Meet Nick Hill | Songwriter, Composer, Keyboardist and Vocalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nick Hill and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nick, why did you pursue a creative career?
I picked a creative career for a lot of reasons, all of which come to the fore at different times. In the early days of my band Phourist & the Photons, songwriting was definitely therapy – a way to try and make sense of life, which inherently made no sense to me at the time. It still serves that role, but I think I’ve lightened up since then. I now also see it as a beautiful thing that’s a lot of fun. It’s something to look forward to every day. A puzzle – sometimes very challenging – that keeps my brain active and engaged.

I feel like when people are thinking creatively the world is just so full of potential.

Long story short; right now I’m making art because it feels both essential – to my understanding of the universe, my mental health and other stuff I probably don’t comprehend – and enjoyable – it’s just a lot of fun.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My main creative outlet is writing, performing and recording music with my bandmates – Andrew Critchelow (guitar), Jailynn Noel (bass) and Scott Boice (drums) – in the group Phourist & the Photons. They are each monster musicians and artists. There aren’t enough adjectives to adequately praise them, and I’m proud to call them my musical colleagues and friends. We play a kind of ethereal rock that emphasizes melodic beauty and unexpected adventurous arrangements. At least that’s what I think we do. We have always struggled to define our sound with words, but Andrew – the aforementioned – put it best when he said “if I knew how to say these things with words, I wouldn’t need to make the dang music.” That being said, once you’ve heard us, it’s a pretty recognizable sound.

I’m also proud of the quality of the songwriting on our records. It takes a great deal of time and effort for me to conjure up these pieces. I have the good fortune of having quality associates – who, I feel I should mention, write all their own parts – available to bounce these song ideas off of, and together we chisel away at the forms until only the essential shapes are left standing. Speaking of “forms,” you should check out our latest record, aptly titled My Many Mortal Forms. I think it’s our best work to date, and it might be worth noting that we won the Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Award for “Best Pop” in 2022, shortly after My Many Mortal Forms was released.

This music life ain’t all roses though.

I’m a really – some might say painfully – introverted guy, so, the hardest part of this musical journey has always been the social element. I was having a conversation with my Photonic bandmate Jailynn about this, because she too has mentioned some reservations about all the socializing that comes with the gig. We both found it odd that being on a stage – in front of a lot of people – was no problem at all, but regular conversations sometimes terrified us. We postulated that perhaps it’s because on stage, the performer is – mostly – in control of the situation, while after the gig talking to people is just pure chaos.

When people come up to you after a gig where you just played some music they really liked, expectations can be pretty high, and I don’t want to let them down or say the wrong thing. Over time I’ve learned to just loosen up and be myself. It works pretty well. And the more you utilize that muscle, the stronger it gets. The life lesson being if you want to get good at something, there’s rarely an easy way to do so, you’ve just got to put the work in.

Despite regularly putting myself in extremely uncomfortable situations, I love being in this band. And I get the feeling that the adventure has only just begun.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Louisville, KY – my hometown and current place of residence – is one of those places that probably has a little something for everyone’s interests. Rather than prattle on trying to guess what other people might dig, I’ll just tell you my favorite spots.

First off, I love nature. Hiking and just basic walking are favorite pastimes of mine, either with some earbuds and some ambient music or with my lovely girlfriend Hilary and her two sweet dogs Otto and Peanut. If you also like hiking and walking, I’d recommend Jefferson Memorial Forest, Iroquois Park (the overlook is super pretty there), Waterfront Park, Falls Of The Ohio State Park (technically Indiana, but it’s just right over the bridge, not far at all) and Bernheim Forest (20 minutes south of town, but it’s gorgeous and worth the drive). I’m probably forgetting a spot but that’s a good starting point.

Favorite restaurants include Pho Ba Luu, Vietnam Kitchen, Feast, Heart & Soy, Renshoku Ramen – brand new, just opened – and I’ll always have a soft spot for the El Tarasco on New Cut Road, just cause I grew up going there every weekend. This will be the second of three times I will make some variation of this statement: I’m sure there’s a bunch of spots I’m forgetting.

The last topic I want to cover is near and dear to my heart: live local music. If you’re in town, go see a local band! There’s so many amazing bands in Louisville and nearby areas, chances are whoever you end up seeing will blow your mind! The venues are great too. Favorites include the Whirling Tiger, Zanzabar, Kaiju and the Enchanted Forest Live just to name a few. Special shout-out to the Enchanted Forest for having an outdoor stage with actual trees coming out of it, it looks awesome, and I like the Tolkien-y, elf-like vibes.

The list of bands around here that I’d recommend seeing or checking out is very extensive. Here we go: Kiana & the Sun Kings, Stuart Wicke Band, Villa Mure, Tall Squares, Ed Monk, Zolom – real new to the scene, Pleasure Boys, Ryan Conroy, Mirador, Otis Jr. & the Jesse Lees, Turbo Nut, Casey Powell Music, Cyxeris, Lacey Guthrie, Shadwick Wilde, Quiet Hollers, CABIN, Small Time Napoleon… and yeah, I know I’m forgetting someone.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I grew up in a household that had my mom and dad’s paintings in-progress lying around everywhere, an eclectic selection of music frequently being played on the stereo and all 17 hours or whatever of behind-the-scenes content on the Lord Of The Rings films – Extended Edition on loop. Suffice it to say, I would be remiss if I did not give credit to my parents – Chris and Cathy Hill – for encouraging the creative person in me.

Accomplished artists in their own right, my mom and dad taught me a lot – sometimes on purpose and sometimes I just soaked stuff up like a sponge. In these early years of my life I learned the value of creating your own voice and marching to the beat of your own drum. I learned the value of working your ass off. It’s actually a hard life, and while almost always rewarding to the heart and soul it can sometimes take a while to see the fruits of your labor. But mostly, I learned that in the end it’s usually worth it to try and chase your dreams.

I also learned a few chords on the guitar, and one Christmas they purchased me a Concertmate 410 keyboard from Walgreens or CVS or somewhere. It is my understanding that they just thought it would be a fun toy. Little did they know that this would spark a lifelong interest in what I consider to be the best instrument to compose music on – the keyboards. And for better or worse, a monster had been born.

Thanks mom and dad.

Website: http://www.phourist.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/phourist_and_the_photons

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/phourist

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/phourist

Other: Link to our latest album My Many Mortal Forms (on most streaming platforms): https://songwhip.com/phourist-and-the-photons/my-many-mortal-forms

Image Credits
Anthony Heiskell, Butch Bays, Grandma Pat, James Paine, Sarah Anne Cohen, Spencer Campbell