Bob Hillman’s Rock and Roll Return: From Beach Volleyball to Marketing to Musician

Bob Hillman had a real thing going on in the early 2000’s. He had made waves in New York City rubbing shoulders with some of the finest songwriters of the era at places like the open mic, Fast Folk and The Living Room, the singer-songwriter was creatively fulfilled, but not gaining the momentum in order to experience strategic growth in folk music. After opening for a long list of dates for Suzanne Vega, Hillman decided it was time to step away and get back to business…. school that is. He got his MBA in Marketing and went on to hold a decent paying job for the next decade and a half, raising his family in the Bay Area.

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After a layoff, Bob thought it was time to dig in again and started writing, recording and performing. Since 2016, he’s released a couple of albums and an EP (Extended Play) or two. The most recent is the mostly acoustic Downtown in the Rain. In our conversation, we talk about what it’s like to reignite his creative entrepreneurial musical spirit, how he used that energy in his corporate jobs and also hoping to one day meet his singing partner on the EP, Maria Taylor.