Bones Hillman

Who is Bones Hillman?

Bones Hillman is a New Zealand musician. He played bass guitar in his first band The Masochists, an early New Zealand punk act, formed with friends from the Auckland suburb of Avondale. In late 1977 he joined the Suburban Reptiles and appeared on their first single, "Megaton". The name Hillman was coined by the make of car he drove. He left the band in early 1978 and joined the former Masochists in The Rednecks, a mainstay of the legendary Zwines punk scene in Auckland.

In late 1977 he joined the New Zealand band The Swingers with Phil Judd and Mark Hough. Their single "Counting the Beat" was a trans-Tasman number one hit before the band disintegrated in 1983.

Moving to Australia and living there from 1987 until 2002, he was a member of internationally known Australian rock band Midnight Oil, replacing Peter Gifford as bass player.

After the dissolution of Midnight Oil, Hillman relocated to New Zealand, working as a studio and live musician with Dave Dobbyn and recorded the album Available Light. Hillman moved with his family to Nashville, USA, in early 2007 to participate in the more active musical scene there. In 2009 Hillman recorded albums for Anne McCue Broken Promise Land and Elizabeth Cook Welder produced by Don Was. In 2011 Hillman worked on the Musical adaptation of Diner recording tracks for Sheryl Crow.