CMJ: Dave Hill Meets The Bands On The Bill
Before his appearance at the Greene Space for Soundcheck's CMJ showcase, comedian Dave Hill joined John in the studio to preview the three bands he'll perform with on Friday evening. Here's how he reacted to the three songs we spun for him.
The Luyas, "Fifty Fifty"
"At first, no pun intended, I was kind of 'fifty-fifty' about it. I could have gone either way, because when it started there wasn't going to be a guitar solo," says Hill, who often wields a guitar in his stand-up act . "But once the vocals came in, that pulled it together and I was into it."
Moments later, Hill declared himself as "100 percent on-board with 'Fifty Fifty.'"
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MNDR, "Faster Horses"
Hill asked for clarification on the artist's name, and he's not the first person to be confused by her stage name. Amanda Warner is a dancefloor-oriented singer and musician, but she performs under the name MNDR (pronounced "M-N-D-R").
"My first thought when the music started was, 'Amanda Warner?' With that name, she'll just has an acoustic guitar.'"
Amanda's voice -- and her own backing vocals -- won Hill over. "I like it," he declared, then gently noted that the addition of a guitar solo could be awesome.
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Debo Band, "Asha Gedawo"
Before we even played him any music, Hill was sold on Debo Band, with John listing the band's influences as James Brown and Ethiopian pop from the 1960s and early '70s. But he liked the clip we played him, too.
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For tickets to Soundcheck's CMJ Showcase with Dave Hill, The Luyas, MNDR and Debo Band, visit The Greene Space online. Fair warning: Dave Hill will play guitar during his stand-up set and promises "to bring the heat."
