CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Parents, take heed: Sometimes a kid who aspires to make his living in a band does it. And sometimes he's still doing it 20 years later.
Blues Traveler is set to play at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Brendan Hill understood his own parents' misgivings when he graduated from a New Jersey High school and told them he wanted to move to New York City.
"You know, there were a few arguments," he laughingly recalls of the conversations all those years ago. "They said, 'You can try your hand at it and if it doesn't work out, you have to go to college.' We got signed to our first label two months before my 19th birthday."
The "we" are fellow members of Blues Traveler, now with 10 million records sold and more than 2,000 live shows under their belts. The band comes to Charleston Sunday night as part of Regatta and in a tour to advance its newest album, "North Hollywood Shootout."
The initial record signing may have happened fast, but Hill points out the band's progress has been slow and steady. These guys have paid their dues.
"I was 13 when I started a little band in my basement," said Hill, a drummer. "John (Popper, harmonica and lead singer) joined me two years later."
Rounding out the band are Chandler Kinchla on guitars, his brother Tad Kinchla on bass and Ben Wilson on keyboards.
In New York, there were plenty of lean times, Hill said.
"We went from playing the club scene, where we'd make 10 or 15 bucks apiece for the night and doing that five nights a week," he recalled. "Then we bought a van. Then we got signed."
The band's sound has always been rock, but its latest project took a bit of a new direction with the help of producer David Bianco, who has worked with Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne and Fleetwood Mac.
The songs are introspective and, in some cases, downright romantic and the sound is clean.
"It was us trying to be as sparse as possible," Hill said, describing the five-week recording session in Austin, Texas.
"We had this idea of not bringing all the songs in at once. David has a huge breadth of knowledge and he was very amenable to that. We wrote songs together and it came so quickly - I think it's actually the most productive we've ever been in such a short period of time."
Hill said the end result is "cohesive, easy-going and not overplayed."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Parents, take heed: Sometimes a kid who aspires to make his living in a band does it. And sometimes he's still doing it 20 years later.
Brendan Hill understood his own parents' misgivings when he graduated from a New Jersey High school and told them he wanted to move to New York City.
"You know, there were a few arguments," he laughingly recalls of the conversations all those years ago. "They said, 'You can try your hand at it and if it doesn't work out, you have to go to college.' We got signed to our first label two months before my 19th birthday."
The "we" are fellow members of Blues Traveler, now with 10 million records sold and more than 2,000 live shows under their belts. The band comes to Charleston Sunday night as part of Regatta and in a tour to advance its newest album, "North Hollywood Shootout."
The initial record signing may have happened fast, but Hill points out the band's progress has been slow and steady. These guys have paid their dues.
"I was 13 when I started a little band in my basement," said Hill, a drummer. "John (Popper, harmonica and lead singer) joined me two years later."
Rounding out the band are Chandler Kinchla on guitars, his brother Tad Kinchla on bass and Ben Wilson on keyboards.
In New York, there were plenty of lean times, Hill said.
"We went from playing the club scene, where we'd make 10 or 15 bucks apiece for the night and doing that five nights a week," he recalled. "Then we bought a van. Then we got signed."
The band's sound has always been rock, but its latest project took a bit of a new direction with the help of producer David Bianco, who has worked with Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osbourne and Fleetwood Mac.
The songs are introspective and, in some cases, downright romantic and the sound is clean.
"It was us trying to be as sparse as possible," Hill said, describing the five-week recording session in Austin, Texas.
"We had this idea of not bringing all the songs in at once. David has a huge breadth of knowledge and he was very amenable to that. We wrote songs together and it came so quickly - I think it's actually the most productive we've ever been in such a short period of time."
Hill said the end result is "cohesive, easy-going and not overplayed."
"John has a very lyrical voice and he really wanted to have a couple of songs that were ballady."
And then there's the Bruce Willis ender.
"Free Willis, Ruminations from Behind Uncle Bob's Machine Shop," is the surprise kicker to the album, a six-minute, spoken-word piece with drums and harmonica.
Hill explains.
The band first met Willis back in 1989 when it was playing a regular Thursday night gig at a huge city club. Willis, in town for one of his "Die Hard" movie series, visited the club and befriended the band.
"He plays in a blues band, so every now and then when our paths crossed, he'd sit in with us," Hill said.
When it came to creating the new album, Popper suggested they invite Willis to join them, perhaps in a harmonica-heavy tune.
The idea evolved when Willis said, "Do you mind if I write something?"
"He came down to the studio and did this sort of free poetry thing," Hill said. "We made up a bluesy loop to go with it and then we laid down a harmonica track with it. It was so cool."
Alas, Willis is not touring with the group - to hear the song, you'll just have to get the new CD. All of which is OK with Hill.
"A lot of people who have heard us before - we hope they will have another listen," he said.
