Latest News . . .
February 17, 2009 – NEW FORUM
The Official Bill Hicks Online Forum has been relocated and renovated. Click HERE to read it and/or register to post messages.
January 27, 2009 – LAST LETTERMAN SET TO AIR JAN 30TH
The Late Show with David Letterman has scheduled a telecast of the never-aired October 1, 1993 Bill Hicks appearance. The show was pre-taped Jan. 26th (with Bill's mom as a guest) and will air Friday, January 30th on your local CBS affiliate. We'd like to acknowledge and thank Bill's many fans and everyone who has had a hand in keeping Bill's comedy and philosophy alive. We hope everyone can tune in and experience what you may have missed or what you barely remember – Bill Hicks performing for a national audience on network television.
January 1, 2009 – 15TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
26 February 2009 will mark 15 years since Bill Hicks died from pancreatic cancer. Groups in several cities around the world are planning special events. Visit the new Tributes page for details.
December 20, 2008 – OFFICIAL BILL HICKS MERCH
In 1993, Bill stated “I believe people would proudly wear 'Arizona Bay' merchandise and this whole idea could help bring into focus people's antipathy for mainstream America, while also being a concept for those people to rally around." For the first time ever Arizona Bay Production Co., Inc. is offering the only official Bill Hicks Signature line of merchandise. Genius is described as the ability to make the complicated simple; this series of sayings represent some of Bill’s most repeated observations and messages. Some of the proceeds will go to the Bill Hicks Foundation for Wildlife Rehabilitation (BillHicks.org). Click here to visit the store.
November 25, 2008 – FREE BILL HICKS
Rykodisc has been celebrating its 25th anniversary by offering five free MP3 music downloads from five artists each month this year, beginning on the 25th day of each month. This month, they've chosen to feature only Bill, so there are five free tracks (War On Drugs, Drunk Driving, Mandatory Marijuana, Smoking, and Dick Jokes) available now until Christmas Eve at www.rykodisc.com/download. You'll have to register for Ryko's e-newsletter first if you haven't already. Tell your friends and anyone else you think might need their third eye aurally squeegeed!
October 15, 2008 – BILL HICKS MUSIC
Bill Hicks is frequently recognized as one of the most influential standup comedians and his message is still relevant 15 years after his death. Many people are unaware that Bill also spent much of his time composing and recording original songs. A new CD project entitled Low Fi Troubador is under way and the first tracks are now available for download. "Moon Is Smiling" is a wistful, introspective song available at eMusic and Amazon (click store for link). The song is also available on iTunes (search for "Moon Is Smiling"). Please note: there's an Americana singer/fiddler named Bill Hicks also listed at many music sites who is not the same person as the comedian Bill Hicks.
A note from project engineer Greg Baxter: First, let me say, working on this project is an honor that many would stand in line for. The generosity of the Hicks family to offer such a personal side of Bill's life through the release of this music is also worth noting. They, along with the countless people impacted by Bill's stage work, are the keepers of the flame of truth and passion that Bill so famously stood for. – Technical notes: I've approached this project from a perspective of two equal parts: preservation and restoration. The music recorded by Bill was never intended for commercial release. These songs stem from personal recordings over a number of years on a variety of analog formats. The best recordings were on high bias four-track tapes, while others only existed on low bias cassettes, perhaps recorded on a boom box with limited audio fidelity. A combination of Dolby B or C noise reduction was used as needed on playback while the songs were digitally captured as 24-bit audio. When the source material demanded it, phase correction was used to reveal the performance details buried in the recordings, often with a BBE Sonic Maximizer. Further enhancement was generally limited to gain improvement (to increase the signal to noise ratio), slight compression (to improve the vocal presence in the final mix), and additional noise reduction and equalization (to reveal as much of the original recording as possible without artificially recreating them through sampling, pitch correction or other more intrusive means). Due to the personal nature of this music, where Bill left technical notes, such as the date and time of his recording, these details will be included in the releases to help give perspective to where Bill was in his life at the time of their recording.
October 10, 2008 – FAN ART
A new Fan Art page has been added. Click here to visit...
August 18, 2008 – MOVIE NEWS
Reports and rumors have been circulating about Russell Crowe starring in a Bill Hicks movie. We can confirm that a script is in development for a production company owned by Mr. Crowe. Anything you've heard regarding director, casting, filming schedule and release date is mostly speculation and cannot be decided until a script is substantially complete and the project is formally set up. Further confirmed details will be announced once they are known. Please note: this "biopic" film is not the documentary already in production under the title American: The Bill Hicks Story (which is currently planned for a television broadcast and/or home video release sometime in the latter half of 2009).
March 1, 2008 – IN THE SPIRIT OF BILL: A TRIBUTE TO BILL HICKS – NEW YORK CITY, 02/26/2008
I just returned from the New York City tribute to Bill to benefit the Bill Hicks Foundation for Wildlife Rehabilitation (billhicks.org). It was an incredible evening. Luchia, the organizer of the tribute for the last four years, deserves kudos and recognition for her considerable personal effort to stage this classy, memorable event. In addition to her role as event originator Luchia (bellaluchia.com) shared her impressive comedy chops with the crowd by performing as well. What can’t she do!
Luchia had arranged for three other hilarious comedians to join her as part of the night’s entertainment. I want to publicly thank Jesse Joyce (jessejoyce.com), Ted Alexandro (tedalexandro.com) and Greg Giraldo (greggiraldo.com) for contributing their considerable talents. All four of these performers have a point of view that is all theirs; do yourself a favor and check them all out. You won’t be disappointed.
The crowd was also treated to three different sets of clips, assembled by Luchia, showing performances of Bill throughout his career. It was nice to see the people in the room laughing along with the people on the clips - all of us sharing those moments again together. The final clip was particularly moving as it included scenes from our Hicks family home movies, showing pieces of Bill’s life from the time he was just a baby.
Another treat we all got to experience was previewing the first 20 minutes of a major Bill documentary that will come out early next year. Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas are the two producers from England and they flew all the way over to share their work in progress. It was a unique opportunity for the fans and it garnered enthusiastic response. The Hicks family is officially endorsing this and our thanks go out to Matt and Paul for their extreme efforts. They flew all the way over from London to be part of the evening.
I have to also recognize the photographer Traci Gilland (iconycphoto.com) who captured some great moments to preserve the evening, Heidi Kikel (www.myspace.com/badbones4ever) the videographer who recorded the whole evening and of course, Chris Mazzilli, owner the Gotham Comedy Club (gothamcomedyclub.com) where the event was held. Luchia had told us she felt a tribute to Bill deserved to be held in the classiest place in town; I believe she found it at the Gotham Comedy Club. Chris, it was a pleasure to meet you and to share the evening in your club.
Also in attendance was Jeff Kreisler (jeffkreisler.com), the current holder of the Bill Hicks Spirit Award for Thought Provoking Comedy. It was our first time to meet and I was very pleased - nice guy, funny and deserving of the award Luchia established in Bill’s name. Check him out!
A final luminary was Bruce Hills , from the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival (justforlaughs.com). The reason I wanted to mention Bruce is because it was at the 1991 Montreal Comedy Festival that Bill really broke out internationally; Bruce played a part in a significant point of time in the Bill Hicks Legacy. This is also where the Relentless video was recorded. It was nice to have Bruce there – thanks.
For the first time at one of these tributes the Hicks family was strongly represented; in addition to me (Steve, Bill’s brother) we also had our sister Lynn, my son Ryan, my wife Marty, our cousin Joanie and my nephew Jeff. Our mother, Mary, did not make the trip but I told the crowd we would get her on the plane next year. I was able to do a little Q&A session with Bill’s fans at the close of the show and I think we all enjoyed that very much. All of us would like to extend our gratitude to Luchia for her invitation. We have already begun talking about next year’s 15th anniversary tribute; we all plan on being there.
Most importantly I want to recognize the fans that were in attendance that evening. Our family continues to be amazed at the interest and attention given to Bill and his message. Getting to spend time with his fans is very gratifying; they express nothing but the utmost respect for Bill and his legacy. Believe me, that sentiment is coming right back at you by me and our family. What an incredibly special opportunity it was for us to spend this evening with you all!
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to Luchia; she is a special person to have tackled this, driven by the belief that Bill Hicks deserves to be honored for the impact he has had on so many people around the world. Luchia had told me in the days leading up to the evening that there is so much love for Bill in the room that you really feel it during the tribute. She was right about that and I think it starts with her and the attention she gave to every detail to make sure this was a flawless night. Luchia, what you’ve done for Bill is not to be taken lightly and we owe you our gratitude.
So, all in all, this was a great night, filled with Love, Laughter and Truth; Bill, we know you were there in Spirit.
Regards,
Steve Hicks.
February 11, 2008 – The Gotham Comedy Club, 208 W 23rd Street in NYC is hosting a benefit tribute to mark the 14th anniversary of Bill's passing on Tuesday, February 26 starting at 8pm. Hosted by Jesse Joyce, the night will include films of Bill (with funny material pre-inserted), plus live performaces by Ted Alexandro and Greg Giraldo. Also on hand will be Bill's brother Steve, his sister Lynn, and his nephew Ryan, as well as the producers of the upcoming BBC programme about Bill - Paul Thomas and Matt Harlock -who will present a sneak preview of the first 20 minutes. Proceeds from the night will benefit the Bill Hicks Foundation for Wildlife Rehabilitation in Austin, Texas. This special event is being organized by Luchia. Click HERE for details from and about the venue.
January 26, 2008 – Update on the BBC documentary: air dates now expected to be this Autumn, with home video release early next year.
December 18, 2007 – Happy Holidays one and all. Just a quick update to assure you that the aforementioned documentary is coming along and we're hoping that Santa or Puxatawney Phil will bring us an airdate sometime between now and Groundhog Day. (A work-in-progress version might even show up at a film festival far, far away from where you'll happen to be that day). When details are known, announcements will be made here and through the official Bill Hicks forum (which you can join at billhicks.net).
August 13, 2007 – More details on BBC Radio 2 special... the broadcast will begin about 10:30 p.m. London time on Tuesday, August 21st. Click here to see what time this is where you live. The programme will feature interviews with Bill's family, friends and fellow standups, plus clips of Bill's released material and also some gems from the unreleased archives. The radio broadcast will only be in the UK, but can be heard worldwide on the internet on BBC Radio 2's home page (you'll need Real Player installed, so plan ahead). You will also be able to "Listen Again" via this web page for one week after the broadcast.
July 12, 2007 – BBC Radio 2 is producing a one-hour special about Bill set to air in late August. Exact date and time to be announced.
May 22, 2007 – The new documentary project will not be completed this summer, as previously announced. Although the wait will be longer, so will the programme: it looks like it will be at least 2 hours instead of the 80-90 minutes originally planned.
March 18, 2007 – In Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups special, viewers ranked Bill Hicks the #6 stand-up of all time. Thank ya, thank-ya-vera much.
January 24, 2007 – Amazon.co.uk has listed a DVD titled The Story of Bill Hicks. While this is related to a legitimate and authorized documentary project, the title has not been selected and the release date of April 30 is a fantasy. We've been told that the actual release will be sometime in the summer at the earliest. Our advice would be not to pre-order until the release is totally official. We'll tell you when that is as soon as we know for sure.
December 16, 2006 –45th Anniversary of Bill's birth. If you're in the New York area, Luchia is putting on a tribute event on 12/17. Click here for details.
October 5, 2006 –Constable Robinson has published a book/CD combo in the UK entitled The Best Stand-Up & Comedy Routines which includes Bill’s classic “What Is Pornography?” bit from the Relentless CD.
September 17, 2006 –Congratulations to Jeff Kreisler for receiving the 2006 Bill Hicks Spirit Award for Thought-Provoking Comedy from the New York Underground Comedy Festival in September. The 2005 recipient was Dean Obeidallah.
September 10, 2006 –Thanks to Audioslave for including an image of Bill in the recent video for their song “Original Fire.”
April 17, 2006 – Sane Man released overseas on DVD in PAL format.
February 27, 2006 – Relentless video released as a standalone DVD in PAL format.
December 6, 2005 – Sane Man released on DVD in North America.
November 8, 2005 – Salvation: Oxford November 11, 1992 full-length live performance double-CD released.