Lost Classics: Percy Hill – Color In Bloom
It’s a shame that so many bands exist, explode on the local scene, and eventually fade without ever reaching the general public. Makes one wonder about all the great music you can miss in your travels. Percy Hill was, and will always be one of my favorite live shows, and no matter how many times I play their self released album Color In Bloom it never gets tired or loses its energy and appeal like some of my other favorites from the late 90s and early 2000s have. I remember the first time a friend took me to a Percy Hill Show at the Paradise in Allston. I couldn’t believe my ears. Instantly lovable. Takes elements from so many of my favorites, at times I hear Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Paul Simon, George Benson. Jazz, soul, jam band, at times disco backbeats, perfection. These songs build and build until they overflow with energy and amazing hooks, and even the worst dancers in the world (ahem yours truly) can’t help but start moving their feet. As a DJ at a local bar I sometimes sneak in a Percy Hill tune. At times somebody comes up to shake my hand because they are so happy they heard it, but even if nobody knows who it is, they always enjoy it. It would be easy for Percy Hill to over-do it with the catchy hooks, but that’s the true magic of these compositions. They never over-do it. I’ve always hoped for a Percy Hill reunion tour so I can stop telling so many people what they missed out on.
Percy Hill was founded at UNH in the early 90s. They went through several lineup changes, but the one I came to know and love consisted of Aaron Katz on drums/vocals, John Leccese on bass, and original members Nate Wilson on keys, and Joe Farrell on guitars (I know he sings a few of my favorite songs not sure if he got writing credit). Color In Bloom won Percy Hill a Jammy Award in 2000.
Years later after Percy Hill had faded into the sunset I went to see the “Percy Hill Trio” at the Paradise Lounge. They replaced they keys with a harmonica. I took all my friends who I’d been annoying with Percy Hill stories to show them what they’d been missing. It wasn’t the Percy Hill I had come to know and love, but it was nice to see them again. I don’t know where all the members are current day. Aaron Katz has done some solo work, I think Nate Wilson toured with Assembly of Dust but I could be wrong. If I was anything but a lazy blogger I’d track them down for you.
I dare someone to listen to these songs and not like them. You’d have to be a soggy weather skunk to not like Percy Hill. Leave me a comment if you remember Percy Hill or have any updates on what they are up to these days.
Buy or download Color In Bloom at Amazon here
Percy Hill on Myspace
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About the author
I'm a music fiend. There is no life worth living without music in it. I have a soft spot in my heart for just about every type of music, but I especially love underground/indie rock, New Wave 80s, folk, electronic, and old school hip hop. In general I cover the newer music for The Giant Panther, with John being the expert on the classics, but there are few bands out there we both don't love.
| This entry was posted by Ryan on March 15, 2010 at 4:39 pm, and is filed under Lost Classics. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 1 week ago
I listened to Color in Bloom last night for the first time in a while, and I noticed that the liner notes said it was recorded in 1988. This seemed wrong, so I Googled it today to get the actual date (1998, as I had remembered) and came across this post. I was very disappointed when they finally disbanded, but I’ve continued to follow three of them in Assembly of Dust (John Lecesse, Nate Wilson [though he's now left to pursue the Nate Wilson Group full time, which focuses on more of a '70s hard rock sound], and Adam Terrell, the guitarist who was always listed on the recordings he appears on as a guest but who was a member of the band for every show that I saw them play). I haven’t seen Joe Farrell or Aaron Katz play since the end of Percy Hill (I didn’t get a chance to see any of the Trio shows), and I haven’t really heard much about what they’re doing now, or whether or not they’re still performing.