TilliS

The evolution of the TilliS band has followed its own sort of natural rhythm. The band consists of father, David Tillis, and his two sons, Sean and Michael. David has been playing professionally since the mid-‘70’s and used to joke that, one day, he was going to grow his own musicians…and so he did. TilliS’ music has always come together very naturally, with an unspoken communication that only families possess. David states, “From the beginning, even doing covers, our goal was to always play everything very aggressively and to extend the arrangements with quirky and unexpected twists and turns.”
As time went along, the audiences helped dictate the growth of the band and the gigs steadily improved in terms of quality and pay. Of course, there was the occasional “bad booking” as all bands experience and, in fact, the title of their first CD, “hearing crickets”, came out of one of those bookings. TilliS had been booked to do a corporate party and the crowd was expecting a country band. The band was able to pull a few country tunes out of its hat, but they also did a Steely Dan tune that featured a stop-on-a-dime ending. At the moment the song ended, the band was met with deafening silence and a sea of blank faces. After a moment or two, Michael, the drummer, leaned over to his band mates and said, “I hear crickets”.
“Hearing crickets” is the product of their influences and emphasizes a strong sense of melody in their songwriting. Everyone in the band contributed to these songs that feature lyrical themes of wanderlust, emotional conflict, and late-night loneliness with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure.
Sean’s bass lines snake through each song, creating a bottom that always grooves and always supports the melody. Sean also adds background vocals and is an emerging songwriter. Michael’s snappy, razor sharp grooves give each tune its backbone and he’s that rare drummer who possesses great technique but always puts the song first. Michael’s lyrics reveal a penchant for the quirky phrase and they also reveal a bit of his personal side. David loves a lot of different musical styles and this is reflected on this very eclectic release. His guitar plays a supportive role while showcasing a jazzy style of phrasing. He also sings all the lead vocals as well as chiming in on backgrounds.
The only cover tune on “hearing crickets” is a jam that sort of became a signature piece for the band when playing live, Santana’s “Soul Sacrifice”. TilliS recorded it basically as they do it live and it has always been a crowd favorite. The album closes with an adaptation of a Civil War-era poem sung basically a cappella, with a soundscape created by the band’s producer/engineer Eric Von Leue of Armadillo Bytes. Von Leue played a very prominent role in the making of “hearing crickets”. He took on a project that had great potential and, through his amazing skills, that potential was realized beyond the band’s expectations. Bringing his twenty years of professional audio experience to the project, as well as a wicked sense of humor, Von Leue was the band’s “fourth member”.
Where to from here? “We want to try and get this music heard by as many people as we can. The response so far has been very gratifying. It seems there’s at least one tune on there that everyone loves, no matter their musical tastes”. David adds, “I’m so lucky to be able to make such great music with my sons. Best of all, they always show up sober and on time! This project was a dream of ours and we’re already eagerly writing material for the next one.”
One thing you can be sure of… TilliS will be keeping it all in the family.