MARK HILLMAN
Musician (Guitarist/Singer), Producer/Audio Engineer, Composer
Townsville, North Queensland
News
New page... who dis?
Revamped website. Fresh news and updates to come.
Wow... it has been a loooooong time since we kept this updated. Time for that to change.
This is the page to check for updates, announcements and blogs about past events and projects. All content contained in the following sections is written by Mark, and is intended to give you an insight into the person behind the music.
News is where to find the latest updates and content from 2021 an beyond.
Blogs is where to find expanded stories about experiences from throughout Mark's career.
Old News is where to find news from prior to 2021. This currently only covers up to 2013, but will be expanded as Mark finds time to write about his experiences since then.
Blogs
Coming Soon..
First blog due Novermber 2021.
University is a thing. I'm in my third year of a Bachelor of Music now - last couple weeks of term. Lots of assignments to focus on - I'll have a proper blog entry for you all after I finish up and have a chance to reflect and write some things down. Stay tuned!
Old News
Wallaby Creek Festival 2013
Homerule, Rossville, Far North Queensland
This was my first folk festival.. and was I blown away. Far too many people to thank by name here for this one.. but much love to everyone I met here. Was absolutely blessed to see some amazing performers, and even get some stage time both with them and by myself. Definitely one I'll be back to!
Dysphemic & Miss Eliza Album Launch [Taesty Gecko Productions]
The Jack, Cairns, North Queensland
I was fortunate enough to open this gig with an acoustic set, then play again as a transition later on in the show. Much love to everyone who was there.. fantastic night.
Thanks to Julian [Dysphemic] for taking the time to sit down with me and talk shop. Was a great insight into the world of live/electronic fusion.
Thanks again to Casey for his efforts organising this one. Always love working with you, brother :)
Aussie Produce @ JCU 2013 [Taesty Gecko Productions]
James Cook University, Cairns, North Queensland
Played a few sets here.. two solo acoustic sets, including the debut live performance of my live looping work, and a main stage set as Fuck Yeah! Small Dragons. Thanks much to Casey for organising the event, Dave Masters for the incredible sound on main stage, Solar Moon for his work on the live stage, Crow for driving and roadie duties, and everyone else that was a part of it. Great experience, lots of fun :)
Tribal Rhythms Music & Lifestyle Festival 2012
Black Wattle DiMenTions event, New South Wales
One of my other projects; Fuck Yeah! Small Dragons (Experimental Live Glitch/Prog) had their debut performance on the chill stage here. Got to meet an amazing bunch of people from another part of the country. Lovely to see such beautiful events happening in the bushland down there. Was absolutely blessed to be a part of this event.
Cairns Summer Solstice/End of Mayan Celebration 2012
North Queensland
Beautiful party, with beautiful people. Sound system for this one was massive, 90k Lorrentz rig. Set up to make use of the dynamics of the land, some of the bouncing sound waves did some quite impressive things to my mind :)
I played an acoustic set through my tiny little Micro Cube on the last morning during pack down. Was quite funny to see me sitting next to such a ginormous speaker stack with the Cube's tiny little cab.. good times!
Woodstock Music & Lifestyle Festival 2012
Community Hall @ Woodstock, North Queensland
This was a small event, a first for the local Townsville crew that introduced me to festival and doof culture. Was a joy to be a part of, playing a couple of acoustic sets and helping out with the live stage. I seem to be lacking photos of the performances themselves, so instead, you get to see me blissing out, somewhat exhausted after dancing,to Stinkwood's awesome tunes :)
Cafe Reggae Open Stage
Cafe Reggae - Solar Eclipse Festival 2012, Palmer River, North Queensland
In this performance was the debut of several of my original tracks. Playing a mostly original set, with tracks from my EP "The Digger Sessions" (to be recorded later) - this was a lovely way to pass a scorching hot Friday afternoon. With just a single guitar and vocals at this point, the chilled tunes I played seemed eto go over well with the near-exhausted crowd, most of them laying back and chilling with contented smiles on their faces.
Thanks to Jazzy for his work on the sound desk :)
Splintermind vs Taesty Gecko
Renegade Stage, Tribal Daze 2012, Mungali Falls, North Queensland
An experimental project blending psychedelic guitar with psytrance synths and beats.
Casey (Taesty Gecko) and I started collaborating in 2011. This was our second performance together, and considering we live in different cities and have had virtually no rehearsal time, this live performance went down quite well, and was positively received by punters as an opening act to begin this years festivities on Friday afternoon.
I also played a solo acoustic set the next day in the art gallery space, playing a mixture of material.
Busking For Charity
Camp Quality Buskout 2011, Flinders St East, Townsville
Big thanks to Michael Bowket AKA TinyTeddy for organising this event. Michael did an amazing job setting this up, from liaising with Camp Quality, Bullwinkles Nightclub and the local council, to promotions and running the night itself. I helped with sound and equipment, and we were joined by several talented local artists, including Tash Zappala and Luke Thomas (pictured to the right of myself and Michael).
We managed to raise over $500 for Camp Quality in just 3 short hours, showing the true nature of the generous spirit the people of Townsville seem to have.
Weekly Busking
Weekends - Flinders St East, Townsville, North Queensland
Most weekends I can be found in various locations on Townsville's nightclub strip, usually between 10pm and 3am, entertaining punters with my own material and covers of various styles. I've been doing this for the last five years, and have had a few partners along the way and had the opportunity to meet plenty of interesting people and jam with some incredibly talented musicians.
No, I don't play The Gambler, and if you ask me to play Wonderwall just ONE more time... I might just erupt with a stream of jazz-inspired metal licks!