377. Cliff Hillis

Cliff Hillis has spent a lot of his musical career saying "yes" and then figuring it out. Dan talks to Cliff about all his roles in music: songwriter and singer, cowriter, guitar tech, touring musician, collaborator, and so much more. Cliff talks about his days playing Rehoboth Beach bars with his brother to working with bands like The Innocence Mission, Starbelly, John Faye Power Trip, Patty Smyth, US Rails, and his current gig as bassist for The Orchestra (featuring members of ELO and ELO II). They also talk about the great Philadelphia music tribute (created by Hooter's drummer Dave Uosikkinen), In The Pocket, which Cliff has been fortunate enough to be a part of for years. And no conversation with Cliff would be complete without mulling over the oft-debated genre label that is "power pop".

Cliff is currently on tour with The Orchestra, and is finishing up a brand new EP of his own music, coming out later in 2026. We're honored to premiere a new song, "The Square Root", the title track from the forthcoming EP.