Hillside Manor

urning passion into action is something people rarely do.

As a freshman at Lassiter High School, Marietta native Kyle Dickherber was forced to choose between lacrosse and band. He chose Lacrosse for his high school days but never relinquished his passion for music.

Kyle now attends Berkeley School of Music in Boston, Mass., and is enjoying his time as front man of the young - yet quickly emerging - rock band, Hillside Manor.

Alongside Dickherber are two high school buddies, Patrick McGraw, 20, on drums and Billy Justineau, 19, on piano. Recently joining them is South Carolina native and 18-year-old bass player, Josh Dockins.

In high school, Dickherber was comfortable performing solo acoustic sets here and there, and he always enjoyed hearing fan feedback on his material and performances.

But last January, when the opportunity came to perform at a lacrosse benefit gig expecting to draw a 500-person crowd, Dickherber called in some help.

"I had played with Patrick a couple of times, just messing around," Dickherber said. "He was the only guy I knew of, but he was great."

With a drummer on board, now all the duo needed was something to generate an unforgettable trio sound.

McGraw suggested Justineau because of his highly proficient piano skills and musical background. Justineau signed on.

The performance went well, so the band continued playing together.

"We basically started as Kyle Dickherber featuring Billy and Patrick," Dickherber said. "It was going great."

Using eight original songs previously written and performed by a solo Dickherber, the guys cut a demo.

From there, they performed a joint benefit concert for tsunami relief and the Lassiter lacrosse team. The band raised $2,500, splitting the funds between the two organizations.

"From there, we thought, 'We have a good thing going, here. We should make a band out of it,'" Dickherber said.

Dickherber said the name Hillside Manor describes the feeling each band member gets from playing together again after returning home from their respective locations - Dickherber from Boston; McGraw from Columbia, S.C., where he is on a full-ride music scholarship at USC; Justineau in metro Atlanta, where he is working and producing; and Dockins from Greenville, S.C.

The band name also seems to reflect Hillside Manor's sound.

After only one year together, the band has managed to turn years of expertise into smooth, down-home music worthy of a listen from both music-thirsty college students - check out "Digital" - and movie soundtrack producers - for example, "Now That I'm Around" is an emotional and easy listen that could lend itself perfectly to a contemplative scene in a hip, romantic comedy.

Hillside Manor has a handful of musical influences - John Mayer, James Taylor, Ben Folds, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Eric Clapton, to name a few - which can certainly be heard in its songs.

But there is originality to Hillside Manor. It's difficult to award credit to only one element of the band as champion of making it special.

It could be thanks to Dickherber's smooth-as-butter vocals and melodic guitar rips, or Justineau's flawlessly intricate chord progressions, leaving a taste of jazz on the pallet.

Of course, it could be the soft and steady beats coming from the drum set of McGraw, or the tight, folky harmonies, at times reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - minus the band-splitting egos.

Whatever that "it" is, the band is receiving positive reactions from fans and club promoters alike.

As a long-distance band, the boys have to rehearse and perform during breaks from school and work while touring during the summer.

Dickherber said the band performed about 25 shows last summer and will increase that to 30 or 40 shows during this summer's tour.

"Our fan base is really building up around the Southeast," he said. "Basically, we've had a few troubles along the way, but this has been successful for the most part."

Hillside even played the famous Blue Bird Café in Nashville, Tenn., where Dickherber's mom, Robbie, said the boys learned some valuable advice.

"The lady that runs the Blue Bird told them, 'There are a lot of talented people out there, but the difference between the ones that make it and the ones that don't is a little bit of luck and a whole lot of hard work,'" Ms. Dickherber said. "They are ready for that."

And that's not just a proud mom talking. Dickherber said Hillside will lay down 100 hours in the studio this summer to produce 15 new tracks, co-written by the band members. Twelve tracks will appear on their new album, due out later this summer.

Further proof of their growth is apparent by the hiring of Berkeley student and manager with CSC Management, Alex Collier; the easy Web site access; the merchandise; and the street teams spreading the Hillside word in various cities.

Dickherber said each band member shares common goals for their future, without forgetting the fact - Marietta Daily Journal (E.Murrin)

Led by the emotive vocal performance of guitarist Kyle Dickherber (a Berklee School of Music egghead with a heart of brass), Atlanta-based pop/rock quartet Hillside Manor (pictured) are determined to make their mark on the Southeast scene with their delicate melodies and mellow grooves. Dickenherber, keyboardist/guitarist Billy Justineau, drummer, and bassist Josh Dockins got it together in 2005 and started playing clubs and festivals on the circuit. Columbia-based twang-rock combo American Gun — Todd Mathis, Donald Merckle, Kevin Kimbrell, Andrew Hoose, and Jeff Crews — play a heavier, riffier, boozier mix of rock and country, as heard on their solid new disc, Dark Southern Hearts. Check out www.myspace.com/hillsidemanor and www.americangun.net for more. - T.Ballard Lesemann

Though they spend most of the year in four different locations, the members of Hillside Manor feel at home when they are together on stage and will bring this feeling of home here tonight.

“We’re such good friends and driven by music,” lead singer and guitarist Kyle Dickherber said. “We’re at home when we’re on stage.”

Dickherber is a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, while Patrick McGraw, the drummer, is studying at the University of South Carolina.

Josh Dockins, the bassist, is working in Spartanburg, S.C., and Billy Justineau works in a different location from the rest of band as well.

HILLSIDE MANOR
With Newtella, Ben Deignan and The Bridge
Where: Tasty World
When: 9 tonight
Cost: $5
Time apart makes it feel as if the members of the band are all coming home when they play together, Dickherber said.

In fact, they picked their name, in part to express this reunion in a manor or large house on a hill, separated from everything else.

The name also comes from the Counting Crows song, “Long December.”

Hillside Manor has a lot of different influences, Dickherber said. He also said that it is difficult to label their music as one particular sound.

“One of our favorite quotes from people is ‘You sound like this but not really,’” Dickherber said.

He added that he is influenced by a lot of singers and songwriters, such as Eric Clapton and James Taylor, but the other members of the band have different tastes such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ben Folds Five.

Despite their different tastes, their friendship and their love of music brings their sound together on stage.

“We get along really well. We have the exact same sense of humor and are always laughing — that transfers to the stage,” Dickherber said.

He said their songs also show a lot of contrast. Their song “My Half” is a completely acoustic, mellow piano melody while the song “Digital” is more fast-paced with a lot of movement.

He said the lyrics for the songs come from an inner dialogue where he tries to explain some of the things he sees in the world.

In the end Dickherber is not entirely sure where his lyrics come from.

“I don’t even know — I just know that’s how I feel, and it means something to me,” he said.

Hillside Manor will be playing with Newtella, Ben Deignan and The Bridge.

Deignan said that his lyrics can come from anywhere.

“I can be anything. Things I see or just some interesting groove and I write around that,” he said.

Deignan described his music as an acoustic, soulful pop-rock.

He said he has a lot of different influences, such as U2, Stevie Wonder and The Police.

- Ann Cantrell

Win Luna Halo Tickets: (Ends 08/01/06)
Join 99X Sunday School and the Atlanta Music Guide to welcome Nashville's Luna Halo Thursday August 3rd at Vinyl ! We're giving away 2 pairs of tickets to this cool show, which also features local rockers The Modern Society along with Hillside Manor. Stick around for the after party action where Nathan from Luna Halo, The Modern Society, and 99X Sunday School's Jay Harren will be DJing. There's also free drinks while they last and cool giveaways and gift bags courtesy of Luna Halo! To win, just email us at info@atlantamusicguide.com with your name and daytime phone number! Good luck! - Atlanta Muisic Guide