Percy Hill

Percy Hill was a band, based in the New England area, that enjoyed more than a decade of respect and praise for its high-energy live performances, polished songwriting and, as time progressed, remarkably professional and passionate studio recordings.

Founded at the University of New Hampshire in Durham in 1993, it originally consisted of guitarists Tom Powley and Joe Farrell, keyboardist Nate Wilson, drummer Tim Leavy, percussionist Zack Wilson and bassist Jeremy Hill. Powley and Farrell tackled most of the lead vocals (except for the whimsical Mississippi Missy, which showcased Zack Wilson's antics) with Powley and Nate Wilson writing the vast majority of the original material. The young group quickly recorded "Setting The Boat Adrift" (1993) and began gigging steadily in New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. Leavy left the band and was soon replaced by Dylan Halacy. In 1996, not long after the release of "Straight On 'Til Morning" (1995), Hill left the group to become a father and was replaced for one year by Moon Boot Lover bassist Jon Hawes whose hyperactive, popping funk style was an ample complement to Halacy's robust drumming. This lineup is featured on the live "Double Feature" (1997), more than half of which was recorded at a legendary performance at Boston's celebrated Paradise Rock Club on December 27, 1996. In 1997, Hawes was succeeded by road manager Andy Lanoie. In the autumn of 1997, after a show at New York's much missed Wetlands which included a collaboration with bass virtuoso Victor Wooten, frontman Powley left and the group continued through the end of the year as a quintet.

The band underwent a major lineup change in 1998 when Halacy, Lanoie and Zack Wilson followed Powley. Drummer and lead vocalist Aaron Katz and bassist John Leccese were added. Only Nate Wilson and Farrell remained from the original band. This change may be ascribed in part to Nate Wilson and Farrell's desire to move the group in a different musical direction. The reconstituted group had a new sound that was looser, more wholly groove-oriented and built on Katz's impeccable sense of rhythm. The quartet toured heavily across the U.S. for about two years, released the critically acclaimed "Color In Bloom", and then moved into what amounted to phased retirement, punctuated by the occasional New England performance which would consist of progressively less material predating the group's 1998 reformation. In 2002, the group played a weekend's worth of well-received and well-attended shows in Massachusetts and New Hampshire with a 13-piece ensemble complete featuring an expanded troop of percussionists, a horn section, two backup vocalists and frequent collaborator Adam Terrell (Assembly of Dust), whose gritty guitar leads counterbalanced Farrell's more reserved, jazz-inflected solos. These performances created a momentum that ultimately led to the recording and release

Nate Wison left Percy Hill in 1999 and returned to college to get his degree.

At this point Percy Hill singer/songwriter/drummer Aaron Katz recorded his solo album Simplest Warrior. Aaron toured nationwide with the Aaron Katz band in support of this album through 2003. Simplest Warrior sold well and won the Seacoast New Hampshires Spotlight on the arts "Alternative album of the year" award. In 2004 Aaron started Waterway Productions with the vision to produce albums and help artists find their voices. Aaron now owns Aaron Katz Productions based out of Dover and Portsmouth New Hampshire. When not producing a number of albums a year,Aaron performs with a wide range of projects including his own solo bands, Geminatrix and The Dejas out of Boston Mass.

Despite this surge in activity, Leccese and Wilson left the band in 2005 to focus on their work with Assembly of Dust and Wilson's solo project. It was originally thought that Wilson would return for shows over the summer, as he was attending graduate school, however it appears that both musicians have left Percy Hill for good. Katz and Farrell played a handful of small gigs with a changing cast of supporting players, including Pat Dole on bass and Craig Struble on harmonica, as the Percy Hill Trio in 2005 and 2006.

Percy Hill has been compared favorably to Steely Dan for several reasons: they often claimed they were most comfortable in the studio, a rarity for today's jam bands, and their music was complex and focused. Other comparisons have been drawn to Paul Simon, and, in the band's earlier manifestations, to Santana and jamband mainstays Phish and The Allman Brothers Band.

"Color in Bloom" received the 2000 Jammy award for studio album of the year. It contains songs including "Ammonium Maze" and "Beneath the Cover".

= Album history =
* "Setting The Boat Adrift" (1993)
* "Straight On 'Til Morning" (1995)
* "Double Feature" (1996)
* "Color in Bloom" (1998)
* "Live" (2003)
* "After All" (2005)
* "Percy Hill (EP)" (2005)

External links

* [http://www.percyhill.com Band website]
* [http://www.archive.org/details/PercyHill Percy Hill collection] at the Internet Archive's live music archive