Premier Guitar | 4 years ago

French-Canadian Steve Hill has been a professional musician since the age of 17. Sometimes as a sideman, sometimes as a frontman, but always onstage with a guitar in his hands and a smile on his face. About 10 years ago, Steve Hill released an album, and it was DOA—it bombed and nothing happened with it (his words, not ours).

“I don’t know how to do anything else besides music, so I had to make a living and I own a studio so figured I’ll do some solo shows and I’ll record a solo album to sell at those shows,” says Hill.

That album was called Solo Recordings, Vol. 1 and it’s his best-selling record to date. It completely changed his career and it really helped him find his artistic voice. Vol. 1 started out very simple—he sang, played guitar, and stomped his feet. About halfway through that record, he added a kick drum. Then he bought a hi-hat that was used on a few of the last songs recorded for Vol. 1. And for every acoustic song he’s recorded, he’s used a can of coins tapped to his feet as added percussion.

The success of the Vol. 1 led him to record subsequent albums Vol. 2 and Vol. 3. Each of those records incorporated more and more instrumentation falling on the hands, feet, and shoulders of Hill to pull off both onstage and in the studio. But this wasn’t his artistic vision. “It’s all accidents—I never planned for this. I never wanted to be a one-man band [laughs],” says Hill. “125+ shows a year provides a great learning environment. Plus, when I’m not performing, I’m in the studio fine-tuning my approach and working out new material. Everything I recorded for those first three albums was performed live with no overdubs. I wouldn’t allow it [laughs]!”

And what’s the typical reaction he sees onstage: “Some people are mesmerized, and some people are horrified.”

In this episode, the multi-tasking Steve Hill virtually invites PG’s Chris Kies into his Canada-based recording studio. The Juno-Award-winning guitarist [Blues Album of the Year (2015)] details why he slides vintage Teisco gold-foils on his holy grail Gibsons and Fenders, explains the evolution of his setup that now covers bass and drums, and proves that one man can get the job done of three.

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[Brought to you by D’Addario XL Strings: https://www.daddario.com/XLRR]

​(All Steve Hill's video, audio, and photos captured and edited by Stephan Ritch.)

00:00 - Intro
01:22 - YouTube Wormhole
01:58 - 1959 Gibson Les Paul Junior w/ Teisco Gold-Foil
03:54 - Steve Hill's One-Man-Band Evolution
06:36 - 1956 Gibson ES-225
11:28 - Audience's Reaction
12:19 - Limitations Playing Guitar & Bass
17:13 - Headstock Breaks While Drumming?!
19:09 - 1962 Fender Jazzmaster
23:51 - Collings 002H T
27:45 - 1964 Gibson SG Junior
29:50 - 1956 Gibson ES-225 Demo
31:54 - Vintage Fender Amps & Pedalboard

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