Sound off: Jake Hill artist of year; many others top local best of list

According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2008 was the Year of the Rat. And, based on its mythology, the rat is very skillful at writing and composing music. The Year of the Rat translated quite well on the music scene, particularly right here on the South Shore and South Coast, spawning a number of phenomenal musicians. The following artists made an enormous impact on the local scene in 2008. If music had a Zodiac calendar, then this was the Year of the Young Artist. Nearly every one of these singers is under the age of 30. The future of music rests in their hands. With that in mind, it’s safe to say that rock and roll will never, ever die.

Where do we begin? Jake Hill keeps folk music and Americana alive and kickin,’ recently releasing his Plimro Records debut disc, Heave To. But his music roots date back to high school when he played in a punk rock band. Since then, he’s matured into one of the area’s greatest emerging singer-songwriters.

The 25-year-old said last year that, “You can say – actually say – whatever you want to say with melody, with clever writing or introspective writing, and that’s a whole form of music that people are incredibly passionate about.”

I recently corresponded with Hill, who said he’s looking forward to writing and recording his third album this winter and plans to release it this summer. He’ll start touring regularly this spring.

Hill wanted to give props to Plimro Records President Mark Bryant for the engineering, mixing, and production on Heave To. Brian Hitchings earned Hill’s praise for producing and playing lead guitar. Dave Robertson and Bryan Pierce added layers of bass guitar, and Rick Crowell added drums to the mix. Johnny Souza’s trumpet playing helped Hill as did Jim Callendrella sax play. Hill also thanked The Gobshites for their assistance on “To the Sea,” as well as, “Anyone else who’s on the CD jacket.”