Featured Artists

Arty Hill & The Long Gone Daddys

By twangthang ⋅ May 11, 2008 ⋅ Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

When you think of Baltimore, Maryland, hardcore honky-tonk music probably doesn’t come to mind. Well, I’m here to tell you, in this case, they go hand-in-hand because Baltimore is home to Arty Hill and The Long Gone Daddys.

Here’s what others are saying about Arty:

“Arty Hill’s songs are salted with tears and steeped in the rich brew of classic country and western that in the right hands, never loses it power.” - John Lewis, Baltimore Magazine”

“[Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys] make music in the spirit of classic country - Hank Williams, Johnny Cash - but add a strong dose of ’50s rockabilly to the mix. It’s the kind of music that makes you alternatively want to get up and throw your sweetheart around the dance floor and drown your sorrows in another pint of beer.” - Style Magazine

“[Arty Hill’s] music is grounded, genuine. When he sings alone… a vulnerable sweetness emerges and it is hard to resist.” - Nicole Schulteis, The Daily Record

Hill is a fine singer and songwriter. Bar of Gold, his new release, has eleven tracks. Arty’s originals include “Step Back Mama,” the early 60s-style shuffle, “I’m Thinkin’ It’s Better this Way,” and “Nashville Moon.” Drummer Jack O’Dell (formerly of Bill Kirchen’s Too Much Fun) contributes his original “I Might Have Been a Lawyer (But I Couldn’t Pass the Bar),” and sings lead on Arty’s “A Wreck of a Man.” This release is rounded out with plenty of steel guitar from Dave Giegerich, Heather Twigg on fiddle, and Arty on his Telecaster

Arty’s songs have been covered by Austin’s Texas Sapphires, and one of his bluegrass tunes was recently recorded by the Grammy-nominated Kenny and Amanda Smith Band.

His influences include Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones, Hank Williams, Carl Perkins, Royce Kendall, Harlan Howard, Merle Haggard, and Townes Van Zandt. Arty was a past winner at the Hank Williams Songwriting Contest in Georgiana, Alabama.

You can check out song clips and find links to purchase CDs here: http://www.artyhill.com/new/index2.php?pg=Home
For live show schedule: http://www.myspace.com/artyhill

- ccf