User:David.l.leech/Greg Hill (author)

Greg Hill (Gregory Walter Hill) is a musician and author, living and working in Denver, Colorado and Joes, Colorado. He is married to Maureen Hearty of Mauxheart Designs.

Early Life
Gregory Walter Hill was welcome by parents, Judy and Elden Hill and sister, Rebecca and brother, Thomas. He was born on December 12, 1972 at Poudre Valley Hospital, Fort Collins, Colorado. Grandparents included Maxine and Walter Williams and Juanita Hill and Harry Hill ( deceased). Following kindergarten at Monroe Elementary in Loveland, Colorado, he moved with his family to a farm near Joes where he attended Liberty School until high school graduation in 1990.

Writing Career
The two word, hyphenated phrase that best describes Gregory Hill’s accomplished writing and music is “self-taught”.

Greg has been writing and illustrating his own stories since he could read. Dinosaurs, Mack trucks, and monsters were the main subjects of his early writings, complete with intricate illustrations. In high school, along with a classmate, he published a monthly satire called the Rotten Potato. It was critically acclaimed, but popularly rejected, at least by the administration. Greg graduated from Liberty High School in Joes, Colorado and went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in English from The University of Colorado at Boulder, with an emphasis on creative writing [a brief experience with direct instruction]. Under several pseudonyms, Greg contributed to local publications. His Strapping Danforth, in particular, graced the pages of a local music magazine called Riff out of Ft. Collins. With a co-worker, he completed 100 Poems about Monkeys , with accompanying illustrations and music. In 2006 he completed his first novel, The Funnercize Handbook. Then, in the summer of 2011, he was awarded the Amazon Breakthrough Author Awards for his novel, East of Denver , which was published in 2012.

Music Career
Musically, Greg had a preference for classic rock, from an early age. The family piano and church music were a focal point of his childhood home. The school did not have a band teacher when Greg was ready to choose an instrument, so he taught himself to play guitar. From one guitar to another and multiple visits to pawn shops in Denver with his father, he built his guitar and amplifier collection. Next he found interested band members. In high school, it was the Screaming Cows. College bands included Sterling Beat, The Shivers. Beyond, it was Mr. Tree and the Wingnuts. As himself and alter-ego Soapy Argyle, Hill recorded several solo albums and performed with the Rugburns, 6 Months to Live, and most recently, The Babysitters. Along the way, and as a mechanical and electronic tinkerer, he has built a recording studio in his garage and recorded several Denver superstars and pals, including several holiday compilations. He has also been a member of Denver groups The Orangu-Tones, and Marty Jones and the Pork Boilin’ Po Boys.

Greg is also an illustrator, doing most of his own graphics art work on concert promotional posters and CD inserts.

Greg plays the guitar, saxophone, piano, sitar, banjo, vocals, harmonica and bass.