Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Happy Ron Hill's raspy voice

"Breathe that fresh air, we got plenty to spare"

Happy Ron Hill sings, "If you're bored in San Diego, it's your fault!"
Happy Ron Hill sings, "If you're bored in San Diego, it's your fault!"

“I’ve been playing this song for years, literally a thousand times, and it’s probably the second most popular of all my songs,” says acoustic troubadour Happy Ron Hill of his new studio recording and video for “If You’re Bored in San Diego (It’s Your Fault!).” “People always shout along with it, and they always say they think about it when they’re bored. Been working on the video for about a year… I’m finally [studio] recording a lot of my classic concert songs and posting videos to Youtube.”

Video:

Happy Ron Hill, "If You're Bored in San Diego (It's Your Fault!)"

For “If You’re Bored,” Hill’s raspy voice (likened once in this paper to Tom Waits nursing a hangover) leads sing-a-long cheers for his favorite city, with lyrics such as “Breathe that fresh air, we got plenty to spare, turn off that computer, and head down to Hooters, we got a Zoo for people like you.” The video sports a near virtuosic acoustic bass solo by Paul Tillery about one minute in. “His bass playing adds a lot of depth to my shows, and he usually gets more applause than I do.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Locales seen in the video include the Zoo, House of Blues, the Balboa Park fountain, Hooters, the Prado Restaurant, the Cardiff Kook statue, and a view of Black’s Beach shot from a group of hang gliders. Plus, there are cameos by local musicians including frequent keyboard collaborator Andy Gallagher (Trains Across the Sea) and a Pacific Beach boardwalk celebrity not originally slated for inclusion. “One the best shots is the world famous Slomo, the former neurologist turned rollerblade legend, who just so happened to skate by as we were filming.”

“Older people sometimes feel inspired by the song, as I feel that the older we get, the more important it is to get out and do things, and San Diego is the best place to do that.”

Since the 2008 release of his album Terribly Happy, Hill has mainly been honing his songcraft onstage, an endeavor greatly helped by hip replacement surgery he underwent in 2016 to remedy being born without a left hip socket. “That created tension and trauma through my body, which gave me a very raspy voice and made it harder to be a technically correct singer. Having less tension in my body has helped me to practice longer hours, and become a better musician overall.”

Hill has also been taking the occasional gig as an inspirational speaker at schools and elsewhere. “Having had more challenges than most in learning has given me a deep appreciation for the difficulties people have with learning music...I've decided to give back and take on a few private students, who are telling me I'm one of the few teachers that really understand the challenges of learning music.”

Hill’s video for “If You’re Bored in San Diego (It’s Your Fault!)” debuts at La Mesa’s Spacebar on April 28.

“I'm basically in the process of recording an album one song at a time, and releasing them as videos as I go. People love videos nowadays, obviously, and I like getting the feedback as I go rather than waiting until I finish an entire album.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Happy Ron Hill sings, "If you're bored in San Diego, it's your fault!"
Happy Ron Hill sings, "If you're bored in San Diego, it's your fault!"

“I’ve been playing this song for years, literally a thousand times, and it’s probably the second most popular of all my songs,” says acoustic troubadour Happy Ron Hill of his new studio recording and video for “If You’re Bored in San Diego (It’s Your Fault!).” “People always shout along with it, and they always say they think about it when they’re bored. Been working on the video for about a year… I’m finally [studio] recording a lot of my classic concert songs and posting videos to Youtube.”

Video:

Happy Ron Hill, "If You're Bored in San Diego (It's Your Fault!)"

For “If You’re Bored,” Hill’s raspy voice (likened once in this paper to Tom Waits nursing a hangover) leads sing-a-long cheers for his favorite city, with lyrics such as “Breathe that fresh air, we got plenty to spare, turn off that computer, and head down to Hooters, we got a Zoo for people like you.” The video sports a near virtuosic acoustic bass solo by Paul Tillery about one minute in. “His bass playing adds a lot of depth to my shows, and he usually gets more applause than I do.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Locales seen in the video include the Zoo, House of Blues, the Balboa Park fountain, Hooters, the Prado Restaurant, the Cardiff Kook statue, and a view of Black’s Beach shot from a group of hang gliders. Plus, there are cameos by local musicians including frequent keyboard collaborator Andy Gallagher (Trains Across the Sea) and a Pacific Beach boardwalk celebrity not originally slated for inclusion. “One the best shots is the world famous Slomo, the former neurologist turned rollerblade legend, who just so happened to skate by as we were filming.”

“Older people sometimes feel inspired by the song, as I feel that the older we get, the more important it is to get out and do things, and San Diego is the best place to do that.”

Since the 2008 release of his album Terribly Happy, Hill has mainly been honing his songcraft onstage, an endeavor greatly helped by hip replacement surgery he underwent in 2016 to remedy being born without a left hip socket. “That created tension and trauma through my body, which gave me a very raspy voice and made it harder to be a technically correct singer. Having less tension in my body has helped me to practice longer hours, and become a better musician overall.”

Hill has also been taking the occasional gig as an inspirational speaker at schools and elsewhere. “Having had more challenges than most in learning has given me a deep appreciation for the difficulties people have with learning music...I've decided to give back and take on a few private students, who are telling me I'm one of the few teachers that really understand the challenges of learning music.”

Hill’s video for “If You’re Bored in San Diego (It’s Your Fault!)” debuts at La Mesa’s Spacebar on April 28.

“I'm basically in the process of recording an album one song at a time, and releasing them as videos as I go. People love videos nowadays, obviously, and I like getting the feedback as I go rather than waiting until I finish an entire album.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Next Article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.