The sound of two or more voices blending together with different notes was something that attracted Chris Hillman since he began playing music. That harmony singing style was a huge part of The Byrds’ sound, of which Hillman was an original member.
Many decades—and just as many bands—later, Hillman is still chasing that dragon with longtime collaborator, and harmony singing master, Herb Pedersen. The duo will perform another benefit concert for the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Santa Maria on April 22, at Edwards Barn.
They’ve performed several concerts for the church, including raising funds for it to get built in previous years, but this year’s show will support the iconography inside the church, Hillman said.
“My wife is Greek, and 10 years into our marriage I got very curious and converted to the Eastern Orthodox faith,” he said. “I got to know Father [Lawrence] Russell when he was just starting to build the structure in Santa Maria, but now he’s got the church up and he’s doing iconography inside, and so I promised we would do a benefit for an iconographer to come in and do all the paintings on the walls.”
Hillman lives in the Ventura area where he attends an Eastern Orthodox Church and sings in the choir.
Harmony singing, which was Hillman’s bread and butter in groups like The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, comes naturally in the church choir, he said, even though he doesn’t “generally read music.” He listens and “finds a part” in the old chants, which make up part of the liturgy.
“I’m the only hillbilly tenor in the Orthodox faith doing Byzantine hymns,” he said.
What Hillman and Pedersen will be up to at Edwards Barn on April 22 won’t be choir music, but they will be stacking some stellar harmonies.
“There’s something about the human voice interacting with other human voices in such perfect symmetry, I just love that,” he said. “Herb too, Herb grew up in Berkley. We met in 1963, and he was really well versed in that. He also has an amazing gift for picking out harmonies.”
Hillman said that Pedersen is one of the most sought-after harmony singers in the folk-rock world. He’s sung with artists like Emmylou Harris, Linda Rondstadt, Tony Rice, Dan Fogelberg, John Prine, and on an album that Hillman currently has in the works.
“Herb’s greatest gift as a professional session singer, is he has that chameleon gift of, he’ll hear the lead singer that he is going to put parts to and take on the personality of that voice,” he said. “With Herb and I, it is like we’re brothers. We get along really well.”
Collaborating as long as they have, Hillman and Pedersen lock right in with both their vocal harmony and their instruments.
Both will play guitar for the show, but Hillman will also spend plenty of time picking his mandolin. They will perform songs from Hillman’s time with The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and other bands—all with just the two of them.
“The best part is that we make it happen almost naturally—just two guys, a guitar and mandolin, nothing’s plugged in, and you’re just making a big sound,” he said. “And people will come up and say, ‘I can’t believe it’s just the two of you,’ and that’s the ultimate compliment.”
Managing Editor Joe Payne still can’t sing a solid third. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 13-20, 2017.