Whit Hill & the Postcards
We Are Here
© 2003 Whitley Setrakian Hill (649288305928)
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This "beatnik"-style Detroit-area alt-country band fronted by singer/songwriter (and woman) Whit Hill offers story songs, groove songs, and ballads blending twanging country, organ-laced soul and the luscious boom-boom-crack of southern rock.
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The reviews are in on Whit Hill and the Postcards' new CD, We Are Here...
"For most artists who actually manage the feat, recording a masterpiece is a career-long effort. For Whit Hill, it took a single shot. "We Are Here," suffused with intelligence and champion songcraft, isn't just the best debut album in recent Detroit memory, it's one of the top 2003 premieres by anybody anywhere..."--Detroit Free Press
"...Whit Hill and her band the Postcards have concocted a folk-based country and blues record (with the occasional jazz gesture) that is both a surprise and a welcome relief... .Many of the songs here could be the soundtrack to front porches lined with the world-weary eyes of old men aligned in cane-bottom chairs sipping beer snagged from Styrofoam coolers..."
--Detroit MetroTimes
"Hill's evocative and thoughtful lyrics, nostalgia-tinged vocals and crackerjack band all work to make 'We Are Here' a standout." --Ann Arbor News
"Ultimately, as fine as this record is - it is as cool and deftly done as nything to come out of Detroit in the 21st century - it most likely only hints at what a treasure trove their live performances are. Yeah, just get it."
--All Music Guides
OK, there are more reviews, but you can read them at
www.whithill.com
In the meantime...
Whit Hill and the Postcards was formed in the winter of the year 2001 as a response to the sorry lack of quality beatnik-tinged alt-country music in the greater Detroit area. The Postcards are singer/songwriter Whitley Hill, singer/keyboardist/guitarist/husband Al Hill, bass player Patrick Prouty, drummer Tim Gahagan.
Whitley Setrakian Hill was born and raised in New York City, the child of Southern-born actors: a WASP from Mississippi and an Armenian from the moonshine mountains of West Virginia. Her perfect meal? Corn bread and stuffed grape leaves. She was a child actress, a drama graduate of NYC's High School for Performing Arts and has a degree in dance from the University of Michigan. For many years she was the artistic director People Dancing, an Ann Arbor dance company. Whit's dances have been commissioned and performed by companies across the country.
But she really likes music. As a singer, Whit was a member of the renowned folk band Dick Siegel and the Na-Nas, with whom she toured the country - from New York's Bottom Line to the Vancouver Music Festival - performing and helping to arrange that band's signature theatrics. She and her band have opened for Pam Tillis and performed at the Wheatland Music Festival, the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, the Toledo Folk Festival, the Ark, the A2 Summer Festival, the A2 Art Fairs, the Firefly Club, Memphis Smoke, Zingerman's Roadhouse and lots of other venues.
Al Hill's credits are too numerous to fully recount here, but in brief, this native son of Ann Arbor has toured the country with his band, the Love Butlers, and is currently music director for Motown legend Bettye Lavette. His album Willie Mae, co-written with wife Whitley, was voted Best Blues CD by the Detroit/Windsor Blues Society, and helped the Love Butlers win the 2000 "Best Unsigned Band" competition at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago.
The Postcards' first CD, We Are Here, has just been released on Home Run Records. On it are 14 songs about circus performers, bloodbath bar robberies, paramecia, driving to Detroit, traveling via sleeper car, love, disappointment, and alternate uses for the kitchen table. One audience favorite is about Whitley's long-ago friendship with the most famous woman in the world. All this via a sound that blends country, soul, and Southern rock.
Website www.whithill.com And remember: Everyone likes postcards....
Other interesting things about Whitley: Her grandfather owned a saloon called the Sanitary Lunch. She once delivered a friend's baby by herself. Her dad was on the Sopranos.
reviews
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One of my FAVORITE CD'S !!!
author: GerrySaw Whit at a small venue. Liked the music. Tried the CD. INCREDIBLE! Love every track.
WOW!
author: AnnemiekWOW! Witty! Outstanding! Wonderful! I especially love 50 Miles to Detroit and Platinum Girl. The whole collection brings up thoughts of pickin and grinnin on the porch with friends. Whit Hill's songs are deftly drawn images of lives I know. If you don't have it, gotta get it.
A performing of remarkable energy and dazzling voice
author: S. S., Composer and PianistWhitley Setrakian Hill is a singer/songwriter with a distinctive vocal tone and style that has the ability to change the face of popular music forever. I spend endless hours listening to music that sounds exactly the same as the previous. Singers who all sound like they spent half of their lives copying all of those who came before them. Whitley Setrakian Hill is one of those who chose to take what God gave her and make something original and beautiful out of it. Her voice is so real and full of emotion that I found it hard to get past that aspect of her music. Once I did, I found a passion and truth that I haven't heard in a long time. Whitley’s music spoke to me in a way that I find hard to describe. I can't remember when I heard music that was this powerful and this well written.
Excellent work, great songwriting, great sound, best of the year
author: Jeff KrentzJust heard this a couple of weeks ago on WDET - I'm hooked - what a great sound - I love it.I can't believe I've been missing this talent for so long. I see today that the reviews on Whit's website mention Lucinda Williams, which is a nice comparison, but I thought it was Gillian Welch tinged stuff when I listened. Good stuff, regardless. Bought the CD immediately
Refreshing intelligent story telling
author: Randy from Howell, Mich.Thanks to WDET radio of Detroit for introducing me to this wonderfull group of musicians. Everyone I have played this disc for has liked it. Valentine's turns a corner midway through that was not expected. Lucy On The Line is so gripping that it forces the listener to turn up the volume. This cd is packed with witty and smart lyrics. Peaple of many musical interests will enjoy Whit Hill and the Postcards.
The best CD I've purchased in a long time
author: Dave S. from Pinckney, MichiganThis is one great CD - the best I've purchased in a long time. The music is upbeat and catchy and the lyrics make great listening. Lucy on the Line paints an incredible picture and really stirs the emotions. My other favorites are 50 Miles to Detroit, Greatest Show on Earth and Valentines. This CD is a must for any long drive and/or road trip. I can't wait to see Whit Hill & the Postcards live - I'm sure the energy is unmatched.
Original, witty, varied, moving & not easily categorized.
author: Lu RehlingNever heard of either Whit Hill and/or the Postcards until a friend gave me this CD. It's somewhat obsessed me since, keeping my interest because each track offers something different to appreciate. The material is all original, with witty phrasings and conceits, moving narratives, varied styles of composition and delivery (singing and playing). I can't put this sound into any category, though it definitely appeals to my Detroit roots.
An unusual, musically diverse, highly literate yet still fun CD
author: Danwith A BeardI have driven 90 miles through blizzards, monsoons and possibly a sandstorm to hear Whit Hill and the Postcards perform, and it has always been worth it. The songs are poignant, sometimes humorous, and just plain capture the listener's imagination. They all tell stories, and do so from many fascinating points of view. I couldn't believe how well this CD captures the feel of a Postcards show. It's quickly become one of my favorite CDs. You want this, trust me...