by Riley Miller

The Ineloquent is my friend’s band. I lent them a tambourine once and sold them a bass amp before they scooted off across the country on one of their many tours. I know not when, but there was some threshold crossed, creating in me the need to announce a Christian band. I don’t feel that need with the Ineloquent.

A strong Biblical channel, reworking of a great old hymn included, directs the acoustic-to-rockish flow of Ineloquent’s four intensely musical members. Stacked end on end, the four comprise three guitarists, four writer/composer/vocalists, two drummers and bassists, a couple pianists, and an odd assortment of miscellaneous percussionists. Of intros and outros, this album is as first-rate as it is frequent. Read the rest of this entry »

by TYLER CLAIR SMITH

I’m writing this three days before the majority of Americans will cast their vote for who should be the next president of the United States. I’m no patriot. I’m of the ilk who unreasonably senses national guilt for old atrocities such as the Native American genocide, the enslavement of Africans, the bloody, arguably unjustified revolution that instigated the birth of this nation and countless other little blights on our people’s history. I will say it again: this is unreasonable. Nevertheless, I find it increasingly difficult to be “proud to be an American,” despite the fact that it might be the greatest, most God-friendly Babylon in the history of the planet. In the end, our government is just another fist shaking at the sky from a lofty tower; it just so happens this one is whitewashed. Read the rest of this entry »

by DAVID KERN

Singer/Songwriter, and newly anointed pop sensation (thanks to his many appearances on several T.V. shows), Matthew Perryman Jones, took the time to talk with Into the Hill about his great new record, “Swallow the Sea,” his song writing process, and the evolution of his music from the troubadour-like folk of his early albums to the indie pop rock that describes his work today.

We here at ITH love this album and think you will as well. Perryman Jones is one of the most creative and thoughtful musicians of our time, and on “Swallow the Sea” he offers a series of focused, thought provoking, emotional songs that compare favorably with most anything this year.

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So, Into the Hill readers, you are still here, still reading, still listening, still watching. And we thank you for that. If you’re new to The Hill then welcome, and we hope you’ll join us on our journey.

As our About page says, ITH is built upon community, creation, and a passion for good art. In other words, our intent is to find out what good art is through community and creation. We feel that our job is to provide you with quality content from independent artists in the various artistic disciplines, from music to film - and maybe a little in between. But we don’t want to just say, “alright folks, this dude is rad” or “this chick rocks,” or, on the other hand, “these guys suck” or “this film totally blows.” No, we want to learn about art and discernment and discretion. We want to explore, to study, to learn. That’s what we hope you will do along with us.

With that in mind we have a slew of new features, including the following: Read the rest of this entry »

Editors note: The Ethos R. Newsworthy column, penned by Into the Hill Senior Contributing Writer, Mr. Riley Miller, but under the uber-appropriate pseudonym Ethos R. Newsworthy, will be a sometimes serious, sometimes satirical examination of the important pieces of news and information that dominate the artistic world. We are all consumers each day of vast amounts of information and knowledge, some worthwhile, much of it not. It is up to each of us, in our own way, to learn discernment and discretion when wading through the mire of modern (and yes, postmodern) culture. We invite you to join Mr. Miller as he explores what it means to be discerning - while still attempting, or failing, to be hip.

The following is Mr. Miller’s introductory column.
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Welcome to one of Into the Hill’s newest features, Ruled Line Sequential!

Resident artist and Senior Contributing Writer, T. Clair (otherwise known as Tyler Smith), will be sharing his talent and love for comics. You know, that great American art form: from Calvin and Hobbes to Charlie Brown to Far Side, you grew up with them and grew up because of them and sometimes imitated them. You always wanted to be Calvin, or to hang with Snoopy. You always wanted your unfortunate acne problem to actually be laughable. But alas, no; that huge whitehead - still as annoying as ever. So you’ve lived vicariously through the Sunday paper (or, for you more politically minded intellectuals, through The New Yorker). Read the rest of this entry »