Darker Blues : Michael Hill’s Three-Piece Band, Playing in Hermosa and Long Beach, Tackles Controversial Topics, but He Sees His Music as Positive

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Michael Hill plays the blues, but he’s no purist. With musical influences ranging from Albert Collins and B.B. King to Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield and Bob Marley, the South Bronx-born Hill is determined to expand the parameters of the genre.

On his three albums, Hill’s themes have emphasized social issues over the standard “my-baby-done-me-wrong” blues fare. Although his topics have ranged from homelessness to inner-city violence to racial injustice, his desire to contemporize the blues hasn’t always met with instant acceptance.

Hill and his three-piece band--the Blues Mob--have been routinely passed over on the blues festival circuit. The band’s shows Thursday in Hermosa Beach and Friday in Long Beach represent only the band’s second L.A.-area appearance since 1995.

“We have experienced some resistance. . . . Our management has been told that our lyrics are too heavy--or that audiences might not think we’d be fun to see,” said Hill, 47, by phone from a tour stop in Chicago. “I think there’s this misconception that we’re angry and confrontational, [that] we’re some kind of cross between Public Enemy and Living Colour, which just isn’t true.” (Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid and Hill were once bandmates in New York rock group Dadahdoodahda, however, and Reid did co-write one song, “Long Hot Night,” for Hill’s latest release, 1998’s “New York State of Blues.”)

“I do try and bring some storytelling--or at least a viewpoint--to our songs,” he added. “It’s all about real-life experiences, and giving a voice to those who don’t have a voice. But at the same time, I don’t think we’re a downer. . . . We have songs that celebrate life . . . that rejoice in the powers of faith and healing. Isn’t helping people through hard times what the blues are all about?”

“New York State of Blues” does cover a lot of ground. “This Is My Job” tells of one man’s struggle for dignity in the workplace, while a pair of songs deal with marital infidelity. “Up and Down the Stairs” is a humorous account of increasing one’s stamina to meet the ferocious sexual appetite of a lover. And the disc-closing “Never Give Up on You,” is both personal and political, an autobiographical love song about the strains inherent in an interracial marriage like his own.

“It’s basically a song of appreciation and devotion for my wife,” Hill said. “It’s not easy for her . . . being married to a musician who’s away from home a lot. Then add to that the prejudices that exist, that she faces all the time. ‘Never Give Up On You’ is my way of saying how much she means to me.”

Hill and the Mob--keyboardist E.J. Sharpe, bassist Pete Cummings and drummer Bill McClellan--meld electric blues with rock, reggae, funk, R&B; and soul. Hill’s voice recalls the warmth of Robert Cray, and his guitar chops roam from understated to explosive, creating an appealing sound that’s not easy to categorize.

“Because I grew up listening to all kinds of stuff--from Motown and rock to traditional blues and jazz to reggae, soul and funk--it’s only natural that you hear a variety of things in my music,” said Hill, a former cab driver. “Still, when I’m composing, I don’t consciously go, ‘OK, how about a funky groove here, or a rock riff there?’ It’s more of an organic process.”

While he considers Hendrix his biggest influence, Hill said, “I’m not one of those flashy guitarists who likes to peel off solo after solo. . . . I try to keep the focus on supporting the lyric--and moving the story line forward--rather than on myself.”

And whether booking agents of blues purists latch onto it, Hill likes the niche the Blues Mob has created for itself.

“I consider what we’re doing as honoring the tradition of bringing something fresh to blues,” he said. “What’s considered traditional now, like the music of Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, was groundbreaking back then. No one had heard anything quite like it before.

“We don’t want to just be another blues band . . . singing [only] about sex, cheating and booze,” he said. “I grew up very cognizant of the Civil Rights movement, and I’d feel like a chump if I didn’t address some of the concerns we as African Americans still have today. I believe that our approach is honest, and it will ultimately pay off in the long run.”

* Michael Hill’s Blues Mob plays Thursday at Cafe Boogaloo, 1238 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach. 9 p.m. $5. (310) 318-2324. Also Friday at the Blue Cafe, 210 Promenade North, Long Beach. 8 p.m. $8. (562) 983-7111.