Jason Hill (singer)

Jason Hill
Jason Hill performing with his band Louis XIV at Emo's in Austin during South by Southwest (2008)
Background information
Genres	Rock, Alternative Rock, Indie Rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, piano, synthesizers, drums, bass, string and horn arrangements, drum programming
Labels	Atlantic,Sony ATV,Pineapple Recording Group, Vice Records, Universal Music Publishing, Fancy Animal Records
Associated acts	Dishwater, Convoy, Louis XIV, Vicky Cryer, New York Dolls
Website	http://www.fancyanimalrecords.com

Jason Staehler Hill is the lead singer, lead guitarist, multi instrumentalist and producer/engineer/mixer for the band Louis XIV/Atlantic Records.^[1] He produced and engineered all of the Louis XIV music. Since 2006 (as a producer/engineer/mixer/songwriter), he has worked with The Killers, New York Dolls, Dom Howard of Muse, The Virgins, David Bowie, Sky Ferriera, Ariel Pink, Macy Gray, Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun, Brandon Flowers, The Bronx, Mark Stoermer of The Killers, Sara Lee Guthrie, Nick Littlemore of Empire of the Sun and Pneu, Various Cruelties and others. Hill is credited as a musician on various records playing: guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, vocals, glockenspiel, string arranger, horn arranger, and drum programmer. He sang and worked on The Killers 2007 album Sam's Town as well as producing and writing on The Virgins 2007 ep ( featuring "Rich Girls" Rolling Stones top 100 songs of 2008). In 2005, Louis XIV's," Finding Out True Love is Blind" was a top 10 radio hit in the USA, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard charts. The follow up single called "God killed the queen" reached number 16 on the Billboard alternative radio charts. In 2009, the song "Air Traffic control" reached billboards 24 position. He has appeared on most all the Late Night television talk shows, including 3 performances on the Conan O'Brien show, 2 appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel, Late Night with David Letterman, Last Call with Carson Daly and The Jonathon Ross show in the UK. Louis XIV have headlined tours around the world many times as well as toured with the David Bowie, The Kills, and Killers among many others as well as SXSW festival, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Glastonbury, Leeds, Reading, and T in the Park festivals, Japans Summersonic festival, among other major French, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian festivals. In 2007 David Bowie asked Louis XIV to play with him at an Aids in Africa benefit in New York City alongside Alicia Keys.

Between February–June 2009, Hill toured with his band Louis XIV alongside The Killers throughout Europe, and in Australia with The Kills. At the end of the tour, he and other bandmate Brian Karscig announced they were taking a break from Louis XIV to work on other music, with Hill focusing on producing.

In February 2010 Hill moved to Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills and built a recording studio called Ulysses. It is built around a hunting lodge originally erected in 1916, with Hill building additional rooms for the live room and rooms to hold the plate reverbs. It houses a vintage Neve console once owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) and houses a wide variety of vintage recording gear. The house is also rumored to have once been the home of legendary piano player and Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew member, Leon Russell during the 1960s.

In August 2010 Hill began work producing the upcoming album, Dancing Backwards in High Heels for the iconic New York Dolls in Newcastle, England as well as doing two tours in Europe and playing the Bowery Ballroom in New York City guesting as the New York Dolls bass player. The album received 8/10 stars in Spin magazine. The New York City show was released as a live album and DVD New York Dolls Live at the Bowery.

In April 2011 Hill announced in numerous European press while on tour with playing bass with The New York Dolls that he was working on an album under the name Vicky Cryer. Vicky Cryer played their first show in Los Angeles in August 2011 and a short tour in 2012 with bandmates Dominic Howard(Muse) and Alex Carapetis playing double drums together, Mark Stoermer (Killers) on bass/guitar, Nick Fyffe(Jamiroqui) on bass, Jeff Kite (Keyboards), Sam Gendell (Sax) and Jason Hill on vocals and guitar.

In 2012 Hill signed a publishing contract with Universal Music and formed Talking Machines as well as Kubrick Hill Music, two new publishing companies administered by Universal Music Publishing. His previous music with Louis XIV was administered by Famous Music/ Sony ATV from a publishing deal made in 2005.

Hill also owns a record label, The Pineapple Recording Group, which jointly released with Atlantic Records all of the Louis XIV albums and was formed in 1997. In January 2013 Hill started his second record label, Fancy Animal Records, concentrating on collaborative releases of musicians and in April 2013 released Vicky Cryer's debut ""The Synthetic Love of Emotional Engineering"". Reviews included NME magazine calling Vicky Cryer "Awesome" and Spin Magazine said,"It's a trippy, sax-addled journey into the depths orchestrated by a man with a flare for rock'n'roll strangeness."

Hill also directed several music videos including Louis XIV's The Hunt and Pledge of Allegiance as well as Vicky Cryer's The Synthetic Love of Emotional Engineering.

Jason is currently working on multiple projects including a new album and band project with Macy Gray, has several songs coming out on Sky Ferreira's much-delayed debut album I'm Not Alright, and has also been working with Ariel Pink.

History

Hill was born and raised in San Diego, California living for a couple of years in San Francisco while attending San Francisco State University. In 1998, Hill formed the band Convoy, releasing their first album only in cassette form which was referred to The Red Tape (copyright on tape is 1997) featuring the song, "Weekends", "Texarkana(Eastern Standard Time)". After releasing their first full length album, " The Pineapple Recording Sessions", Convoy signed a recording contract with Hybrid/Atlantic Records. Convoy toured America with The White Stripes on the "Your Southern can is mine tour" in 2001. The follow up album "Black Licorice" featured the radio single "Caught up in You" / top 10 alternative radio. By 2003 Convoy had broken up and members Brian Karscig and Mark Maigaard joined with Jason to form Louis XIV while living in seclusion in a small apartment in Paris, France.

Louis XIV formed in Spring of 2003 and to date has released 3 LPs Louis XIV (2003), The Best Little Secrets are Kept(2005), Slick Dogs and Ponies(2008) along with 4 Ep's Blue(2004), Pink(2004), Illegal Tender(2005), The Distances From Everyone to You(2007). Originally breaking in the Uk with praises from Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) in NME magazine and radio play on the BBC Radio One by Zane Lowe and Mary Anne Hobbes. Louis XIV would garner national radio play with Finding Out true Love is Blind reaching #1 on such radio stations as KROQ and Live 105 before signing to Atlantic Records in 2004. In 2013 Louis XIV reformed briefly to tour Europe and Mexico with The Killers along with an appearance in Las Vegas.

Louis XIV UK reviews of The Best Little Secrets are Kept included:

"You really have to experience this"--Artrocker

"Effortlessy witty and dripping with attitude"--Rocksound

"Music to flunk rehab to"--NME

References