Interview with Richard Hilton, music arranger and keyboardist for Chic

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT WORKING WITH CHIC?

The best things about playing at CHIC include being able to make music with some of the best musicians I have ever met, including the band that we have had for the last five years, and having the opportunity to share the happiness of the audience. I’ve also been able to see a lot of really amazing places that I probably never would have seen otherwise.

WHAT DO YOU FIND MORE CHALLENGING?

The rigors of the journey, which are at an all-time high these days.

WHEN DID YOU START WORKING WITH CHIC / NILES? AND HOW DID THAT COME?

I started working with Nile in March 1988. I had been interviewing for about two years for several different jobs with a company called “New England Digital” that made a proprietary computer musical instrument called Synclavier. They never hired me, but when Nile Rodgers called them (being a user of their instrument) asking for a qualified programmer who could play keyboards, they kindly recommended me and that was it, I was in.

IF YOU WERE NOT WORKING WITH CHIC, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?

When I started with Nile, I was teaching at a small university and going back to graduate school to get a master’s degree. I hope to teach again one day. I am very interested in working with young people.

THE CHICES ARE ALWAYS A JOY TO SEE, WHAT IS THE SECRET?

A tireless dedication to putting on the best possible show every night. There’s a lot of trust and love on stage, and it seems to translate to the audience, based on the things they tell me. The value of the astonishing repertoire that we have played cannot be underestimated as an important factor in making all of this possible.

IS IT RUMOR THAT CHIC IS WORKING ON CARRYING OUT AN ALBUM IN COLLABORATION WITH DAFT PUNK? IS THIS TRUE?

I cannot speak of ongoing projects.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TECHNIQUE?

Adequate, but not great. I do a lot of things pretty well, but maybe none of them are “great.” CHIC players are much more skilled than I am. My skills are spread across several different disciplines in my work, so my playing technique sometimes doesn’t get the attention it might otherwise deserve. I’m lucky that music has always been pretty easy for me.

HE ALWAYS LOOKS SO HAPPY AND BETTER ON STAGE! WHY IS THAT?

Because I find the privilege of playing this music and sharing the happiness of the audience quite overwhelming. Playing this music at CHIC is something quite amazing, and I try to let that invade me as much as possible while we do it.

If you could go back in time, what would you do differently?

I would try to take less of the anger and more of the love that I feel. There are some other specific things about my relationships that I wish I had done better.

IF YOU WERE NOT BORN IN THIS CENTURY, WHEN AND WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE LIVED?

I am happy to be here now. I don’t think much in terms of “what ifs”. That said, hearing Art Tatum, Beethoven and Chopin play would have been very nice.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS / MUSICIANS AND WHY?

I’m really not good at favorite lists. I listen and look at many things and I really like it. My list would be in the 100s, and it is not limited to a few particular styles of music and / or art.

WHO ARE YOUR LEAST FAVORITE ARTIST / MUSICIANS AND WHY? (YOU DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER IF YOU DON’T WANT !!)

In general, those who contribute with all their power to the degradation of society and the people that comprise it. Intolerant, suitors. People who did not work for it and that society passed it on to them.

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?

Find out more about the world, the people who make it up, and about my work. I learn a lot on my own, not limited to music or technology. I like to cook and spend time with my wife and children. I don’t watch a lot of television, mainly sports and history. I read a lot and spend a lot of time with computers and devices.

ARE YOU POLITICALLY ACTIVE?

More in the mind than in the body, but yes, I feel more and more dismayed by the world situation as I get older.

DO YOU DO ANY VOLUNTEER WORK?

Yes, I try to get involved in the aspirations of young musicians as much as I can, I’m sure there is much more I could do. I get involved as much as I can in my children’s musical adventures, usually without participating directly with them. That takes many forms; equipment advice and purchase assistance, show attendance, sometimes show recording. When they were in the marching band, I was the unofficial cameraman for the band and posted videos so the band could benefit from seeing their work.

As a bonus, it turned out that the families of the band members around the world were watching these videos to see their relative perform at a high level. I got comments all the time about how “granny in phoenix” watched all the videos and looked forward to them every week.

Also, due to the music of my children, I meet many young people here in the house and we talk. I like to think that they find it easy to talk to me. I like to talk to them.

HOW HAS AMERICAN MUSIC CHANGED IN THE LAST TEN YEARS?

This topic could fill a book, but it has briefly sunk further into the den caused by the democratization of the music-making process. On the contrary, there has also been a resurgence of people interested in live interaction between musicians, so that part is good. We are still trying to recover from the effects of the machine-driven music creation that became popular in the 1980s and continued onward.

WHAT IS THE SIDE OF YOU THAT THE PUBLIC NEVER SEES?

The angry, bitter and alienated side. At least I hope they never see it. It’s not doing me (or them) any good at all.

HOW HAVE YOU CHANGED AS AN ACTOR / ORGANIZER?

I am more aware of the role that I am expected to play as an interpreter and I am more involved in embracing it for the benefit of the whole team. Now I trust more easily and I forgive more easily.

HOW HARD DOES YOU PRESS YOURSELF?

I insist on being active to learn new things. I have a lot of competition for what I do from younger, more modern and more culturally adept people, and the numbers are increasing every year. I meet them at college seminars and at trade shows.

I think the only way to stay up-to-date and involved is to keep growing by bringing my long experience in the business in combination with the knowledge and techniques that I am acquiring now. Today you can do many things that, even a few years ago, were considered impossible. I can’t stay still; I have to keep advancing with knowledge to stay in the game at my age.

WHEN ARE YOU COMPLETELY SATISFIED WITH YOUR WORK?

I always feel like there is something I could do or have done to improve it. I think being “satisfied with one’s work” is an omen of doom, artistically. That being said, if it all ended tomorrow, I would leave feeling like I was on a hot streak.

Would you say that you are a bit of a perfectionist?

There is nothing worth doing that is not worth doing well. If you call that perfectionism, I guess so.

WHAT MAKES YOU MOST PROUD AS A DAD?

I have two amazing children, James and Corey. James just graduated with two bachelor’s degrees, cum laude, from Western Connecticut State University. He received special recognition from the MIS department for his outstanding achievements. He works in the field of computer science and is doing fantastically well.

Corey attends Music College in Ithaca, NY. He is a recording student with percussion as his main instrument. In his first semester, he was named section leader of the symphonic band’s percussion section, and in both semesters he was named dean. He gave a fantastic recital in his first year and recorded dozens of concerts. He is also doing incredibly well, and is very much appreciated by his teachers and friends.

WHAT IS THE MAGIC FORMULA FOR SUCCESS?

Find something you like to do and find a way to fit it into your life appropriately. That may mean making a living out of it, or it may not. Don’t let others define who you are and what you should be. Success, for me, is finding a place of comfort and happiness in one’s life without damaging theirs, however it manifests itself. It is not about fame and fortune; I know too many famous and rich people who are not happy.

In addition, for me, having good relationships with the people of the world, both at home and abroad, also helps to balance life and opinions. In my own life, it is very important.

Author’s note: I was lucky enough to be invited to see Chic’s performance at Kew Gardens in the summer of 2012. The music lifted me off the grass! I met Rich Hilton, one of the nicest and easiest guys you could ever meet, Richard’s joy on stage and off is contagious, and he and Nile Rodgers have worked together for decades. What a blessing for soul / funk / disco music lovers like me!