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Native San Diegan Happy Ron Hill says his 1500th performance will happen at Lestat's on Wednesday, November 23. Though his local stage debut was back in 1998, he kicked it into high gear around 2004, averaging five performances per week, most at open mic events. Also on the bill are Zakk "Attack" Boyd and Jessica Hull.
“I never sang a note until I was 30 and didn’t even think about a music career until my 40s,” says Ronald Hill, aka Happy Ron.
Beginning with open mikes and tutorials found in books like How Music Really Works by Wayne Chase (“I went on a weeklong retreat with him in Canada”) and Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles, Happy Ron earned a San Diego Music Award nomination for Best Local Recording for his 2009 debut Terribly Happy.
Not that it all got off to a rolling head start. “It was 1997, when my original singing teacher threw us up on stage. I mumbled the Beatles’ ‘In My Life,’ and the teacher shouted, ‘Project! Project!’ I mumbled, ‘I am projecting.’ The next time, I literally shouted a sensitive love song, almost at the top of my lungs. She shook her head and said, ‘Don’t project!’”
Another hurdle he has overcome factors into his stage performances. “I’ve lived most of my life with extreme tension and pain in my body due to the lack of a hip socket on my left side.”
Produced by Sven-Erik Seaholm, Terribly Happy includes his ode to spanking "All She Needs Is a Spankin," as well as “The No Tantric Woman Blues,” “Sick of Her S**t,” and “Dickless Wonder.” Guest locals include Kelsea Little (The Wrong Trousers), Robin Henkel, and Cathryn Beeks.
Asked to describe his music, he says “I’ve always said it’s Frank Sinatra Meets South Park. Steve Poltz said it’s punk rock meets punk folk. Since he’s wiser than me, who am I to argue?”
Playing music isn’t the only thing that makes Ron Happy. In 1992, he compiled a book that was later made into a website: Cloudbusting -- Kate Bush in Her Own Words. In addition, “I’m a trained boxer. It still goes back to music, though, because my song ‘Beat the Crap’ tells the true story of the weird bond you form with people when you do boxing training with them.”
In Autumn 2010, he auditioned for the upcoming season of America’s Got Talent. “I will be on the show, because they got a lot of footage of me at the front in crowd shots, next to the host as he talked. They called me up front ‘cause I looked cool, and they interviewed me.”
He was seen on the May 31, 2011 season debut, lined up for auditions alongside famous former neighbor/show host Nick Cannon and a Michael Jackson impersonator.
Here's Happy Ron at the Ruby Room, performing his entry in the "Famous Former Neighbors" theme song contest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhj5LWYCc9Q&feature=related
Native San Diegan Happy Ron Hill says his 1500th performance will happen at Lestat's on Wednesday, November 23. Though his local stage debut was back in 1998, he kicked it into high gear around 2004, averaging five performances per week, most at open mic events. Also on the bill are Zakk "Attack" Boyd and Jessica Hull.
“I never sang a note until I was 30 and didn’t even think about a music career until my 40s,” says Ronald Hill, aka Happy Ron.
Beginning with open mikes and tutorials found in books like How Music Really Works by Wayne Chase (“I went on a weeklong retreat with him in Canada”) and Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles, Happy Ron earned a San Diego Music Award nomination for Best Local Recording for his 2009 debut Terribly Happy.
Not that it all got off to a rolling head start. “It was 1997, when my original singing teacher threw us up on stage. I mumbled the Beatles’ ‘In My Life,’ and the teacher shouted, ‘Project! Project!’ I mumbled, ‘I am projecting.’ The next time, I literally shouted a sensitive love song, almost at the top of my lungs. She shook her head and said, ‘Don’t project!’”
Another hurdle he has overcome factors into his stage performances. “I’ve lived most of my life with extreme tension and pain in my body due to the lack of a hip socket on my left side.”
Produced by Sven-Erik Seaholm, Terribly Happy includes his ode to spanking "All She Needs Is a Spankin," as well as “The No Tantric Woman Blues,” “Sick of Her S**t,” and “Dickless Wonder.” Guest locals include Kelsea Little (The Wrong Trousers), Robin Henkel, and Cathryn Beeks.
Asked to describe his music, he says “I’ve always said it’s Frank Sinatra Meets South Park. Steve Poltz said it’s punk rock meets punk folk. Since he’s wiser than me, who am I to argue?”
Playing music isn’t the only thing that makes Ron Happy. In 1992, he compiled a book that was later made into a website: Cloudbusting -- Kate Bush in Her Own Words. In addition, “I’m a trained boxer. It still goes back to music, though, because my song ‘Beat the Crap’ tells the true story of the weird bond you form with people when you do boxing training with them.”
In Autumn 2010, he auditioned for the upcoming season of America’s Got Talent. “I will be on the show, because they got a lot of footage of me at the front in crowd shots, next to the host as he talked. They called me up front ‘cause I looked cool, and they interviewed me.”
He was seen on the May 31, 2011 season debut, lined up for auditions alongside famous former neighbor/show host Nick Cannon and a Michael Jackson impersonator.
Here's Happy Ron at the Ruby Room, performing his entry in the "Famous Former Neighbors" theme song contest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhj5LWYCc9Q&feature=related