Official Homepage: www.hirambullock.com "I guess I’m a songwriter but I never really thought of myself as one," says guitarist Hiram Bullock. "I was always too busy playing, but I always was writing songs the whole time too." A dynamic, electrifying performer, Bullock flexes his singer-songwriter muscles alongside his stellar guitar chops on Try Livin’ It, his eleventh album as a leader and a followup to 2001’s Color Me (ESC/EFA 03677-2) . While he has been a featured player over the years in bands led by such jazz greats as Gil Evans, Jaco Pastorius, Carla Bley, David Sanborn, Michael Franks and the Brecker Brothers and has stretched out on his own projects as a leader (notably on 1986’s From All Sides, 1994’s World of Collision and 2000’s Guitar Man), this solidly slamming funk-rock offering deals more with good-time grooves, intricate vocal harmonies and high spirits than sheer instrumental prowess. Cutting tracks with four different configurations of collaborators, including bassists Will Lee, Frank Gravis and Paul Peterson, drummers Charley Drayton, Clint deGanon and Jeremy Gaddie, keyboardists Dave Delhomme and Ricky Peterson, Bullock crafted a collection of tunes that are imbued with catchy pop hooks and also bear the stamp of his pyrotechnic six-string work. "I was very happy with finding a balance between my guitar playing and the vocal thing," he says. "I never considered myself a jazz player," he maintains. "I’m not going to play a five minute obligato solo, I’m not trying to impress anybody with amazing chops or anything like that. I’m just trying to play music that I like and that hopefully has a good vibe." Nevertheless, his guitar sizzles on pieces like the aggressive opener "After The Fall," "A Little Bit," "When You’re Loving’" and "Facts of Life," in which he fits tightly constructed guitar nuggets into the fabric of tunes that carry a highly polished, Steely Dan-ish sheen. Says Hiram of his songwriting process, "I just try to write good songs. And if you surrender yourself to the song, the song practically writes itself. You just get out of the way and try not to mess it up. Because you can hear what it ought to be and where it ought to go, and you try to steer it in that direction and not take any left or right turns off of that course." While many of the songs on Try Livin’ It conjure up a carefree vibe of loving, partying and getting on the goodfoot (namely "Can’t Fight The Funk," "Wild in the Streets," "Born 2 Love U" and the breezy "Summer Feelin’"), one tune ("Greed") carries a bit of controversy in its thought-provoking lyrics about corporate scandals in America and the government’s war on Iraq. "I just felt that I had to say something about what was going on here in this country," Hiram explains. "I’m not a political radical or anything but I do feel that there’s a great hoodwinking of the American public taking place and a lot of people are buying into it because of their emotional needs and because they don’t really live in a global society. If you live in Oshkosh and you never leave the place, if you stay in America and never leave Kansas, well then that’s your narrow reality. But if you live in the world and you see what’s really going on in a bigger picture sense, you understand that there’s a whole bunch of stuff going on that’s really not right. And people may say I’m un-American for saying it, but I think that speaking your mind and raising questions is American. The fact that you can disagree with your government and not end up with your head rolling down the street is the very essence of what it means to be an American." Although Bullock is indeed an American, he was born in Osaka, Japan in 1956 and came to American at the age of two. As a child, he studied piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland, playing his first recital at the age of 6. He learned to play the saxophone at age 11, and began playing the bass guitar in junior high school rock bands as a teenager. He switched to guitar at age 16, admittedly "to meet more girls". Hiram attended the University of Miami music school, where he studied with Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorius, and where he met many of the musicians that he would play with throughout his professional career. One of his steady nightclub gigs in Florida was with the singer Phyllis Hyman, who brought Hiram to New York in the mid 1970s. After arriving in the Big Apple, he began playing with David Sanborn and The Brecker Brothers band before forming the 24th Street Band with drummer Steve Jordan, keyboardist Clifford Carter and bassist Mark Egan, who was later replaced by Will Lee. That group had an avid following in Japan and released two records there, the second of which was co-produced by keyboardist Paul Schaffer. When Schaffer was later putting together a house band for "The David Letterman Show" on NBC television, he recruited Bullock, Jordan and Lee from the 24th Street Band to play on the late night talk show, which premiered in 1981. Another important connection was with producer Phil Ramone, who hired Hiram to play on a succession of gold and platinum-selling albums by pop stars Billy Joel, Paul Simon and Kenny Loggins. Hiram’s numerous recording credits also include work with The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Jaco Pastorius, Pete Townsend, Bob James, Chaka Khan, James Taylor, Steely Dan, Sting, James Brown, Miles Davis, Barbra Streisand, Burt Bacharach, Roberta Flack, Spyro Gyra, Eric Clapton and Al Green. In the mid 1980s, Bullock appeared in the house band of tv’s "Saturday Night Live" and in 1985 released his first recording as a leader, First Class Vagabond. He followed that up in 1986 with the fusiony From All Sides, in 1987 with Give It What U Got and in 1992 with Way Kool, all on Atlantic Jazz. Two recordings with bassist and longtime colleague Will Lee and drummer Clint deGanon -- 1994’s World of Collision and 1996’s live Manny’s Car Wash, both for Big World Music -- highlighted Hiram’s fretboard flash and wreckless abandon in a high powered rock trio setting. His jazziest offering to date was 1996’s Late Night Talk, a mellow organ session featuring the great Dr. Lonnie Smith on the Hammond B-3, Idris Muhammad on drums, Joe Locke on vibes and Ed Howard on bass. Carrasco was his 1997 homage to Latin music while 2000’s Guitar Man was a return to his rock-fusion roots. With 2001’s Color Me, Bullock began to display his prolific songwriting nature and his penchant for pop hooks. With Try Livin’ It he takes another big stride in that direction. "Basically, I’ve always been a funk-rock player, so it’s not like I’m trying to get a whole lot of jazzy stuff going on here," he says. "I have done that in the past but I’m trying to strike a balance on this record between the vocal thing and the guitar playing. I just try to be true to what I do and I was really pleased with the way it came out." Solidly funky grooves, slick production and orchestral background vocal harmonies underscore Try Livin’ It. And sandwiched inbetween the catchy hooks and urgent singing by Hiram is some nasty, stinging fretboard work by the Guitar Man himself. It’s his most balanced and potent package to date. Author: Bill Milkowski October 2003 SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY Nothing Like The Sun - Sting The Stranger - Billy Joel Celebrate Me Home - Kenny Loggins Touchdown - Bob James Naughty - Chaka Khan Gaucho - Steely Dan Close Up - David Sanborn Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Bonnie Taylor A Star Is Born - Barbara Streisand From All Sides - Hiram Bullock Give It What You Got - Hiram Bullock Way Cool - Hiram Bullock World Of Collision - Hiram Bullock Manny's Car Wash - Hiram Bullock Late Nite Talk - Hiram Bullock Carrasco - Hiram Bullock Guitar Man - Hiram Bullock For booking, contact: EMMECI