Keith Hollis on SoundBetter

Former pianist for Grammy Award Winner/Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soul singer Solomon Burke available to play Hammond Organ, Fender Rhodes or piano on your tracks! Make your songs feel great with soulful & tasty playing and sound great with my 1970's analog recording gear.

Yo! I'm Keith Hollis! I'd love to play keys on your next project! I'm an experienced pianist/organist that plays with a lot of feeling and soul. For 20 years I've been living off and on tour and when home, Im in the studio recording funk, rock, soul, blues...you name it! Currently, I have my own analog recording studio, Somerville Sound, with a room set-up to record Organ/Leslie,Rhodes and acoustic piano.

I record here on a fantastic 1970's "Leeds of Hollywood" modified Fender Rhodes Suitcase Piano, a 1960's A100 Hammond Organ with a Hammond Store rebuilt 147 Leslie and a 1940's Chickering Studio Acoustic Piano - which gets the John Lennon "Imagine" sound! Somerville Sound has amazing mics (Neumanns, Schoeps, Royer, AKG++) and a deep analog signal chain: 8 Vintage 70's API mic Pre's, 2 blackface 1176LN, a vintage 1970's LA-2A's, plus 3 vintage DBX 160's to add vibe to the vibe ya'll!

I've recently toured the US as pianist and organist for indie/pop group "She & Him" with stops at Nashville's "Ryman Auditorium," Los Angeles's "Wiltern Theater," Washington DC's "Anthem" as well as performances on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Late Late Show with James Corden and Jimmy Kimmel Live! Previously, I toured the world for years as pianist and organist for Grammy Winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soul singer Solomon Burke.

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

Credits

Discogs verified credits for Keith Hollis

Pete Pidgeon And Arcoda
Zac Harmon*
Po Boyz
Solomon Burke

6 Reviews - 1 Repeat Client

Endorse Keith Hollis

by Pete C.
Verified
Great experience working with Keith. Easy communication, open to suggestions, and has a great ear and ability to bring out what you are looking for in a song. Highly recommend.
by Lorenzo Gabanizza
Verified
Another great job by Keith. Recommended!
by Lorenzo Gabanizza
Verified
Great experience. Easy to work with and very professional. Keith followed the instructions but most of all, he treated my stuff with respect and felt what he played. That's just what I need from who works for me. Highly recommend.
by Benny Steele
You can't go wrong with Keith Hollis! Stellar musicianship and sonic palette! If you need legendary keys, Keith is your man!
by Benny Steele
You can't go wrong with Keith Hollis! Stellar musicianship and sonic palette! If you need legendary keys, Keith is your man!
by Benny Steele
You can't go wrong with Keith Hollis! Stellar musicianship and sonic palette! If you need legendary keys, Keith is your man!

Interview with Keith Hollis

Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm mixing a rock/blues Children's album for an artist/client that is local to the Boston area. I played organ, Rhodes and piano on 1/2 of the 11 tracks. I recorded everything here at Somerville Sound except the drums were done outside. Sounds amazing so far!!
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What's your deadline for your project?
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started playing blues jams in Watts, Los Angeles when I was 15. James Rudy, who was BB Kings pianist, was sometimes there on his Rhodes. He was the kindest dude - he encouraged me, showed me a few things - even had me stand on stage behind him while he was playing so I could watch his hands. So I'm still doing it! I finally got the call from Solomon Burke to play keys with him in 2008 and I stayed with him until his passing in 2010. Since then I've been touring still and recording as much as possible.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I think my organ playing is a mash-up of gospel and 70's soul style of playing and feel/approach. I play the piano with a lot of feel and swing - My honest goal in life is to sound and feel like Donny Hathaway at the Wurli or Ray Charles and the piano. There you have it!
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: I like to print a small amount of 1176 compression when recording Rhodes and sometimes acoustic piano. There isn't a lot any VU movement but it seems to add a subtle warmth and vibe. I figure, shit, since I have these classic units so put em into the recording signal chain and keep em working!
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Soul, rock, classic R&B, funk, blues, jazz, americana, country, indie rock, anything with a pulse
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Soulful playing and a music sensibility that has been shaped by my years of experience playing live and in the studio.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: It's important for me to find a keyboard part to fit the strength of the song - so I will listen to the track many times before I record any passes and when I do start recording experiment with different ideas and A/B them on playback.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a hybrid recording studio with vintage mics, vintage mic pre's, vintage outboard gear going into Pro Tools Ultimate.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Yes, Benny Steele at Steel Factory is a great mixing engineer. He mixed a recent track of mine and it sounded great!
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both! Well, it's all Pro Tools and Logic these days and if you got the analog use it!!! Pro Tools 64 bit sounds crazy to me but I still gotta say - the plug-in versus the real deal - the real deal ALWAYS wins in my book if you weigh how it sounds. So using analog on the way into digital when recording keeps your work flow in the box and just sounds really freaking good.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love playing and expressing myself through music and it makes me happy when I can add awesome parts to someones already awesome tracks
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: How quickly can you get the tracks done please? I usually can get everything done within a week of starting. When I start depends on how busy I am in the studio with Soundbetter and sessions here at Somerville Sound.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: my feel
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Play and record B-3 w/Leslie, Rhodes and acoustic piano. There is rarely sheet music or a chart - usually just communication about what they think their tracks needs. Pads, riffs/solo or both.