Career
In late 1977 he joined the Suburban Reptiles and appeared on their first single, "Megaton" (Vertigo, 1978). The name Hillman was coined by the make of car he drove. He left the band in early 1978 and joined the former Masochists in The Rednecks, a mainstay of the legendary Zwines punk scene in Auckland.
In late 1977 he joined the New Zealand band The Swingers with Philosophy Judd (ex-Split Enz) and Mark Hough (aka Buster Stiggs, ex-Suburban Reptiles).
Their single "Counting the Beat" was a transport-Tasman number one hit before the band disintegrated in 1983. After the dissolution of Midnight Oil, Hillman returned to New Zealand, working as a studio and live musician with Dave Dobbyn and recorded the album Available Light.
Hillman moved with his family to Nashville, United States of America, in early 2007 to participate in the more active musical scene there. In 2009, Hillman recorded albums for Anne McCue (Broken Promise Land) and Elizabeth Cook (Welder, produced by Don Was).
In 2011, Hillman worked on the Musical adaptation of Diner recording tracks for Sheryl Crow.
In 2014, Hillman reunited with Midnight Oil producer Warne Livesey to record songs for his new Musical project The Graysmiths. In 2015, Hillman recorded and toured with Matthew Good.
