Hillstomp will perform one last time at The Ruins

For a band that exemplifies raw energy on stage, they are circumspect off stage. I caught up with each of them recently as they prepare for these farewell shows. “It’s been unreal, the honor of a lifetime,” John said of their musical journey through 38 states, Canada, and multiple European tours.

“It’s been the journey and joy of my life,” Henry said. “I don’t drive a big car or own my home, but this band has given me riches.” Laughing, he added, “I’ve had three wives during the course of Hillstomp, all exorbitantly hotter than they had any reason to be, all because of being in this band.”

Inspired by the Seattle grunge scene of the 1990s, John and Henry migrated to the Pacific Northwest from Minnesota and Utah, respectively, eventually landing in Portland in 1998. Henry had grown up on north Mississippi blues, which “hit me in the chest like a sledgehammer.” He’d heard Sonny Boy Williamson on an Eric Clapton record, and “Sonny Boy led to Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf, and Muddy Waters,” he said. John had been carving out his own unique percussive sound on kits that blended traditional drums with five-gallon buckets, brake parts, broiler pans, and anything he could get his hands on — all held together with duct tape. They met in the early 2000s, the music clicked, and Hillstomp was born.

I asked what their biggest triumphs were. “To bring that much exuberance, that much joy to that many people ... it really fills your cup,” John said. Henry added that leading a crowd in the sublime chaos of one of their shows is like “being in church and you’re the preacher. The crowd is the choir. They’re all rooting for you. Nobody loses.”

John is retiring due to family commitments, not to mention that “it’s harder to make anything resembling a living” in the music world today. “You’ve gotta sell yourself non-stop with 30 second TikTok and Instagram reels,” he said. Licensing their music was lucrative in the early days, but producers are now using AI to approximate “real music.” The actual artists are left out, he said.

Henry is wistful about his partner retiring, but promises more music to come, saying, “It’s all I know how to do.” He’s excited about some new projects he’s working on, but for now his focus is Hillstomp’s final shows. “I’m not done yet,” he said.

Come down to The Ruins on Sept 20, bring your dancing shoes, your gratitude, and fill your soul with Hillstomp one last time.