People Getting It Done: Singer/Songwriter & Horror Guru Rody Hillman #payitforward

I Love It When I See Friends of Mine Getting Creative Things Done! Today’s spotlight is on the living laser: Rody Hillman!

Yesterday was all about the beacon of positivity: Craig Kotfas. So, it’s only right and fair that I bring balance to the force by highlighting the shenanigans of my favorite force of darkness, the sarcastic drummer/zombie/laser : Rody Hillman. Rody has been continuing to work on his various projects, even through wild adversity, and that’s part of why his and Craig’s story are so inspiring. These are not the stories of people that released an album and got rich and famous, these are the stories of creatives who have found a way to balance a day job lifestyle with all of the various creative pursuits that they dream up to accomplish. These are everyday people, like you and me, that spend their spare time chasing their dreams and living life to the fullest. Rody Hillman, today I’m paying it forward for you!

Full Disclosure: Rody Hillman and I first met in the mid 1990s while we both worked at Sam Goody. It didn’t take long for us to discover that we would make great friends, as we shared a variety of similar interests such as comic books, good music, and bizarre humor. Through movies, concerts, floods, and everything else in between, we remained close friends at the time. In the early 2000s, Rody moved to Dallas, got married, and has established a good life playing music with various bands and working on side gigs. Even though we don’t live anywhere near each other, we still connect whenever we are in each other’s city, and it’s always a memorable evening when we do get together.

What I Can Tell You About Rody: Rody was born with a pair of drum sticks in his hands (true-ish story). He performed in his first group, “The Rody’s” at a very early age for an amusement park talent show. Since then, he has performed with a variety of musicians, creating new tunes and covering classic songs. He loves all things associated with Halloween as well as anything to do with the original Universal Classic Monsters. Also, Invader Zim. For more information, a ton of photo and videos (both old & new), head on over to Rody’s website: rodyhillman.com

Rody as a Singer/Songwriter/Drummer: Over the years, Rody has played with a variety of bands, such as: Pax-in-Terra, the Noyz, the Candies, the Semantics, Group Therapy, and a few other bands along the way. Performing a smattering of original tunes and some choice cover material, Rody has stayed quite busy over the years. In 2000, Rody recorded a full length album titled “Plan B” under the band name Maybe. A mixture of new wave and rock sounds, Plan B is an exceptionally cool album that takes inspiration from acts like Devo and Gary Numan, and yet firmly creates a unique sound that could only have come from Mr. Hillman. Catchy, twisted, and often times poignant, Plan B is a fantastic listen and a labor of love, as Rody recorded and edited all of the instruments and vocals himself. Originally pressed on CD in 2000, Plan B has not been made available on digital (like through iTunes or Amazon), but if you contact Rody through his website, I bet he’d still gladly sell you a copy of his album in whichever method you like to have it in.

Here’s a video with a mix of tunes from the Plan B days. The videos that we shot for each song (I was involved in some of the filming) were creative and painstakingly edited by Rody on VHS tape! Also, that’s my wife as the lady in the videos, go Kitty go!

Zombie/Horror Make Up Genius: Boy howdy, Rody sure does love to play around with effects make up, prosthetics, color contacts, costumes, and fake blood! He regularly attends zombie walks, horror conventions, and other events in full monster cosplays that are awe inspiring. Not content with just being pale and bloody, Rody takes his love for the genre and creates these wickedly gnarly and subversively detailed zombie and monster costumes to wear. He doesn’t only do cosplay and make up, he also has been known to work with a small group of like minded weirdos on haunted houses on occasion and various other horror themed projects. Rody has always had a beautifully twisted mind (that’s like a laser!), and we wouldn’t want him any other way!

Here’s a walk through of one of Rody’s Halloween horror house collaborations with his friends in Dallas from 2007, the set up takes a a couple minutes, but it’s totally worth it:

Rody likes to dabble in a lot of different creative ways: art, film, music, themed events, and more. He’s always thinking about what he wants to do next and making the necessary preparations to see them through. Not to long ago he set up a green screen and camera equipment at his home and has begun filming for some unnamed project, which could be something special. Also, he’s been staying busy recently by playing some gigs with Christopher Anton (Information Society), Donna Jean (Christopher Anton and the Joneses), and Jayden Frost (When in Rome), performing new wave, dance, and rock hits for the masses in multiple states across the U.S. Rody just keeps on moving, performing, creating, and scheming for the future, and that’s a huge part of why I draw inspiration from the sheer amount of effort and hard work he puts in to everything that he does. 

Rody has also been teasing a potential return to the recording studio, as he recently placed the following banner up online:

In the meantime, while we wait for the new LP, enjoy this drum solo/glow stick check and be advised: Rody is working on something, and I’m sure whatever it ends up being, it will be great!