https://petegalub.bandcamp.com/
Pete (pgalub@yahoo.com)

Roots-rock from the wilds of Pennsylvania.

San Francisco singer/songwriter Bob Hillman is back with a new album after more than ten years away from the business.

After over a decade away from the stage and studio, Bob Hillman returns with the full-length album Lost Soul. The album’s title is ironic in the sense that, with his longtime musical mentor ex-Plimsoul Peter Case at the helm, the San Francisco-based singer/songwriter has found his way out of the creative wilderness. He taps back into literate, tuneful songwriting that defined his earlier material but moves beyond the Americana-leaning folk-rock of his past to embrace a contemporary sonic landscape; the result is a less crafted, more visceral album. 
 
“When Peter Case agreed to produce Lost Soul,” says Hillman, “I saw it as an opportunity to work with someone who could take my songs to places I could never have thought of on my own.” They started by discussing their vision in the context of albums like Vega’s 99.9F and David Bowie’s Low. Then, a last-minute cancellation by the first guitarist Case had brought in left an opening for Joseph Arthur, whose electric guitar edge and loop textures took Lost Soul to a new level. Another important aspect was that—for the first time ever—Hillman recorded 100% live—playing guitar and singing along with the band, and doing only a few takes of each track. “Peter helped these great musicians find sounds and shape their parts; my only job was to deliver the most powerful performance possible.”

Beyond the opportunity to work with the man Hillman calls “one of the songwriters who inspired me to become a songwriter,” another motivating factor was a successful crowdfunding campaign. Hillman’s Kickstarter reached its initial, possibly-too-modest goal in two days and eventually generated nearly $20,000. “Crowdfunding can work for the financing part,” he says, “but it’s also great for gauging interest among your friends and fans. After so many years off the 

During Hillman’s initial run as a recording artist in the early 2000s, he made two albums with Tommy West—famous for his hit-making with Jim Croce and many others—and toured extensively with Suzanne Vega. He also earned praise from people like Susan Stamberg of All Things Considered, who said: “Welcome To My Century is a storytelling pot of skilled musicianship and serious yet often comical compositions that are sure to please…that song about War and Peace is enough to make you want to pick up War and Peace and start reading it.” Acoustic Live echoed: “Hillman sings in a deadpan vocal style and brings a dry sense of humor to the table; so dry that some listeners may not realize just how clever and insightful a lyricist he can be. But Hillman’s lyrics have a lot of meat on their bones.”

While Hillman is happy to be back where he belongs—making meaningful music with great musicians—his ambitions are a bit different from the old days, when conquering the world still held some appeal. “I just want as many people as possible to hear these songs,” he says. But Lost Soul is about more than just the songs or sound. How many people are given the chance to return to their passion after so many years away? As one fan put it in a recent email:

“You know, I think seeing you ‘back’ could be the most inspiring thing I’ve come across in years. After sleeping on it, I’m rethinking all the things I thought I would never do again.”  

Classic writing chops combine with idiosyncratic impulses to the the create sharp, lyric-driven New Wave Folk song on New York singer-songwriter Andrew Vladeck’s upcoming single, “You’ll Get Yours” – produced by Boston’s Sam Kassirer (Lake Street Dive/Josh Ritter) with the company of multi-instrumentalist Sean Trischka. 

“You’ll Get Yours” is a protest song, and hopefully, what a good rock song should be – cathartic. Andrew writes, “it’s for those liars and manipulators who only increase human misery in the world." Andrew tries to honor Chuck D.'s (Public Enemy) advice on topical songwriting, to the effect of, "if you teach the class you must rock the boulevard." 

The accompanying music video is a Bauhaus homage filmed on the Day of Totality by award-winning filmmaker David Doobinin.

Vladeck’s last record, released under his “Fireships” moniker, features classic songwriting with contemporary folk-rock orchestration, with finger-picked electric guitar and songs that recalled great NYC songwriters Lou Reed and Paul Simon. Voted Best of 2016 by The New York Music Daily, calling it “imaginatively arranged Americana rock and chamber pop with a fearlessly aware, Dylanesque, populist lyricism.”  Fireships was lauded in The Huffington Post, Guitar World, Daytrotter, charted on college radio, and toured across the US and Europe. Contributors included legendary composer David Amram, Sydney Wayser (Clara Nova), Adam Levy and others. 

Vladeck has been a fixture on the New York music scene since the early 1990s. He has released four albums followed by US and European tours. He has opened for or shared bills with The National, Andrew Bird, Norah Jones, Jeff Buckley, Ani DiFranco, Soulive, Marah, Beth Orton, Moe, Alejandro Escovedo, and many more.  He’s won First Place in the International Songwriting Competition and received awards from Billboard, the Independent Music Awards, and was named The Deli Magazine's NYC Artist of the Month. Vladeck is also a founding member of The Honey Brothers (which released four albums, played the national festival circuit, and toured four continents), and the banjo player for “epic, barnyard folk” band Balthrop, Alabama.

2018 brings plans for releasing various singles followed by an LP that integrates work with several different producers of renown, including Grammy Winner Malcolm Burn, Grammy Nominee Felix McTeigue, Roger Greenawalt, and Kaia Fischer. Tour dates in the US and Europe to follow.

I love songs. I love writing them, hearing them, talking about them. All of it. They'll break you wide open and show you beauty you forgot was there.

Long traveling singer songwriter, covered by many, including Judy Collins, The BrewFlies, Stone House Project, Daisy Chain and others. Just released full album "Best Of Many Days."

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