29
Jun
2004
Unless you follow the developments in the world of guitar, chances are excellent you've never heard of Johnny Hiland. But if you like intense country-flavored guitar, you'd be remiss not to check him out when he headlines Muscatine's Independence Day festivities.
Hiland will be performing on Sunday night in downtown Muscatine. And if you can't break away from the Blues Fest to go to Muscatine on Sunday, Mojo's in the River Music Experience in Davenport will also be hosting Hiland this weekend, from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday for an informal reception. Griggs Music will have him on Monday for a guitar workshop.
Why all this fuss? Well, the 29-year-old Hiland is a hot property. His self-titled debut comes out next month, on Steve Vai's Favored Nations Records, and that should give you some sense of Hiland's technical acumen.
Based in Nashville, Hiland has a blistering hybrid style that would feel right at home on a country, blues, or rockabilly record. Elements of jazz and bluegrass sneak in.
He's performed with a wide variety of talent, including doing session work for Ricky Skaggs, Randy Travis, and Hank Williams III, as well as playing on-stage with the likes of guitar heroes Vai, Joe Satriani, Vernon Reid, and Brent Mason; funk legend George Clinton; Ted Nugent; Toby Keith; and Sammy Hagar. Les Paul has praised his licks. He's appeared on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion and has been featured in Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar magazines.
Oh, yes: He's also a noted guitar instructor and has written and illustrated a children's book. And he's legally blind.
But Hiland isn't content to be an in-demand Nashville session player. He wants to be known for his compositions as well as his playing, and that's why he made a solo record.
If the names Vai, Satriani, and Guitar Player didn't clue you in, Hiland is clearly one of those guitarists' guitarists, and a hefty demo shows that his instrumental compositions are full of technical wizardry. But it's not just empty, fleet-fingered noodling; Hiland's grooves are soulful, and his clean tone actually has a voice, which is essential without a vocal track. Unlike most guitarists' tunes, you can actually dance to Hiland's music; the playing rarely gets in the way of a solid composition.
The twang is prevalent in the music, but it never quite seems comfortable in the country genre. That impression is backed up by Hiland himself, who told Face magazine that he's trying to bring "chicken pickin'" guitar to a wider audience: "If you can use certain elements of chicken pickin' guitar and maybe use a Van Halen rhythm section, y'know, more of a rock-based rhythm section ... that might just be different enough to tweak the ears of the common listener."
Johnny Hiland will perform at 7 p.m. at the Muscatine riverfront, near River Drive and Chestnut. Ernie Peniston will be playing two sets, at 3:30 and 5 p.m. Fireworks are at dusk. Hiland will also be appearing at a July 4 brunch in Muscatine, from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, call the Muscatine Convention & Visitors Bureau at (563)263-8895.
Hiland will also conduct a guitar workshop at 7 p.m. Monday, July 5, at Griggs Music, 3849 Brady Street in Davenport.
For more information on Hiland, visit (http://www.johnnyhiland.com).
Hiland will be performing on Sunday night in downtown Muscatine. And if you can't break away from the Blues Fest to go to Muscatine on Sunday, Mojo's in the River Music Experience in Davenport will also be hosting Hiland this weekend, from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday for an informal reception. Griggs Music will have him on Monday for a guitar workshop.
Why all this fuss? Well, the 29-year-old Hiland is a hot property. His self-titled debut comes out next month, on Steve Vai's Favored Nations Records, and that should give you some sense of Hiland's technical acumen.
Based in Nashville, Hiland has a blistering hybrid style that would feel right at home on a country, blues, or rockabilly record. Elements of jazz and bluegrass sneak in.
He's performed with a wide variety of talent, including doing session work for Ricky Skaggs, Randy Travis, and Hank Williams III, as well as playing on-stage with the likes of guitar heroes Vai, Joe Satriani, Vernon Reid, and Brent Mason; funk legend George Clinton; Ted Nugent; Toby Keith; and Sammy Hagar. Les Paul has praised his licks. He's appeared on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion and has been featured in Guitar Player and Vintage Guitar magazines.
Oh, yes: He's also a noted guitar instructor and has written and illustrated a children's book. And he's legally blind.
But Hiland isn't content to be an in-demand Nashville session player. He wants to be known for his compositions as well as his playing, and that's why he made a solo record.
If the names Vai, Satriani, and Guitar Player didn't clue you in, Hiland is clearly one of those guitarists' guitarists, and a hefty demo shows that his instrumental compositions are full of technical wizardry. But it's not just empty, fleet-fingered noodling; Hiland's grooves are soulful, and his clean tone actually has a voice, which is essential without a vocal track. Unlike most guitarists' tunes, you can actually dance to Hiland's music; the playing rarely gets in the way of a solid composition.
The twang is prevalent in the music, but it never quite seems comfortable in the country genre. That impression is backed up by Hiland himself, who told Face magazine that he's trying to bring "chicken pickin'" guitar to a wider audience: "If you can use certain elements of chicken pickin' guitar and maybe use a Van Halen rhythm section, y'know, more of a rock-based rhythm section ... that might just be different enough to tweak the ears of the common listener."
Johnny Hiland will perform at 7 p.m. at the Muscatine riverfront, near River Drive and Chestnut. Ernie Peniston will be playing two sets, at 3:30 and 5 p.m. Fireworks are at dusk. Hiland will also be appearing at a July 4 brunch in Muscatine, from 10 a.m. to noon. For more information, call the Muscatine Convention & Visitors Bureau at (563)263-8895.
Hiland will also conduct a guitar workshop at 7 p.m. Monday, July 5, at Griggs Music, 3849 Brady Street in Davenport.
For more information on Hiland, visit (http://www.johnnyhiland.com).
