On Stage: Chris Hillman isn’t just ‘bidin’ his time

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times

Music fans – young and old – have been drawn to the music of the Byrds for more than a half-century.

Those who love the jangly pop sound pioneered by the Byrds will be in a state of ecstasy with the arrival of Chris Hillman’s new album “Bidin’ My Time,” which will be officially released on September 22 on Rounder Records.

On September 21, the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808, www.st94.com) will present a show that features Hillman and his musical partner — bluegrass great Herb Pedersen.

Hillman, a founding member of the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas, and the Desert Rose Band, is widely acknowledged as a seminal figure in the creation of country rock and an architect of American popular music.

“Bidin’ My Time” is Hillman’s first studio album in more than a decade. Tom Petty produced the album at his studio in Southern California, and Hillman’s longtime collaborator and co-founder of the Desert Rose Band Herb Pedersen served as Executive Producer.

“Making a new album in 2017 was a total shock to me,” said Hillman, during a phone interview last week from his home in Ventura, California.

“I hadn’t planned on doing any more records. This really just fell on my lap. Herb had been on the road with Mudcrutch (Tom Petty’s original band) and they came up with the idea of doing a solo album with me.

“Herb met with the representatives of Concord Music and they own Rounder Records. At the meeting, the label people were going crazy for the idea. Tom Petty wanted to produce it.

“I knew Tom from 1978 – but not really well. Rounder offered me this deal so I called Tom to see if he wanted to produce it. I told him – I don’t know if I have the songs. Tom said – I have faith in you.

“We went to Tom’s studio to make the record. I played him a couple songs and he said – is this going to be a folk album? I said that I didn’t think so. It started off acoustic and became acoustic/electric.”

Featured performers and guests on the recording include Byrds co-founders David Crosby and Roger McGuinn; Desert Rose Band alumni Pedersen, John Jorgenson, and Jay Dee Maness; Petty and fellow Heartbreakers Mike Campbell, Steve Ferrone, and Benmont Tench; Mark Fain, Josh Jové, and Gabe Witcher.

“The album starts with ‘The Bells of Rhymney,’ which is one of the best songs the Byrds did,” said Hillman. “We got David (Crosby) to come in. All of a sudden, it turned into an orchestral piece. Another Byrds favorite we did was Gene Clark’s ‘She Don’t Care About Time.’”

Another Byrds song on the album, “Here She Comes Again” was co-written by Hillman and McGuinn, and, until now, had only been recorded on a live album in Australia. Hillman plays bass on the track — the instrument he originally played with the Byrds but hadn’t picked up in more than 30 years.

Hillman is one of the trailblazers who led the way to the development of country rock.

He was one of the original members of the Byrds — a band formed in Los Angeles in 1964 that went on to be ranked at number 45 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.”

Pedersen, who was Hillman’s bandmate in the Desert Rose Band, is a guitarist, banjo player and singer-songwriter. He has established himself as a top-flight player in a number of genres including bluegrass, folk rock, country, folk and country rock.

“We play each year from March to November — usually about 10 shows a month,” said Hillman. “It’s very rewarding. I feel like I’m really lucky that we’re still working — and that people still love it.

“Herb and I have known each other for 53 years now. He grew up in Berkeley and had a bluegrass band there. At the same time, I was learning mandolin when I was in high school in San Diego. We met up in L.A.

“Back then, music was just a passion for me. I never expected to make a dime. We met in 1963 and that was the first year that we both got paid for making music. He stayed in bluegrass and I got an offer to join the Byrds.”

The initial Byrds’ line-up featured Roger (nee Jim) McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Michael Clarke and Hillman.

“We had all come out of folk music,” said Hillman. “Then, we all plugged in to our amplifiers and made a great band. It was a great band. It has stood the test of time.

“We found a way to make folk music danceable. There were three bands that really did a good job of combining folk and rock — the Lovin’ Spoonful, Buffalo Springfield and the Byrds.

“By the time we had a hit with ‘Eight Miles High,’ we had become a very interesting band. We were listening to Ravi Shankar, a sitar player from India, and jazz artists like John Coltrane, Miles Davis and McCoy Tyner. It definitely influenced our music.”

In 1968, the Byrds released their country-influenced “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” album — an album that served as a template for the hundreds of country rock bands that followed over the next 40-plus years.

“I really did love the first two Byrds’ albums,” said Hillman. “‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ wasn’t my favorite record. But, it did open the floodgates.”

After a while, Gram Parsons, who had joined the Byrds as a session man prior to the ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ album and was influential in the country flavor of the disc, and Hillman left the band.

They joined together with steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow and bassist Chris Ethridge to form the Flying Burrito Brothers and later added former Byrds’ drummer Michael Clarke.

Hillman parted ways with the Flying Burritos after a few albums. Then, a phone call from old friend Stephen Stills set him on a new musical journey — the band Manassas, which had two albums in the early 70s. Hillman’s next band after that was called Souther-Hillman-Furay, which had two albums in the mid-1970s.

“Manassas was a great band,” said Hillman. “Stephen Stills was on his game then. He’s a great player. Souther-Hillman-Furay was a good idea — but it didn’t come off. I don’t do any songs from those two albums.”

The next group for Hillman was McGuinn-Clark-Hillman — a band that released three albums from 1979-1981. After that, Hillman joined the Desert Rose Band with Pedersen, John Jorgenson, Bill Bryson, Steve Duncan and JayDee Maness.

“The Desert Rose Band had a number of country hits,” said Hillman. “Our song ‘Love Reunited’ reached Number Six on the country charts. There were great musicians in that band — and no baggage. That’s why it lasted as long as it did. We’ve all remained close friends.”

Making the new album was a labor of love for Hillman.

“There was no pressure on me,” said Hillman. “I’m not chasing the charts. Tom had a great idea of how the songs should be recorded.

“He’s great to work with. We made a wonderful album. I’ve never had my voice sound better. I did not expect this (making a new album in 2017) to happen but I’m happy that it did.”

Video link for Chris Hillman —  https://youtu.be/fEmNRuyr8XQ.

The show has an 8 p.m. start time with Craig Thatcher as the opening act. Tickets priced at $29.50 and $45.

Other upcoming shows at the Sellersville Theater are The Quebe Sisters and Ken Yates on September 22, The High Kings on September 23, Paul Kelly and Jess Cornelius on September 24, The Way Down Wanderers and Jeremiah Tall on September 16 and Wishbone Ash on September 27.

On September 21, TJP, a jazz band formerly known as The Jost Project, will introduce its new album “Peace and Love” and kick off the Fall/Winter Season of The Jazz Cocktail Hour at the Uptown! in The Univest Room at Knauer Center of The Performing Arts(226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.com, 610-356-2787).

The evening begins with drinks or a signature cocktail, and small bites. Concerts are held on the second floor in The Univest Room, an intimate room to experience jazz up close and personal.

“Peace and Love” is the newest album by TJP, a Philadelphia-based band freaturing Tony Miceli (vibraphone), Paul Jost (vocal, harmonica), Kevin MacConnell (bass) and Doug Hirlinger (drums).

TJP, a contemporary jazz band, has a repertoire that includes rock classics such as “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (Iron Butterfly), “Daydream” (The Lovin’ Spoonful), “Sunshine Superman” (Donovan), “Walk This Way” (Aerosmith), “Come Together” and “And I Love Her” (The Beatles), “Kashmir” (Led Zeppelin), “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” (Simon and Garfunkel), “Maybe I’m Amazed” (Paul McCartney), and “Can’t Find My Way Home” (Blind Faith).

“TJP is about five or six years old,” said Miceli, during a phone interview last week from his home in Philadelphia. “TJP was my idea. It goes back to the 80s.

“I’ve always had a band that played rock tunes. I always wanted to play the music I grew up with – and to play it in a jazz setting. I named The Jost Project after Paul (Jost).

“Our first album ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’ was done four years ago on Dot Time Records. In a jazz way, I think it went over well. The new album is ‘Peace and Love.’ We decided to release this one ourselves.”

The new CD features tracks such as “Get Together” (The Youngbloods), “Wonderful World” (Louis Armstrong), “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” (Jackie DeShannon) and “America the Beautiful.”

In these tumultuous times, the band hopes the messages in their album will resonate, bringing back reminders of the hippie generation when dialogue and constructive action for peace and love took place everywhere.

“When the election was unfolding, I kept saying – we need hippies now,” said Miceli. “Let’s stir up old hippies and get young people into what’s happening.

“Once Trump was elected, I said – let’s make a whole CD with songs that deal with peace and love. Two kinds of people like these songs. Baby boomers recognize these songs and younger audiences go back because it’s retro.”

Miceli now has a dual mission – play good vibes and promote good vibes. It’s a mission that can benefit everyone.

Video link for TJP – https://youtu.be/WhGvULD3d_g.

Tickets for the show at the Knauer Center are $25.

When Toothgrinder performs on stage, fans know to expect an onslaught of music that is totally aggressive in nature.

That onslaught will definitely take place when Toothgrinder opens for Between the Buried & Me on September 21 at the Theatre of the Living Arts (334 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1011, http://www.lnphilly.com).

The young band hails from Asbury Park, New Jersey — a region known for blue-collar rockers such as Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny.

But, there is little similarity between the music of those artists and what is being served up by Toothgrinder.

Toothgrinder, a band that has been described as metal, hardcore and progressive metal, features Wills Weller (drums), Justin Matthews (vocals), Jason Goss (guitar) and Matt Arensdorf (bass, vocals).

Toothgrinder has announced that the band’s new album “Phantom Amour” will be released on November 10 via Spinefarm Records. It follows “Nocturnal Masquerade,” the band’s 2015 debut album.

“We just released the first single from the album and the tour starts next week in Philly,” said Matthews, during a phone interview last week from his North Jersey home.

“We’re releasing four songs before the album comes out — approximately one every two weeks. It’s a nice way to get people excited – and a nice way to rev up pre-orders. It’s also a way to spread the word and do some promotion before the album comes out.

“We spent all of April and a little into May recording ‘Phantom Amour.’ The songs were all written before that but we still went in with an open mind.

“We did it at Taylor Larson’s studio in Bethesda, Maryland. We used Taylor on our EP and our last full-length. When we were making the new album with Taylor, he was just as passionate as we were.”

Toothgrinder was definitely pumped to be making its sophomore album.

“We did a lot of pre-production,” said Matthews. “We went down with 20 songs that we had done demos for and then scrapped 75 per cent of them when we got in the studio.

“About half the songs on the album were written in the studio. We made an insane left turn and went in a completely different direction.

“The best way to describe it – the songs were more vulnerable, more honest and more melodic. The album had more peaks and valleys – soft songs, heavy songs and some rock jams.

“It’s still definitely a metal album. What’s missing in the metal genre are bands with a lot of versatility. We want to show listeners that we have that versatility.”

Weller said, “I wasn’t really into metal growing up. My dad is a guitar player. My parents were encouraging about music and art. There was a lot of music in our home — from the Grateful Dead to the Descendants.

“The other dudes in our band have other musical backgrounds. Altogether, it comes out more aggressive. It’s an aggressive style — but it has a lot of emotion to it. Hopefully, each song makes you feel something.”

Toothgrinder traces its root back eight years when the members were in school together.

“We started in 2008 when we were going to Wall High School,” said Weller. “But, we really started taking it seriously in 2012. With regard to management and a record label, things got better from 2014 on.”

Toothgrinder won Best Heavy Rock Band (2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013) and Best Drummer (2011, 2013) in the Asbury Park Music Awards. In July 2011, the band released its first official EP called “Turning of the Tides.”

“Everyone in the band writes and has a big part in constructing each song,” said Weller. “We had a couple D.I.Y. records. Right before this, Spinefarm put out the EP (“Schizophrenic Jubilee”).”

Video link for Toothgrinder — https://youtu.be/1Pr36MdjZwA. The show at TLA, which also features Between the Buried & Me, The Contortionist and Polyphia, will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25.

Intense metal music will be rattling the rafters at TLA again on September 22 when the venue hosts a show featuring Thy Art Is Music, Decapitated and Fallujah.

Thy Art Is Murder — vocalist Chris McMahon, guitarists Sean Delander and Andy Marsh, drummer Lee Stanton and bassist Kevin Butler — is an Australian deathcore band fromSydney that formed in 2006.

The band has released four studio albums since its formation starting with “Infinite Death” in 2008.

Thy Art Is Murder’s new album “Dear Desolation” came out on August 18 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. It is vocalist CJ McMahon’s first album with Thy Art Is Murder since his reunion with the band in January 2017.

“Dear Desolation” was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Will Putney at Graphic Nature Audio in Belleville, New Jersey.

“We were in the studio from the end of November until February,” said Marsh, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Joliet, Illinois.

“We hadn’t worked on it all until we got to the studio. We always write in the studio. We tour a lot but we had two or three months off before we started working in the album.

“This album is better, bigger, faster and heavier than our last record. We made it more extreme – in all directions. Our personalities developed and the result is very extreme. I think it’s something you just chip away at.”

Thy Art Is Murder’s previous two albums were “Hate” in 2012 and “Holy War” in 2015.

According to Marsh, “Hate, War, Desolation — the trilogy series of the path mankind has laid out before himself. We are prouder than ever of our efforts on this record. A lot of time, planning, creativity and teamwork has culminated in what we think is our most completed vision yet.

“This one was very condensed. It made it easier to make. Sean and I write the music and then I write all the lyrics. I was in the studio for three months and the band came in part way through.

“We build everything in the computer. The lyrics get written through the song. We set up with the click. That’s what allows us to record separately and go home.”

“With the new album, we started put with about two hours of music. We whittled it down to 15 songs and recorded 13. We were looking for the best songs and then just smashed it out as fast as we could.”

Recording separately is crucial for the geographically diverse band.

“I split my home between Minneapolis, New Jersey and Melbourne (Australia),” said Marsh. “I’ve been living in Minnesota and commuting to New Jersey. Sean is based out of Brisbane (Australia) and travels a lot. CJ is the only one that lives in Sydney (Australia). The other two live in Brisbane.

“Australia was the first place we took off. Then, America followed. Now, we’re touring all around the world. It’s pretty steady. On this tour, we’re playing Australia, the United States and Europe. It’s quite long.”

Video link for Thy Art Is Murder – https://youtu.be/_XY9NobTtFg. The all-ages show at the TLA, which starts at 7 p.m., also features Decapitated and Fallujah. Tickets are $18.

If you’ve ever heard the music of This Way to the Egress, you know two things — the band’s music interesting and the group’s sound is almost impossible to describe easily.

In one press release, the sextet’s music is described as an “an explosion of sound and sight that’s equal parts unruly vaudeville, ebullient worldbeat and three-ring circus….an amalgamation of worldly genres that catapults their audience through time and space with unexpected shifts of styles, tempos and time signatures.”

The band from Bethlehem played at Kung Fu Necktie (1248 North Front Street, Philadelphia, 215-291-4919, kungfunecktie.com) in January and now is returning to the same venue on September 22 for a special concert.

The show is a “CD Release Party” for the band’s new album “Onward! Up A Frightening Creek.”

The album is lively and danceable and stays true to the band’s identity – an identity best described as bizarre.

A bizarre identity is not so surprising if you consider the source of the Lehigh Valley band’s name – P.T. Barnum.

Barnum’s American Museum was so popular that people would spend the entire day there. This cut into profits, as the museum would be too full to squeeze another person in. In classic Barnum style, old P.T. put up signs that read “This Way to the Egress.”

Many customers followed the signs, not realizing that “Egress” was a fancy word for “Exit.” They kept on looking for this strange new attraction, the “Egress.”

Many patrons followed the signs right out the door. Once they had exited the building, the door would lock behind them, and if they wanted to get back in, they had to pay another admission charge.

This Way to the Egress don’t pull any fast ones on their fans but they do provide an atmosphere that captures the variety, excitement and adrenalin rush of a circus performance. Confetti snowstorms, tuba farts, Balinese chanting, fire-wielding evangelists and puppets sweep across the stage and create an anything-goes atmosphere. There is no escape.

Egress is Taylor Galassi (lead vocals, accordion, piano); Sarah Shown (vocals, piano, violin); John Wentz (tuba, backup vocals); Joe Lynch (trombone, backup vocals); Jaclyn Kidd (guitar, banjo) and Nick Pecca (drums/percussion).

Hailing from a wide variety of musical backgrounds with a diverse array of influences, Egress crafts intricately-arranged songs that get people out of their seats.

“Just like our previous albums, the new album has certain vibes – circus, avant-garde, swing, gypsy,” said Galassi, during a phone interview last week. Onward! Up A Frightening Creek

“This album had a full band collaboration. We do an exercise every few months. We get together one weekend and write three songs from scratch, record them and mix them

“We all worked together on songs line ‘Going Home (Again). We tried a little disco with the song ‘Southbound.’ We also got away from the fist-pumping and into something more emotional.

“‘Ode To Bukowski’s Women’ had more of an Elvis type voicing. The song ‘Mark of the Beast’ had a Middle East type sound.”

Egress released its debut album “This Delicious Cabaret” in 2011 and followed with an album every other year – “Mighty Seed” in 2013, “Great Balancing Act” in 2015 and “Onward! Up A Frightening Creek” in 2017.

“The new album, which drops on September 22, is self-released,” said Galassi. “We did a Kickstarted campaign to make it. Our goal was $9,500 and we raised $14,000.

“We cut it at Vibromonk Studios in Brooklyn back in the spring. We finished it in April. We did a lot of road-testing of the new songs on the tour right before we went in the studio.

“When we write an album, we go through songs and keep playing them. Then, we get in the studio and play them again without vocals.

“The recording went really smooth. This is one of the shortest times we’ve taken to record an album. In the past, it took us a year to do an album. This time, we did everything in six weeks to keep on our two-year schedule.

When asked about the nature of the band’s sound, Shown said, “How do we describe our music? We’ve been at odds with that since the beginning.

“It has a worldly influence along with punk, Eastern European, reggae and gypsy – sort of avant-garde meets punk.

“We all live in Bethlehem except our tuba player John Wentz who lives in Brooklyn. I’m grew up in the Poconos. Taylor originally played accordion and cello in John’s band. Taylor saw me play in a pub in the Poconos and told me that we should play together.

“That was back in 2008 and we were doing stuff in a similar vein. We put the band together and Joe and Jaclyn started playing with us sporadically at the beginning. They were on the first album even though they weren’t in the band full-time.”

Video link This Way to the Egress – https://youtu.be/my27wEATT34.

The show at Kung Fu Necktie, which has Bella’s Bartok as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Other upcoming shows at Kung Fu Necktie are Amy Klein on September 21, Bodylab on September 21, Michigander on September 22, Norwegian Arms on September 23, Homegirl on September 23, The Blasters on September 24, Sound of Ceres on September 25, and Siravo on September 26.

Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) will have “All Good People – A Tribute to Yes” on September 22 and Band of Brothers with Offguardians on September 23.

The Steel City Coffee House (203 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610-933-4043, www.steelcitycoffeehouse.com) will host Christine Havrilla & Gypsy Fuzz with special guest Naked Blue on September 23.

The Colonial Theatre (Bridge Street, Phoenixville, 610- 917-1228, www.thecolonialtheatre.com) will host “Point Entertainment presents Robby Krieger of the Doors” on September 21.

Chaplin’s (66 North Main Street, Spring City, 610-792-4110, http://chaplinslive.com)

The Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389, www.ardmoremusic.com) will have Drewcifer feat. members of The Infamous Stringdusters, Railroad Earth, and Guster + Boris Garcia with special guest Tim Carbone (of Railroad Earth) on September 21; George Porter Jr. (The Meters) + Alan Evans (Soulive) + Mike “Maz” Maher & Chris Bullock (Snarky Puppy) + Tom Hamilton (JRAD) on September 22; The Crystal Method (DJ Set) 20th anniversary of their pioneering album, “Vegas”along with Horizon Wireless on September 23; and a Cuban Dance Party with Conjunto Philadelphia and Ensemble Novo on September 24.

Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse (204 South Newtown Street Road, Newtown Square, 484-427-4547, www.burlapandbean.com) will present The End of America with Ethan Pierce on September 22 and Iain Matthews with Ken Yates September 23.

The Keswick Theater (291 N. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com) presents Randy Newman on September 24.

The Grand Opera House (818 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 302-652-5577, www.thegrandwilmington.org) will host Red Molly in The Baby Grand on September 22.