Zach Hill

Zach Hill (born December 28, 1979^[1]) is a musician residing in Sacramento, California. Primarily known for his drumming, he performs/has performed in numerous Pacific Coast based groups, including his primary group, Hella, as well as Holy Smokes, Nervous Cop, and a diverse range of others including Team Sleep (featuring Chino Moreno of Deftones), Goon Moon, Marnie Stern, Crime in Choir, The Ladies (a duo with Rob Crow of Pinback), Bygones (a duo with Nick Reinhart of Tera Melos), CHLL PLL (a duo with Zac Nelson) and Flössin (a collaboration with Christopher Willits and rotating members Kid606, Matmos, Nate Boyce and Carson McWhirter). Zach is completely self taught, having started drumming around 1995.

Drumming style

One of Zach Hill's most defining characteristics as a drummer is his footwork. Many drummers are surprised when they realize that he only uses one bass drum and a single bass drum pedal when he plays. For example, in the song Imaginary Friends from Hella's Church Gone Wild record, Hill employs his characteristic double-stroke bass drum method throughout much of the song, leading many to believe he is using more than one foot to do so, when he is only using his right foot. Zach Hill's set thus far had had generally very low-tuned tom-toms and floor-toms. When playing rhythms back and forth between his bass drum and these tom-toms, it often sounds as if it is all being created by the bass drum. His snare drum sound is often a contrasting highly tuned "crack" sound.

A unique aspect of Zach's style is his liberal use of unconventional sounding cymbals, often referred to as "trash" cymbals. His most commonly and characteristically used trash cymbal consists of broken cymbals (usually between 3 and 4) stacked on top of each other, mounted just to his right of his high tom. This setup produces a harsh sound similar to that of a China cymbal, but with much less sustain. This is easily heard on almost every single Hella release. Part of the reason for his use of trashed and old equipment may be that he couldn't afford good gear in the first place and got used to it; " Ever since initially starting to play, I’ve always just played on beat-down shit, so in a way I’m most comfortable on stuff that’s rickety or has personality" ^[2]

In addition Zach has a custom made cymbal with a very warped shape that can be heard on the Holy Smokes album Masculine Drugs (clearly audible starting at 1:36 on the song "Masculine Drugs (Tri-Duplex Edit)") the Hella album Church Gone Wild the Ladies' first album, They Mean Us and the Zach Hill & Mick Barr album Shred Earthship.

Zach also utilizes complex time signatures into his drumming. Zach has developed these time signatures through playing, and goes by feeling a beat rather than figuring it out "traditionally".

Another notable aspect of Hill's playing is that he is an extremely hard hitter. His equipment tends to wear down very fast due to the combination of the speed and power of his playing, which has been known to break lug casings and bend the top hoops of his drums from the sheer force of his technique.^{[citation needed]}

Art

In addition to music, Zach is also a visual artist. His art has been featured in the packaging to many of his musical releases. One of the most notable examples is his fully illustrated book Destroying Yourself is Too Accessible which included the Zach Hill and Holy Smokes album "Masculine Drugs" Released in 2004 on TNI books and Suicide Squeeze Records. The cover art of the Hella album The Devil Isn't Red, the artwork to There's No 666 in Outer Space and the Bitches Ain't Shit But Good People EP, and drawings in the Ladies They Mean Us are all credited to Zach; as well as art direction credits on many releases such as Hella's debut full length Hold Your Horse Is, the Hella EP Total Bugs Bunny on Wild Bass, and the eponymously titled Nervous Cop record. He receives photography credit in addition to his many musical contributions on the debut Team Sleep album. He has also designed t-shirts and promotional posters for Hella and Team Sleep.

The Sacramento, California art space Fools Foundation ran an exhibition of Zach's art, titled "Poltergeist", from April 1 to April 29 in 2006. Parts of the exhibit are visible in the photos accompanying Zach's article in the August 2006 issue of Modern Drummer and on the Fools Foundation.^[3]

Setup and gear

Zach's current setup (As of June 2006, according to Modern Drummer Magazine)

Drums

• 6.5x14 Keplinger stainless-steel snare
• 10x12 Tama Starclassic Performer tom
• 16x18 Sako custom floor tom
• 25x26 Jenkins Fiberglass Surfboard bass drum

Zach is currently using a new kit with two toms and a floor tom. He also has new hardware and cymbal stands which is a far cry from the usual old haggard set-ups he used.

Cymbals

• 15" Paiste 2002 Sound Edge hi-hats
• 17" Paiste 2002 Wild Crash
• Spinmade (stacked) metal appliance cutouts
• 24" Paiste 2002 ride (with inverted bell)
• Spinmade custom metal cutout cymbal
• A variant of a china cymbal that consists of a multitude of old and broken cymbals that give a short and "trashy" sound when struck.

Hardware

• Tama, including an Iron Cobra Power Glide bass drum pedal and hi-hat stand

Heads

• Remo coated Emperors on snare and toms, PowerStroke 3 on kick

Sticks

• Pro-Mark 5b natural

Discography

with Hella

Albums

• Hold Your Horse Is CD/LP (2002 - 5RC CD, Frenetic Records LP)
• The Devil Isn't Red CD (2004 - 5RC CD, Suicide Squeeze LP)
• Church Gone Wild/Chirpin' Hard 2xCD (2005 - Suicide Squeeze)
• There's No 666 in Outer Space CD (2007 - Ipecac Recordings) / 2xLP (2008 - Black Diamond Records)

EPs

• Leather Diamond CD-R EP (2001)
• Falam Dynasty 7" (2002, 5RC)
• Bitches Ain't Shit But Good People EP (2003, Suicide Squeeze)
• Total Bugs Bunny On Wild Bass EP (2003, Narnack Records)
• Acoustics EP (2004 & 2005, Toad Records (Japan); 2006, 5RC (US) with additional songs)
• Concentration Face/Homeboy DVD/CD EP (2005, 5RC)

Split Releases

• Live 2xCD (Sick Room, October 10, 2003) (with Dilute)
• Hella/Four Tet Split 7" (Ache, March 12, 2004) (with Four Tet)

Films

• Portals DVD (2007)

with Crime in Choir

• Crime in Choir CD/LP (June 25, 2002, Omnibus)
• The Hoop CD (2004, Frenetic & 2005, Moorworks)

with bygones

• "by-" CD/LP (August 2009, Sargent House)

with Flössin

• Lead Singer CD/LP (2004, Ache Records / Yacca)
• Serpents Digital EP (2008, http://overlap.org)

with Goon Moon

• I Got a Brand New Egg Layin' Machine CD/LP (June 7, 2005, Suicide Squeeze)
• Licker's Last Leg CD (May 8, 2007, Ipecac Recordings)

with Holy Smokes

• Zach Hill and the Holy Smokes - Masculine Drugs CD / Destroying Yourself is Too Accessible Book (September 14, 2004, Suicide Squeeze / TNI Books)
• Holy Smokes - Talk To Your Kids About Gangs CD (September 26, 2006, Skin Graft)

with Mick Barr

• Zach Hill and Mick Barr - Shred Earthship CD (May 9, 2006, 5RC)
• Zach Hill and Mick Barr - Volume 2 LP (March 12, 2007, Rock is Hell)

with Marnie Stern

• In Advance of the Broken Arm CD (February 20, 2007, Kill Rock Stars) LP (July 22, 2007, Rampage Recordings)
• This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That CD/LP (October 07, 2008, Kill Rock Stars)

Solo

• Astrological Straits 2xCD/2xLP (August 12, 2008, Ipecac/Anticon.)
• Face Tat

Others

• Aaron Stone - Cloud Farming CD (2003, Sundial Records - drums on "Long Time")
• Apotheke - Apotheke CD (Mash Down Babylon)
• Cex - Maryland Mansions CD (November 18, 2003, Jade Tree)
• CHLL PLL - Aggressively Humble CD/LP (October 20, 2009, Porter Records)
• Damsel - Distressed CD/LP (October 24, 2006, Temporary Residence)
• Diamond Watch Wrists - Ice Capped at Both Ends CD (May 04, 2009, Warp Records)
• El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Cryptomnesia CD/LP (May 05, 2009, Rodriguez Lopez Productions)
• Friend/Enemy - 10 Songs CD/LP (July 9, 2002, Perishable)
• Howard Hello - EP CD (July 3, 2005, Temporary Residence)
• The Ladies - They Mean Us CD/LP (February 21, 2006, Temporary Residence)
• Legs on Earth - Lasers and Saviors CD (1999, Para-Sight)
• Nervous Cop - Nervous Cop CD (November 4, 2003, 5 Rue Christine)
• RISIL - Non Meters Volume 1 CD/2xLP (June 2009, Important Records)
• Team Sleep - Team Sleep CD (May 10, 2005, Maverick)
• Scars on Broadway - Ghetto Blaster Rehearsals (2003, EatUrMusic)
• Toughguy Fantasy / Arctic Boyz - Thank Gods It's Friday / Louisiana Purchase 2xCD (January 17, 2005, Frenetic)
• V/A - Family Album (Hella "Friday the 13th" - Grass Roots Records)
• V/A - If The 21st Century Didn't Exist, It Would Be Necessary To Invent It (Hella "Been A Long Time, Cousin (Live)" - 5RC)
• V/A - Power Up! Mutations and Mutilations of 8-Bit Hits (Flössin "Castlevania aka Ascelitnava")
• V/A - Slaying Since 1996 (Hella "Meth Leper" & Goon Moon "Rock Weird (Weird Rock)" - Suicide Squeeze Records)
• V/A - Sur la Mer Samp-le-Mer (Hella "Madonna Approaches R&B Blonde Wreckages")
• V/A - Thankful (The Ladies "Trapped in the Hobbit" - Temporary Residence Limited)
• V/A - Under The Influence: A Jam Band Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd (Les Claypool "Call Me the Breeze")
• V/A - You've Got Your Orders, Volume One (Hella "Dance of the Drunken Siberian")

References

External links

• Official Myspace Page
• Zach Hill at exclaim!
• Interview with Zach Hill about Astrological Straits, collaborations and history on the Jekyll and Hyde Show. By Oren Siegel and Oded Fluss, Israel