Currently I've been playing with a band called the Buzzkills. That's myself, Max Drake on guitar, FJ on upright bass, and Chuck Cotton on drums. I also play bass with "my brother from another mother" Matt Walsh. Recently I've been picking some guitar with Gina Sicilia and Dave Gross.
Influences
I have a long list of heroes but here's a few: Howlin' Wolf, Bob Margolin, Max Drake, Hop Wilson, Don Helms, JERRY LEE, Nappy Brown, Pat Hare, LINK WRAY, Willie Dixon, Joey Spampinato, Robert Nighthawk, Ernest Tubb, Mookie Brill, Bukka White, KEITH RICHARDS, Muddy Waters, Carl Perkins, Hank Williams Sr., Black Ace, Jimmy Rogers, Elmore James, Otis Redding, Eddie Hinton, Hubert Sumlin, Willie Johnson, Willie "Big Eyes' Smith, Pinetop Perkins, Non- Fat Elvis, Albert Collins, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Aubrey Ghent, Sonny Teadway, Calvin Cooke, Johnny Cash, Jimmie Vaughan, T-Bone Walker, Little Richard, Homesick James, Chuck Berry, and Christopher Walken to name a few.
Matt Hill (a.k.a Slappy MacSteel II, Knuckles, etc,) likes to play what some call that "mean old nasty sh!t." Matt fronts THE BUZZKILLS , plays bass with Matt Walsh and has been recently playing guitar with Gina Sicilia and Dave Gross. Matt is a vocalist/steel guitarist/guitarist and bassist, carrying on the deep Chicago Blues style, with a touch of Swing, Rockabilly, and a little Rock N' Roll.
Matt won the won the 18th Annual PBPS Talent Showcase, and represented the PBPS at the international competition in Memphis. Matt was also interviewed by Bob in the well-known blues US publication Blues Revue magazine, that provided an insightful article into the minds of young bluesmen that featured Matt and good friend Matt Walsh.
Matt has shared the bill and stage with such blues legends as Bob Margolin, Hubert Sumlin, The Holmes Brothers, Duwayne Burnside, Michael Burks, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Kenny Neal, John Dee Holeman, Bo Didley, Bettye Lavette, Pinetop Perkins, and Carrie Bell to name a few.
Here's a quote from the recent Blues Review Article:
"They love Old School Chicago Blues and have both already gone a long way towards playing it with authentic tone and command of the guitar language. Both of them can sing it too, and improve every time I hear them. They are young today and will keep this style alive on bandstands and preserve it as and preserve it as more than history. They may develop so much themselves that they carry the style forward with their own contributions."
-Bob Margolin former guitarist for Muddy Waters Band, writer and columnist for Blues Revue magazine (Aug/Sept 2006 issue on Matt Walsh and Matt Hill).
