of noise. I did get a chance to talk with Hillman briefly, before he had to rush out the door. I was halfway tempted to tell him about my Byrds tribute band the Mockingbyrds, but just couldn't bring myself to do it.
Before playing "Mr. Tambourine Man," Hillman told the story of the Byrds's producer Jim Dickson getting the demo from Bob Dylan before even Dylan had released it. He had played it for the Byrds, suggesting that they record it. Hillman told us, "Yeah, we listened to it, and... we hated it. Hey, bunch of twenty-year-old kids, what did we know? McGuinn arranged it for us, we recorded it, and we did fairly well by it."
One comment; Hillman looked so old! I think it was the bushy white mustache. He sure didn't seem old when he talked and sang.
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lyle_from_minneapolis
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Oh that IS one miserable drunken harmony, isn't it? The track is on the No Direction Home release. Jack was in his cups, for sure.
Here is where I hide my music:
http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman
http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman