Johnny Hiland
Encyclopedia
Johnny Hiland is an American musician. He began as a bluegrass player, and then went on to play jazz
, blues
and heavy metal
.
. He was born with nystagmus
, a condition of involuntary eye movement.
for country
artists including Toby Keith
, Ricky Skaggs
, Janie Fricke
, and Hank Williams III
. Hiland signed with Steve Vai
’s Favored Nations
label as a solo artist. The Johnny Hiland Band has released two studio albums on the Favored Nations label.
Besides guitar, Hiland also plays banjo
, fiddle
and mandolin
.
as well as a children's author. Hiland's first children's book. Tuff the Special Bear, which he wrote and illustrated, was published in 2006. In December of 2010, Hiland became partners with Jason Macedo (guitarist) as magazine partner in The Sound Guitar Magazine.. In, 2011 Johnny signed with Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records.
player, in 1998 Hiland became the first unsigned artist to ever be awarded an endorsement deal from Fender. In 2007 Paul Reed Smith
and Hiland collaborated to design a Johnny Hiland Signature model guitar based on some of the technical specifications of many of Hiland's favorite session instruments. He recently endorsed the "Nashville Special Elite" guitar built by Abraham Wechter
of Wechter Guitars.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
.
Early life
Hiland grew up in Woodland, MaineWoodland, Maine
Woodland is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Maine:*Woodland, Aroostook County, Maine*Woodland, Washington County, Maine...
. He was born with nystagmus
Nystagmus
Nystagmus is a condition of involuntary eye movement, acquired in infancy or later in life, that may result in reduced or limited vision.There are two key forms of Nystagmus: pathological and physiological, with variations within each type. Nystagmus may be caused by congenital disorders,...
, a condition of involuntary eye movement.
Career
In 1996, Hiland moved to Nashville and worked as a session musicianSession musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
for country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artists including Toby Keith
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel , best known as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer-songwriter, record producer and actor. Keith released his first four studio albums — 1993's Toby Keith, 1994's Boomtown, 1996's Blue Moon and 1997's Dream Walkin, plus a Greatest Hits package for various divisions of...
, Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs
Rickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
, Janie Fricke
Janie Fricke
Janie Fricke is an American country music singer, best remembered for a series of country music hits in the early to mid 1980s....
, and Hank Williams III
Hank Williams III
Shelton Hank Williams, known as Hank 3 , is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal...
. Hiland signed with Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
’s Favored Nations
Favored Nations
Favored Nations is a record label started by guitarist Steve Vai and former Guitar Center owner Ray Scherr in 1999. The first album ever released by Favored Nations was Frank Gambale's Coming to Your Senses in 2000...
label as a solo artist. The Johnny Hiland Band has released two studio albums on the Favored Nations label.
Besides guitar, Hiland also plays banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
and mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
.
Other activities
Hiland also works as a motivational speakerMotivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
as well as a children's author. Hiland's first children's book. Tuff the Special Bear, which he wrote and illustrated, was published in 2006. In December of 2010, Hiland became partners with Jason Macedo (guitarist) as magazine partner in The Sound Guitar Magazine.. In, 2011 Johnny signed with Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records.
Equipment
Originally a dedicated Fender TelecasterFender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
player, in 1998 Hiland became the first unsigned artist to ever be awarded an endorsement deal from Fender. In 2007 Paul Reed Smith
Paul Reed Smith
Paul Reed Smith , is a luthier and the founder and owner of PRS Guitars.Smith is originally from Bowie, Maryland. He made his first guitar while at St. Mary's College of Maryland, and continued to build guitars after he finished college, making them one at a time, one a month...
and Hiland collaborated to design a Johnny Hiland Signature model guitar based on some of the technical specifications of many of Hiland's favorite session instruments. He recently endorsed the "Nashville Special Elite" guitar built by Abraham Wechter
Abraham Wechter
Abraham Wechter is an American master luthier, who has been making custom guitars since the 1970s. He is best-known for building 6- and 12-string acoustic guitars, but also builds acoustic bass guitars. He was a student of Richard Schneider, and worked for Gibson for ten years...
of Wechter Guitars.