Kent Hilli, best known as vocalist with Perfect Plan, Giant and many more, expands on his singing career and what the future holds with regard to new music and live gigs.
Who were your influences in the early days and have you always wanted to be a singer in a band?
My main influences when it comes to vocalists are Jimi Jamison, Lou Gramm, Joey Tempest, Dann Huff and Joe Lynn Turner.
Apart from Giant, have you ever auditioned for the vocal spot in any other notable bands?
No nothing besides Giant.
You have appeared on a number of albums. Do you have a favourite and why?
My favourite album is ”Time For A Miracle” with Perfect Plan. Simply great songs and a great performance from the band with a great sound.
Do you have any plans to release another solo album and maybe play some solo gigs?
Yes, my next solo album is coming in 2023, I have already recorded my vocals 😊
Do you still get the same buzz out of singing live as you did in the past?
Yes, It’s a really great feeling, maybe even better nowadays...
What were you doing before singing with Perfect Plan?
I sang in different cover and tribute bands but I started out late singing. I was maybe 32-33 years of age when I started singing.
Your upcoming release with T3enors sounds interesting, can you tell us a bit more about it?
Well, it is a great project that Serafino and the label approached me about. Asking If I was interested in doing something together with Toby and Robbie. It was a no brainer and the album turned out really great. Our vocals harmonize very well together. Awesome guys to work with, and such talents!
Some vocalists are on strict dietary regimes or gargle with special liquids. How have you kept your voice in tip top shape all these years?
Well, I exercise 2-3 days a week and I drink a lot of fluids. I take some extra vitamins and minerals and a special smoothie, which I drink twice a day. I exercise my vocals every day with different vocal training sessions that I have on YouTube, like Ken Tamplin for instance.
Are there any musicians that you have not worked with, but would like to in the future?
Yeah, you know there is so much talent out there that I dream of working with. Like Dann Huff (as producer, I worked with him as a guitarist), Jim Peterik (Survivor), Erik Mårtensson, Jonah Tee, Doug Aldrich, Richie Kotzen etc. There are so many I could go on all day[laughs]
Is there any unreleased recorded material from your early days with Perfect Plan that could be released?
Well, we always have songs that didn’t make the albums but they might get on the next album…either we didn’t have time to finish them in time or they were lacking something that needs more work so...
With the live circuit opening up again, is there a possibility that we could see you performing some live shows in the UK with either Perfect Plan or Giant?
Yes, hopefully we can do some live shows in the UK with Perfect Plan in the future. Would love to do shows with Giant as well but we’ll see what happens.
Have you ever thought about doing any production work?
Well, I have been producing the Perfect Plan albums as the band has produced every album so far.
Do you have anything in the pipeline at the moment that you would like to share?
We are working on the next Giant album which we will start recording during 2023.
Interview by Stuart Dryden
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