Not Open-Mouth

Happy Ron Hill’s 1500th performance happens at Lestat’s on Wednesday, November 23. It’ll also be the native San Diegan’s first full show with his “smooth jazz combo,” the Smoothies. “I’ve been saying for years that my music was Sinatra-meets-South Park, despite the fact that the only thing I really have in common with Sinatra is my hat. This new band has a classy Rat Pack vibe, especially our theme song ‘Moments Like This.’ I wrote the song years ago, but it wasn’t until the Smoothies that I found a band smooth enough to play it. I really ain’t that smooth myself.”

Though his local stage debut was back in 1998, Hill kicked it into high gear around 2004, averaging five performances per week, most at open-mic events. The worst thing about over a thousand trips to the stage as a walk-on citizen songsmith? “Hecklers in the crowd. I tell them, ‘It’s open-mic, not open-mouth.’”