During one of these gigs, Hipp met Carole King and began writing songs with her soon after. (Some of these collaborations appeared on King's City Streets album.) In addition to King, Hipp's Bleeker Street gigs also led to an encounter with independent filmmaker Abel Ferrara; the musician was soon working for the director as both an actor and composer. The experience would serve Hipp well later on, when a performance with King in London led to his discovery by the producers of the West End musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. He accepted the lead role and began performing in 1989, earning a nomination for the Lawrence Olivier Award before returning to New York City to perform the same role on Broadway. After leaving the production, Hipp spent some time in Los Angeles, then returned to London to star in the role of Berger in a revival of Hair. He then returned to Greenwich Village and directed his first feature film, Death of a Dog, which was released in 2000. After spending several years acting, performing, and composing music for films and television, Hipp released Blog of War in 2008. ~ Katherine Fulton