Hillstomp

Artist Information

Biography

NEW NEWS:

Hillstomp’s album “The Woman That Ended The World” was chosen as the Best Local Album of 2005 by the Willamette Week, (Portland’s largest weekly) ahead of indie favorites The Decemberists and Sleater-Kinney, and rated Top 50 of 2006 by UK’s Blues Matters magazine. In 2007, Hillstomp's "Roustabout" was chosen by IL BLUES (Italy's oldest Blues magazine) for their 25th-Anniversary edition's compilation CD.

ABOUT HILLSTOMP:

Drawing heavily from north Mississippi trance blues, a bit from the hills of Appalachia and stealing energy from punkabilly, Portland Oregon duo Hillstomp create a raucous hill-country blues-stomp with a fiery youth and vigor. It comes clanging and tumbling out of an assortment of vintage mics, buckets, cans and BBQ lids drenched in rambunctious slide guitar.

In the spring of 2001, Hillstomp was born in a basement (of course) in Portland, OR. It was the bastard child of Henry Kammerer and John Johnson's mutual need to make music and drink beer. Within a few weeks the Guitar/"Drum" duo played their first open mic to a rousing and slightly scary response. Unfortunately, John's drumset (cardboard box, plastic bucket and Weber grill lid) didn't survive the ordeal, so the pair went back under the basement stairs to build some new drums and practice.

In June 2002, Hillstomp emerged from the dust and dark with a visceral music that makes you want to stomp your feet, shake your butt and love your neighbor. Whether playing original songs, traditionals, or the occasional revamped blues classic, Hillstomp has duct-taped together a distinctive sound that quickly bubbled upward in Portland's roots, blues and alternative-music circles. Their do-it-yourself brand of minimal gothic junkbox blues differs drastically from the 12-bar blues style listened to by your uncle. A whole different approach.

Following two E.P's, in 2004, Hillstomp revealed their first full-length self-released album "One Word" to a sold out and nearly rabid crowd at the White Eagle Saloon in Portland. The album was met with favorable reviews from far and wide, and obtained airplay at over 150 radio stations across the USA.

While Hillstomp toured behind this CD, they found the time to record, "The Woman that Ended the World," which was released on October 11, 2005. The album received rave reviews locally (Willamette Week), nationally (Magnet), overseas (UK, Norway & Italy), and debuted at #15 on the USA’s Roots Airplay chart.

In 2006, Hillstomp was invited overseas to the Open House Blues Festival in Belfast and the Spitz Festival of Blues in London. In Ireland and England, they played with Seasick Steve, Hayseed Dixie, Jawbone and Son of Dave and were featured on the BBC.

Hillstomp’s Live album, "After Two But Before Five," was released in July 2007, capturing the energy of their live performance while introducing new songs in Hillstomp’s growing repertoire of “Bucket’n’Slide Rock’n’Roll”. They returned to Europe, performing at the Mojo Festival in Rome, Italy.

Hillstomp tours non-stop in the United States: They’ve developed fanbases in cities up and down the West coast and have performed as far east as Detroit. Along the way, they’ve shared bills with Split Lip Rayfield, Avett Brothers, Scott Biram, Michelle Malone, Robert Belfour, Southern Culture on the Skids, Devil Makes Three, I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House, Two Gallants, and O'Death, to name a few. They’ve also showcased their live act on local radio shows & festivals across the country including OPB’s LiveWire and KDNK's Blues Fest in Carbondale, Colorado.

Hillstomp just released their 4th album called "Darker the Night" on In Music We Trust records and recently opened the west coast tour for the Reverend Horton Heat. They are touring non-stop through the fall and winter and are planning a European tour for May 2011.

Instrumentation

Henry Kammerer: Vocals and Slide Guitar, Banjo
John Johnson: Bucket, Cans and BBQ Lids and Vocals

Discography

2010-"Darker the Night" Full Length
2007 - "After Two But Before Five" Full Length - - Live recording w/ new material
2005-"The Woman That Ended The World" Full Length
2004-"One Word" Full Length
2004-Roustabout CD Single
2004-The Cree.p. EP

Official Website

http://www.Hillstomp.com

Audio

• Banjo Song #1
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• Cardiac Arrest in D
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• Jumper on the Line
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• Lucy's Lament
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• Wood Seller
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• Goin'Down South
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• Dark Clouds Arisin'
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• NE Portland 3am
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Video

Lay Down Satan

Photo Gallery

Press

• The Woman That Ended The World - - Review [+ Show ]
  

  Hillstomp actually pulls it off...It's raw and evocative of the music recorded by the late Burnside ...Hillstomp actually pulls it off...It's raw and evocative of the music recorded by the late Burnside and Junior Kimbrough…What these guys lack or lose in being closer to the Pacific than the Big Muddy, they more than make up for by raising the kind of racket heard on their sophomore album, The Woman that Ended the World.

• FOUR BLUES ICONOCLASTS: Hillstomp [+ Show ]
  

  This Portland duo is cut from similar cloth as the North Mississippi Allstars and the Black Keys, bu...This Portland duo is cut from similar cloth as the North Mississippi Allstars and the Black Keys, but they’re just a good ol’ jug band cranking out lo-fi punk blues on homemade instruments and vintage gear. The Woman That Ended the World, Henry Christain and John Johnson’s second self-released album, is flying off the merch table as they tour with Split Lip Rayfield and I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House.
  
  
  http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=5089
  
  

• Portland Album of the Year [+ Show ]
  

  1. Hillstomp, The Woman That Ended the World (self-released) For The Woman That Ended the World t...1. Hillstomp, The Woman That Ended the World (self-released)
  
  For The Woman That Ended the World to live up to the promise of its packaging—a gut-wrenching cover by Mona Superstar and a devastating title—the guys in Hillstomp would have to make the best blues album of the 21st century. And that's exactly what they have done. Here, on the band's sophomore release, these guys turn the trance blues of R.L. Burnside into their own. Henry Kammerer's running guitar lines betray his age, John Johnson's booming percussion betrays the physics of his ramshackle kit, and the stomping "Shake It" betrays the genre a bit by introducing a disco beat. But the vocals (delivered mostly by Kammerer) are pure, true blues, the sound of a wronged man breathin' through his teeth. We all owe that woman a drink.
  
  2. The Decemberists, Picaresque (Kill Rock Stars)
  
  3. Sleater-Kinney, The Woods (Sub Pop)
  
  

• After Two But Before Five - - Review [+ Show ]
  

  The members of Hillstomp raise as much hell as two men sitting down possibly can. Drenched in sweat ...The members of Hillstomp raise as much hell as two men sitting down possibly can. Drenched in sweat and possessed by the spirit of the Mississippi Delta, the Portland duo of Henry Kammerer and John Johnson uses a rickety setup of real and found instruments to whip up a raucuous yet trance-inducing racket.”

• The Woman That Ended The World - - Review [+ Show ]
  

  Shake loose some particles from punk 'n' roll, sprinkle 'em all over some stompin' Hill Country musi...Shake loose some particles from punk 'n' roll, sprinkle 'em all over some stompin' Hill Country music rambunctiously played on hot slide guitar and plastic buckets, a handful of cans and sung through vintage mics and what you get is Hillstomp. The Portland, Ore. band returns with its sophomore outing, an intense, hyperkinetic 42-minute ride that expands and improves on the vision the boys (guitarist/vocalist Henry Kammerer and percussionist/vocalist John Johnson) so expertly revealed on their debut outing One Word.
  The joyful noise lasts throughout the 11 songs present here but it's impossible not to stomp your feet, claps your hands and dance your way through the album's first half as Kammerer and Johnson tear through "Momma Told Papa," "In The Hole," "Shake It" and even a rip-snortin' version of Muddy Waters' "Can't Be Satisfied" that'll move you into givin' a unbridled hoot or holler on nearly every beat.
  Hillstomp pays respect to tradition with that (and with Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Done Told Everybody") but also writes its own entries in the ongoing story of the blues with "Jackson Parole Board Blues," "Boom Boom Room East Blues" and the simply beautiful "Deep Knee Blues."
  In the wide world of the blues there are legends, wanna-bes and those who take the art one more step forward and Hillstomp has proven here that it is firmly entrenched in the latter camp.
  

• The Woman That Ended The World - - Review [+ Show ]
  

  We were as impressed as Hell with the last Hillstomp release. The Woman That Ended The World picks ...We were as impressed as Hell with the last Hillstomp release. The Woman
  That Ended The World picks up where that album left off.
  Guitarist/vocalist Henry Kammerer and drummer/vocalist John Johnson record
  sparse foot-tapping music that could easily appeal to a lot of people.
  Like the Flat Duo Jets, these guys manage to do a lot using only the bare
  essentials. Whether they're playing redneck-inspired dance numbers or
  softer moody blues, these guys manage to stay squarely focused over the
  course of these eleven tunes. If there is one word to describe Hillstomp
  that word would probably be...unpretentious. Another thoroughly satisfying
  album. Features "Poor Black Mattie," "Can't Be Satisfied," "Jackson Parole
  Board Blues," and "N.E. Portland 3 a.m." (Rating: 5)

• The Woman That Ended The World - - Review [+ Show ]
  

  The bandmates balance the primitive drone of the Southern hills with a concentrated postpunk attack ...The bandmates balance the primitive drone of the Southern hills with a concentrated postpunk attack that keeps the music moving at a fever pitch. Before rock and roll, people danced to the blues, as Hillstomp reminds us with a thunderous groove.

• One Word - - Review [+ Show ]
  

  Hillstomp is the duo of Henry Kammerer (vocals, guitars) and John Johnson (percussive stuff, vocals)...Hillstomp is the duo of Henry Kammerer (vocals, guitars) and John Johnson (percussive stuff, vocals). Together, the two create killer blues infected hillbilly music. The overall sound is sparse yet energetic. Kammerer and Johnson do a lot with a little. The percussion is tight and effective...and the slide guitars sound absolutely great. The duo's original tunes sound like they were written by some of the great black Mississippi blues artists of the 1930s. Kammerer has a great rough vocal style which is perfectly suited for this style of music. This is a great little eleven track album that will cause even the most jaded listeners to start tapping their feet. Instantly addictive, One Word is an instant underground hit. Superb classics include "Graverobber's Blues," "Nope," "Lucy's Lament," and "Landlord Blues." Great stuff... (Rating: 5)
  

• Hillstomp@The Brick [+ Show ]
  

  For example, the hipster haven Portland, Oregon, spawned Hillstomp, a down-home duo whose minimalist...For example, the hipster haven Portland, Oregon, spawned Hillstomp, a down-home duo whose minimalist blues tunes make 12-bar shuffles seem like epics. Using a slide guitar, a drum set made out of buckets and grill lids, and two high, lonesome voices, Hillstomp can make any club show feel like a front-porch hootenanny. It pays homage to the pre-amplification era without cowboy-costume gimmickry or stiff, stifling reverence, playing its primitive melodies with punk energy.

• Las Vegas City Life [+ Show ]
  

  ...Even for blues nuts, Hillstomp doesn't sound like anything that's come before it. While Johnson b......Even for blues nuts, Hillstomp doesn't sound like anything that's come before it. While Johnson bangs out clanking beats on his modified kit -- it now includes tin cans, soup pots and a barbecue-grill lid -- Kammerer slips and slides around his guitar like a kid on a waterslide. Melodies zip and splash about. Mammoth grooves seemingly appear out of nowhere. It's all primitive and natural, like it sprung up from the ground. If it weren't for the fact that Krammerer's vocals are all distorted and his lyrics occasionally touch on modern ideals, the group's debut disc, One Word, would come off like some lost Alan Lomax field recording.
  

Setlist

Our sets are flexible.

We can play as little as one 30 minute set and as long as 2 one hour sets.

Generally, 1 set an hour long is ideal.

Our sets consist of about 70% original material with the remainder drawn from traditional blues and appalachian material, songs from the north hill country of Mississippi (R.L. Burnside, Fred McDowell etc), and the occassional blues classic.

Basic Requirements

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