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 is currently recording their fourth album and third full-length CD for release in 2009.
More information on Hillstomp and where to pickup their releases is available at www.HILLSTOMP.com.
Instrumentation
Henry Kammerer: Vocals and Slide Guitar, Banjo
John Johnson: Bucket, Cans and BBQ Lids and Vocals
Discography
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
Links
| http://www.Hillstomp.com |