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Defiantly rejecting
conventional rules of musical genre, Maggi Hill, with absolutely
no cause at all, is a rebel. She recently completed her first CD
entitled "Keep The Label", on her own Lowbrow Records label. As
approximately one-half of the disc was recorded in Nashville, a
careful listener will note that those songs have a country rock
groove, with the inclusion of pedal steel, fiddles, and a bit of
a twang now and again—Maggi picks up accents wherever she goes,
thus adding to her genre identity confusion. The remainder of the
tracks were recorded here in the NY/NJ/PA area, with hundreds of
producers and musicians. They range in sound from reggae to pop
to folk, even rhythm & blues. She's so cocky, she thinks she can
write and sing anything, and no one has the nerve to tell her otherwise,
fearing she'll send her godfather Vinny over to clean out their
ears. Several of her songs have been played on 88.5 WXPN, a progressive
station out of Philly, as well as on various local stations. Her
voice and material are often compared to Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie
Raitt, and Natalie Merchant. Maggi performs in the NY/NJ/PA area
regularly with a 6-pc band, recently sharing the stage with Bobby
Bandiera from Bon Jovi.
P R E S S
"...For
whatever mood you are in, there is a song, and each one is better
than the last...the only category this CD needs to be filled under
is fantastic." - Liner Notes December '98
...link to full review
"While 'Keep The Label' seeks to define
the Maggi Hill sounds, it surveys much of the vintage folk-rock
turf of Raitt and Ronstadt with a decidedly '90s sheen." -
Trenton Times October '98 ...link
to full review
"Maggi's voice is a subtly-controlled powerhouse...she
is also a true character, able to win over the crowd by artfully
busting its chops a bit (and by looking good)." - U.S. 1 Newspaper
- May 1992
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 click to view cover
"Keep
The Label" featuring "Flatliner"
PLAY A TRACK! requires realplayer
Flatlineraaa
Full song 3:55 mins...........
Move
On Full
song 3:36 mins...........
 To
order your copy, reply here, or send check/money
order for $14 to:
Lowbrow
Records P.O. Box 572 Hopewell, NJ 08525
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T
h e B a n d
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Jerry
Steele, to put it simply and accurately, can play any instrument he
picks up really well; and it annoys maggi to no end. He plays slappin', thumpin',
ridin', swingin' Bass in the 6-piece band, and pedal steel and
guitar in the quartet. He's a helluva singer too, but admits he can't
sing and play pedal steel at the same time very well. He has worked
with " Chic", " Patti Labelle", and other
renowned artists. He even has an old single lying around in his basement
that he recorded with hot Nashville singer-songwriter Buddy Miller
a few decades ago(could be a collector's item, if he could only find
it). Jerry and maggi have been playing in bands together for about
ten years.
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John
Bushnell- Local guitar legend and wizard
John Bushnell has been playing with maggi for about
three years. His mighty chops have been heard in
many well-respected bands, including
"Castle Browne",
"Bricks Mortar", and
"Unguided Missile
", his power trio- a fixture at John & Peter's for many
years. He has an album selling briskly in germany and japan, and graciously
throws maggi a guitar lick or two now and then. His harmonies are
always right on the money, having been blessed with perfect
pitch...
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Tom
Reock plays keyboards in about a dozen bands, and somehow manages
to keep them all straight- he's got chops, baby, both on the ivories
and in his voice. His last album, Mainstaye,
has sold out; however I think he has some cassettes
left. He was the driving force behind
"The Whitewalls" and
"Down to Earth
", which has been working on and off,
for about seventeen years at last count... of course, it helps that the
band members all married each others brothers and sisters, ex-girlfriends,
and cousins. Tom has been working with maggi for about 5 years, and
co-wrote Work In Motion (track #9) with her.
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Bob
Demetrician is the jump-around guy in the band. He
plays percussion (and I mean at least 50 different
sounds), the tenor sax, and has the sweet high harmony
that maggi sometimes can't reach. He was a sound
engineer in NYC, so he's a little picky about the sound
at gigs (although Jerry gets to lug the p.a. around and
set it up). This is a good thing since Bob has
more than enough gear to play with. He was also a
long time member of the "Down to
Earth " band.
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Steve
DeMet is sometimes known as Steve Demetrician (when
maggi forgets to call him Steve DeMet), and is
Bob's brother (not husband). Steve found his
way to Broadway, performing on stage and in the pit for
Bob Fosse's
"Dancin". He
was the drummer for "The
Whitewalls", "Gris
Gris", and you guessed
it..."Down to Earth
" - (maggi
loved them so much, she stole half the band!). He's about the tastiest
drummer around, and adds a little jazz-inflected sound to maggi's
schizo...er, I mean, eclectic sound. Steve has been around the band
for 5 or 6 years (all the way back to maggi's scary first demo!)
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