HTH

So, what in the world is HTH? And why does it get its own page?

HTH is Hallelujah the Hills.

And Hallelujah the Hills is a Boston-based alt-rock band, I suppose. Alt-rock is my best guess description. No doubt, lead singer Ryan Walsh and the rest of his gang will correct me on this.

The story goes like this.

Once upon a time, I was online looking for my new favourite band. This is an endless quest that previously has led me to The Wonder Stuff and Counting Crows and Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes and Frank Turner and Ben Folds and Pearl Jam and Band of Horses and The Shins and Wilco. Through some strange invisible path I learned of Mr Walsh and his modern-day troubadours from a link through another band. Titus Andronicus. It seems that they were heavily involved in the 2010 album, The Monitor – which I love. I listened to HTH – “Wave Backwards to Massachusetts” first – and instantly loved them. Over time, I began correspondence with the ever-affable Mr Walsh, via email, social media and skype. He seems like a nice guy.

So we got to talking, he gave me lyrics to “Hello, My Destroyer” to use in my second novel, The Page and over time we joked about writing about their tour or maybe even their biography. The idea began to gain momentum, and I managed to persuade my publisher that the idea was a good one. They agreed.

And so, the idea for the book is, I hope, different from any other ‘rock-bio’ out there. This is not just the story of a band. It is a story of the people that make up the band. A story of why on the 5th November 2015, five musicians will come together in a studio and record an album. What invisible paths did each of them follow and what decisions did they make along the way to be there at that exact moment? And what the hell is a fiction author from a small town in the north of England doing there? I expect any fan of music in general or just the human condition will love this.

I am so excited about working with the band. Via email they all seem really nice. Their music suggests that they are all having fun. I just have to work out how the hell I go about researching, interviewing and writing a non-fiction piece. It’s a big task – I reckon I can do it though.

The presently untitled-book, working title(s) “How The Hell…?” or “Title: TBA” or “Project Octopod” is due out Summer 2016.

I’m over observing, interviewing and writing in the studio in Rochester, NY for five days and in and around Boston, MA for another seven. A whistle-stop tour. There’s also a couple of gigs in there where I hope to get the fans view.

If you have any stories to tell, or just love HTH please send me an email, any input would be invaluable – it’s joff@jonathanleeauthor.com