A native of the northwest, Dave grew up in a small suburb of Seattle in a musical household. His earliest training was piano lessons that he and his 3 older brothers took each week. It was in the 3rd grade however, that he would first get exposed to guitar. His teacher was kind enough to offer after school lessons for interested students. This was the spark that lit the fuse that would become his lifelong passion from that point on.
His parents were more than supportive of his interests and provided him with the best teachers they could find in the area. He even attended what could only be described as an afterschool “Guitar College” for 6 months of intensive training while still in High School. The long drive from Kent to North Seattle, 4 nights a week gave him time to passionately absorb all the music of his favorite artists on the car stereo; Wes Montgomery, Steely Dan, Pat Metheny, Led Zeppelin, George Benson, Miles Davis, Eric Clapton, and many more. Dave was truly blessed and cursed with an absolute love of so many kinds of music. It has always been Dave's versatility as a musician that has motivated his passion to continue learning and growing as a player.
After graduating from High School in 1981, with a restless heart and a thirst to be in a music scene, he headed for Los Angeles to attend the world famous GIT, now known as Musicians Institute. The school was the by product of guitar legend Howard Roberts national seminars. His first week of orientation concerts was to be a another defining moment in his life. Seeing his guitar idol Robben Ford perform an electrifying set took him to another level of inspiration. Robben Ford's tasty Blues Style has definitely left a fingerprint on Dave's playing.
For the last 20 years, as a full time working musician in Los Angeles, Dave has managed to grow as composer, producer, musician, and author while maintaining his passion and love of the guitar.He keeps a busy schedule of live performances through out the LA area. You're likely to hear him on stage with Gregg Karukas, the original Rippingtons keyboard player, at the Famous La Va Lee in Studio City. Or perhaps one of his many shows at Kikuya or Spaghettinis with Orange County based Smooth Jazz piano player, Scott Wilkie. His talents are in demand for recording sessions as well. A recent example can be heard on Theo Bishop's, Native Language release, “Newport Nights”. Check out his jazz stylings on Drummer Phil Maturano's CD, “Changes” (http://www.eidens.de/phil/). As an author, he has been published by Hal Leonard with his popular Guitar Vocabulary book called “The Lictionary”. You may have seen many transcriptions bearing his name over the years as he was a staff transcriber for REH Guitar Education Videos. Look for his work on videos and books by Scott Henderson, Robben Ford, Pat Martino, Joe Pass, Ingvie Malmsteen to name a few. As an educator, Dave maintains a teaching schedule at his alma mater, Musicians Institute in Hollywood and the new up and coming, Los Angeles Music Academy in Pasadena, CA. The guitar program is headed up by one of his old classmates from his MI days, world class guitar extraordinaire, Frank Gambale. And now, with the release of his 2nd Solo CD, he steps forward as an artist with his own vision. His newest, “New World” is truly a work of a veteran musician with a lot to say, but with enough musicality to craft his songs and performance to send a very satisfying statement.
As a guitarist, you'll truly be impressed with his stylistic versatility. The saying goes: “Jack of all trades, master of none.” This is not the case with Dave Hill. Whether he's playing a screaming blues drenched solo on his Strat, or an Albert Lee style country picked solo on his Tele...a modern jazz meets Wes Montgomery inspired improvisational stretch on his 335, or a funky in your face, rhythm guitar groove on his Tom Anderson, he always comes across as totally authentic. Asked about this ability and he just tosses it off as a genuine love of the wonderful mix of music he grew up with and was influenced by.
Looking ahead to the future, Dave's excited about the chance to step out with his own music and his exciting group. Take the opportunity to catch one of his shows and you will walk away with a truer sense of Dave's heart and soul as realized through his music and guitar. Never being comfortable with labels that short change an artist, Dave would much rather be simply thought of as a true musician, a natural musician, or a musical guitarist. Better yet, see and hear for yourself. He'll be glad to share his music with you!
