Seeing Bluesfest 2017 feature act Nikki Hill sing her arse off is a whiplash moment. This woman does things to songs that probably aren’t even legal. Ms Hill got up close and personal with the songs that mean something to her.
What is the one song that reminds you of growing up, and why?
Little Red Corvette was on a mixtape of a friend of mine in middle school. We hit it off in homeroom, and started going to live shows and getting into trouble together, sneaking out of town, cutting each other’s hair in the bathroom at school, and all of that. She had this mixtape that was punk rock and 80s stuff. We would play each other new tapes/CDs of bands we liked, but that mixtape was always the go-to. Driving around with nothing to do but blast this tape and harmonise to the songs together was one of our favourite things. We’re still friends and those moments are just as important as a lot of the wild shit we did!
What is/are the song/s that get you on the dancefloor every time?
If Al Jackson Jr or Howard Grimes or Phil Rudd played drums on it, I’m on the dancefloor. Plain and simple!
What is/are the song/s that are always busted out when no-one is around? Why?
Tom Jones singing It’s Not Unusual. Although I would play this with people around too. It’s a catchy song. Tom Jones is a killer singer, and sexy as hell, and if you grew up in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air era like I did, that song holds a special place. We all know the ‘Carlton dance’!
What is/are the song/s on high rotation in your car at the moment?
Been listening to Lee Moses’s Time and Place album on repeat. Adorable One just tears me up! Iggy Pop and the Stooges’ Search and Destroy, Amy Winehouse’s Just Friends, Seratones’ Chandelier, Gary Clark Jr’s The Healing and Toots and the Maytals has probably been my go-to for the past, well, forever. I’m really studying Toots’s singing style right now. I just saw him live for the first time this summer, and I was so blown away. I’ll definitely never forget the impact his sound had on me!
What was your wedding song (or what would it be)?
Our wedding song was Otis Redding’s I Love You More Than Words Can Say.
Your favourite song/s to cover at the moment?
You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory.
If you could sing a duet with anyone dead or alive who would it be and what would be the song?
Let’s do alive and dead because this is just killing me, okay?
For someone no longer with us, I would have loved to do a duet with Lemmy. I think doing a rock’n’roll version of No Good Lover by Mickey and Sylvia would have been so much fun. Alive, from my gigantic list of dreams, I would say Mavis Staples. I would sing whatever the hell she told me to, because I don’t really think Mavis could steer me or anyone wrong.
Your all time rock’n’roll hero is…? Why?
Sister Rosetta Tharpe – She could walk the walk, talk the talk, was incredibly innovative, emotive, and passionate about her music, and looked good while doing it. She’s a pioneer as far as I’m concerned.
Nikki Hill is one of the incredible artists playing Bluesfest in 2017. To find out more about the program go to bluesfest.com.au.
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