What's News Blog
Hey, folks. Just wanted to tell you some of the latest happenings so I decided to start a new page.
June 5th, 2007. Wow, what a half a year it has been so far. I am sorry for putting down the pen for so long, but here goes. After January and all of Billy Van Riper's benefits and services were held, we all sat back and tried to take it all in. Billy was such a great guy, it is still hard to let go.
When I met Billy he had no car, no license, an old Gibson 335 in a case with no handle, and a jean jacket. When I went to his funeral I had to stand in line for two hours to talk to his brother Charles and Kate and their other brother Howie. Billy affected so many people in so many circles. He was a teacher, a jazz player, a computer nut and a Libertarian. There was so much support from all the friends of Billy and his family. Lou down at Lou's Blues put on a benefit on April 22nd that was absolutely awesome with most of the musicians in Brevard there. We all had a great time. I played solo then Kerry Morris and JP McCune joined me for a Fingers set. Austin Pettit and many other musicians were there and everyone sounded really great.
The following weekend on Saturday The Billy Chapman Band played at the Melbourne Art Festival for Billy Van Riper's Birthday Tribute. We had a real nice turnout of folks that came to see us and the sound was great thanks to Mark Brasil behind the mixing board on the monitor mix. If you go to my Myspace page you can see a You Tube video that Rich Ataman shot at the end of the show when we played Land Of Smiles. I think it is a pretty good version. You guys know Rich's work through my cd sweet nothings, I recorded it at Rich's house.
More later, Billy
January 11th, 2007. As you may all know by now, our lead guitarist, dear friend and mentor Billy Van Riper passed away suddenly on the 9th of January. Billy was known for his quick laugh and wit and his great mastery of Jazz and every other kind of music. He was one of the first people in the music biz (as he called it) who would sit and talk to me and answer my questions. Billy always had time for an encouraging word and remained upbeat and unaffected by the world. He was a great teacher and a monstrous player. It was a huge shock to all of us in the band and to all of his many other friends, family and loved ones. Billy and I were friends for twenty years and he was an inspiration spiritually, politically and of course, musically. He will be sorely missed.
This was a double tragedy for me because I also lost my aunt Donna Chapman last week from complications arising from cancer. She was a nice lady and had a huge heart for everyone. When the family would get together her and I would always try to find time for a small chat together as we shared a comfortable bond. Our thoughts and prayers go out to my uncle David and all of Donna's friends and relatives in Charleston.
Bill Van Riper 1955-2007
November 12th, 2006
Hello, Hello, Hello! Hope everything is going well. Just got back to town from a weekend at the House of Blues and had a great time, but more on that later.
When we last talked (or typed, as it were) I was almost ready to start a new gig at On Tap in Melbourne. It has been several years since I have played there and it's good to be back with James and everyone at one of the coolest bars in town. I have since done two Thursdays and the night is shaping up well. James has been doing less live music since the storms, but is ready to jump back in. He has a good vision about Melbourne getting back to be the live music scene it once was.
Halloween was alot of fun this year. The kids are getting bigger and were looking forward to it this year. Conor was a pirate and Rowan was a little princess. We took them to downtown Melbourne to trick or treat and then they went down the block at home and came back with loads of candy. It's going to take me days to eat it all!
At the beginning of November I played for the kids at the preschool where my kids go. What a hoot to play for an audience with so much great energy. Children are just so full of love and excitement. They just beam and smile when they hear music. They haven't yet been detrained like us grown ups. Best crowd I've played to since Frampton.
The Karmic Tricycle rolled out again to The Sebastian Clambake and ripped it up by the river. The weather on the 5th was awesome and hundreds of people were there on Sunday afternoon. Rich Stringer, the organizer of the clambake said that last year there was 40,000 attendees over the three day event. I saw some old friends there and the food was delicious. Absolute Blue played after us and did their usual great job. It was good to see those boys again. Sebastian has purchased a new rolling stage and it was a great place to play. The best part besides the crowd was the sound crew. Frank and the boys from South Central Freefall did the sound and jeez, did we sound big. They really made us feel at home and took total care of us. We felt like royalty there. Thank you, guys. You can reach Frank for all of your big and small sound reinforcement needs at (772) 473-7424. You won't be sorry you did. Their gear is brand new and top quality and they know how to use it.
This brings us to Monday, the sixth. I started the first monday night at the new The Cove Nightclub (formerly Gilligans Cove) and had a great time. The place looks good as ever and the food I had was great. The start time on Monday is six o'clock, so it's perfect for dropping by on the way home from work or an early social night. Check out front, I'll be on the deck.
Now to close out this space of time, we come to this weekend at Redheads Martini Bar and what a weekend it was! Friday I played from five 'till nine on the port at Redheads and met some nice folks enjoying a relaxing meal outside on the deck. The port was busy with huge boat traffic and the weather was great. It was a nice time for all, some folks were even waving at the cruise ships when they went by. The deck is shaded and open and well tended by friendly and helpfull staff. Later things heat up with dj Joe Redmond 'til close and I have heard it's quite a crazy scene. Ninette and everyone at Redheads are thrilled about being voted #1 Nightclub in Brevard. They run a tight ship and they well deserve the title.
The annual Folk Art Festival in Downtown Disney was in full swing when I arrived Friday for my House of Blues front porch date. I had an unusual two gig weekend this time, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. A great honor since the art show attracts so many folks from all over guaranteeing a great crowd. Again, more picture perfect cool breezy weather with lots of people out having fun, seeing the art and enjoying the food at Downtown Disney. When I walked up to play on the front porch on Friday, lo and behold David Schweitzer was playing right before me and sounded great. We traded cd's and I am listening to his and Brian Chodorcoff's 1997disc "Princetons Guff" and it is a quality collection of well thought out, finely executed songs. It is so well recorded it is easy to get lost in it. David has played the Orlando area for twenty or so years and is just as good as ever. I met him at Hard Rock Cafe back in 94 when he was Davey Rocker and he's always been a great guy to meet and know. I just listened to this disc twice while I was writing this. Good stuff, Dave and Brian. Hooyah.
You guys have a good one.
Billy
October 23rd, 2006
Happy almost Halloween!
Well, well, well. It has been far too long since I have contributed to this blog. Somehow I got caught up and forgot to write to you for three months. Some of my friends are starting to notice (sorry Tod and Deb). I'm actually really fortunate that anyone cares enough to complain in the first place. In the interest of covering all the cool things that have happened since July 4 I'll start back there.
In the last part of July my wife, Karen and I were lucky enough to go see Ron White. One of my guitar students Mark Fontaine knows one of Ron's financial agents and got us a couple of tickets. The show was at the King Center and our seats were fantastic. It was my first time seeing a big comedian and Ron is so funny! We just laughed our butts off and had a great time. We had grandma watch the kids and had a really nice night out.
That was Friday night and the rest of the weekend we went camping in beautiful beachside St. Augustine at Anastasia State Park. We joined our friends Ronnie and Keith who had invited us to join them and their daughter Deron for the trip. The weather was unseasonably cool and our campsite was well shaded. We rode bikes right to the beach and the water was great. A good time was had by all and the kids really seemed to enjoy the whole camping thing. Just another first for us to take the kids on a multiple night camping trip and most of all, nobody got hurt.
Now on to August. The kids are going back to school! And they say that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.
On the 12th Karen and I took the kids to Megan and Dave's house for their kids Grant and Hadley's birthday.
Dave had rented one of those inflatable slides that the kids just loved and while they played he fired up the grill and made some great eats for everyone. A few beers in the pool and some good eats with good friends. Ahhh.
In August I also started playing at Charlie and Jakes Microbrewery and Restaurant. It was great to be asked back again to hang out with my old friends behind the bar Rick , PJ and Jimmy. The new owners seem very nice and I have always enjoyed the fresh brewed beer and unquestionable barbeque as well as other great food items.
The Karmic Tricycle also got to roll out a bit on the 21st of August at the House Of Blues in the Blues Kitchen and had a killer time entertaining the folks up there. The Blues Travellers were playing that night in the big venue and the band came over after the show and sat down and had dinner and seemed to us. Then the legendary John Popper himself came in and had a few drinks in the bar later on. He even stopped and said how much he liked the band and I laid a cd on him. Hope he heard it and is enjoying it wherever he is tonight. That is one of the great parts about playing at the House Of Blues, the people that you meet. I have met or just spoken to Brett Michaels from Motley Crue, Sleepy LeBeef of Rock a Billy fame, Beautiful Bobby Blackmon, Double Trouble, Delbert McClinton, Jimbo Mathus and Buddy Guy, Elliot Conn, and more that I can't remember. What a great place to work and great people to work with.
Now for my favorite month, September! My Birthday Month and this was the big 40!
In the beginning of the month the tricycle played another gig at the HOB blues kitchen and all went well. Things were pretty normal through the month planning my birthday trip to New Orleans that Karen had so kindly suggested.
We went the 21st through the 25th and I had the absolute time of my life. I had never been before and really loved it. We stayed in the French Quarter at the Hotel St. Marie right near Bourbon Street. The food and people were really great. The first place we went into was the Oyster Co. (John Paul, my drummer had suggested the place from when he had been) and the very first person we sat down next to was a businessman from Chicago. Not so strange untill we began talking and found out that his birthday was the same as mine, date and year. So he turned Forty the same day as me that following Sunday back in Chicago.
Then, if that wasn't wierd enough, a couple walked in and sat down next to my new friend and announced that they had just met down the street and started talking. In talking they found out that they we were both in town for business from Chicago and had both just moved there from Atlanta! This was outrageous! Well, we decided to wander together with this ragtag group and have some fun on Bourbon Street and let's just say we did! We hung out for a few hours and then said our goodbye's and walked on back to the Hotel, beat and happy.
The next day Karen slept in (that's a switch) while I wandered around the French Quarter in search of bars with some dixieland or different music and was quite successful on my little walking tour. The narrow streets and the old row houses are just so cool to me, Jackson Square and the all that history in one of the oldest towns in America. That night and every night after Karen and I went down to Frenchman Street and enjoyed the bars down there and some great live music.
We also took the ferry and went across the river to Marti Gras World, where they make the huge floats that you see in the Marti Gras parades. If you ever go to the Big Easy you would enjoy that tour. It is informative and fun. My birthday night was a good time. We went to hang out with the Jazz Vipers who were performing at a little place and I got to jam along for a bit. It was so cool to play there. Just enough holy and just enough voodoo to make it really good. We were so happy to see the town beginning to get back on it's feet. There is a real can-do attitude about the folks that we saw. We did see some real damage in the residential neighborhoods outside of the French Quarter. Once the government kicks out some money to help those people out they can begin to return to their beautiful city again. Untill then, visit, stay in hotels, eat, drink and spend your money there. Support New Orleans, you'll be happy that you did.
Anyway, we really missed the kids and were glad to get back home after our trip.This brings us to October first. Had a small get together with some friends and family and officially crossed the forty mark. 
.
I would like to thank my sister, Cherise for rubbing birthday cake on my face. Can't wait for your 40th!
After the party I got a call back from the House Of Blues I had been waiting for. I had gotten the nod to open up for Peter Frampton as a solo acoustic performer. I couldn't believe it! I had gotten the call in New Orleans and thought they found someone else, but they picked me! When House Of Blues billed the act online they said it was Peter Frampton with Billy Chapman. It was so weird to see my name with his like that.
Java John from Kool Beanz and Java The Hut fame dropped me an e-mail from Tropic Wave Radio where he has a radio show called The Acoustic Record. John said he had been checking out the tickets and saw my name on them and asked me to come in and do an on air radio interview and some live music as well. I went there on the 10th of October and had an awesome time with John on the air.
When the gig day arrived I was actually nervous which is really unusual for me, but it was the biggest solo gig ever and I had been fighting a cold for a week afraid I would lose my voice. I had recorded the set the night before and had really messed it up, but when the lights went up I pulled off the twenty minute all original set without a hitch. The sound was so big! The crowd was pressed right up to the stage and was very nice to me throughout the show. While Peter and the band was playing I walked around the venue and was stopped several times by well wishers and people thanking me for a good show. I sold some cd's and gave away about a hundred business cards. Peter and his band were really great and gave the audience just what they were looking for. What a blast.
Well, that's enough for now. I'll write again sooner next time. Got to go get some sleep.
Later,
Billy
July 4th, 2006
Happy Independence Day America!
I am happy to announce that it was a great weekend for the Chapmans. Let's see, first I spent the weekend up in Ocala with my folks. I took my two youngest Conor and Rowan up with me to join Cody, my thirteen year old who was already up there, and my parents. Last year I went up for the 4th and really enjoyed it so I decided to do it again this year. We really had a great time and got to see some relatives I haven't seen in a while. We hung around and ate and blew up firecrackers and stayed up too late. It was a great visit.
Last night I had to come back to Melbourne Beach with the babies and Cody stayed up with my folks who took him to the airport this morning and, I am glad to report he made it home safely. It is always sad, of course to see him go back home, but I know I'll see him in a few months again.
Back in June, you may have seen, I was live on the air with Mathew Bronson on WMEL 920 AM. Mathew has a Saturday morning talk radio show called At Home from 9am (gulp) to noon and has local acts do the bumpers (the music coming in and out of the commercials) live on the air and then does an on air interview with the band or act. I found out about the program when I was updating my Space Coast Live dates. Mathew, who is a real estate agent, has an ad in the bulletin board on that site and I followed it up and booked the 6th of June and had a great time. I found Matt and all the folks down at WMEL to be very amicable and enjoyed the opportunity to get out to a new crowd. Thanks, Mathew!
I have also recently learned of some pictures on the Southern Jam website of the May 28th performance when A Million Tiny Fingers opened for Eddie Money! John Parrot's band The Bad Boys and the O-Zone Band also opened up, Eddie was great and it was a hell of a night! There's a funny picture of me and William Tuu in there. Check it out and have a happy 4th!
June 25th, 2006
Hello again all! Just pulled into town from attending our family reunion at Saint Simons Island, Georgia. We really had a great time. I got to see some aunts and uncles that I haven't seen in years. Karen and I took all three kids in the car (a four hour drive) and went up early on Friday.
First, after that long drive we spent a little time in the pool and then dinner with everyone at the reunion. That night we all got together and tried to catch up on all the news that had happened since we last had gathered. Along with some sad news of loss came the happy news of new births and new beginnings. We had alot of fun playing games and laughing.
I was also able to play some guitar with my uncle David Chapman. To those of you who don't know, he was the one who first inspired me to play the guitar. This was the Johnson family reunion ( my fathers mothers side) and the very first guitar in my home growing up was built by my great grandfather Johnson, who was a blacksmith, carpenter, and sharecropper in Georgia.
One of my favorite stories my uncle David tells is that when he was a boy at his older sister's house, he found a beat up old guitar with a bent neck in a garage. He had never played, but was intrigued and tried to play it. My great grandfather Johnson took that guitar and said that he thought he could fix that old guitar and give it back to him. After taking the guitar apart and attempting to fix it, he decided to build a guitar himself and he did, and gave it to my uncle.
He made thirteen guitars in his life and gave one to my father, Bill Chapman who gave it to me to play when I was young. It hangs now in my living room, a most cherished heirloom and the beginning of my chosen career. We also have a wooden play horse that he built back in the fifties for my uncles and aunts to play on. I played on it, and my kids now play on it all the time. It is called Old Red.
As I write this I think of William Johnson, who died in the sixties. I never knew him although there is a picture of he and grandmother Johnson holding me when I was a few months old. Even though I have never met him I feel as though I know him somewhat and through his woodwork I can touch and hold something that he spent much time with.
It's not always easy to take the time out to visit with the old crew in your family. I had not been to a reunion in ten years (too busy) which brings a bit of guilt to my heart. It was worth all of the work that it took to attend this years gala and I plan on going next year. I somehow feel closer to all of my family and, in the end, myself. That is something I can pass to my kids in the end.
June 6th, 2006
Just got a copy of the new Brevard Live Magazine with the review of Sweet Nothings. Here it is! Many thanks to Chris for the exposure!
June 2nd, CONGRATULATIONS TO JOHN PAUL MCCUNE (DRUMMER AND LONG TIME FRIEND) AND FAMILY FOR THE SUCCESSFUL BIRTH OF THEIR SON GAVIN !
6 lbs 2 oz, 20 inches long!
May 7th, Hey all! Hope everything is going well. Just got home from my first gig at Redheads Martini Bar up on the port. What a great time to watch the boats sail in and out. Some of those ships are huge! Let me backtrack through the workweek.
Monday I was honored to join Kevin Fergusen and his new bride, Gwen at their wedding on the beach and the reception following. Congratulations, you two. Their wedding reminded me of when Karen and I tied the knot in the British Virgin Islands. Thursday night I played at Abaco Jacks from 6-10 PM and had a real good time. That is a fun gig on the scenic Indian River.
Saturday was Founder's Day in Melbourne Beach and I got to play an accoustic set from 5-6:30. I thought it might be an awkward time of day to play, but my fears were relieved when an enthusiastic crowd gathered. It really gave me a great feeling to be a part of our home town and to see how many people come out to support a local festival. Fun was had by all the neighbors and friends who attended. I already can't wait until next year. That brings us back to today. Lots of good things happening, glad to say.
April 23rd, Well, hello, hello, hello folks. It's good to say yo again. I remember that I told you last time about getting tickets to take Cody(my oldest son) to Cirque du Soleil before he went back to North Carolina. Well, we had a great time. What a blast it is seeing that show. All the best of so many arts; music, gymnastics,dancing, high wire, bicycling, clowns. It's my second time seeing it and it was just as great as it was before. Cody seemed to really enjoy the show, too. He was so excited afterwards as most folks are. It was nice to take the man cub to where I work over at House Of Blues for dinner afterwards and introduce him around to some of the staff there, too. Nice little father/son excursion.
Been working on the rest of the website lately and, man it takes me a long time to figure some of these things out. Got some video on the "about" page of A Million Tiny Fingers playing a few months ago at Abaco Jacks. The video looks and sounds just great and came to us courtesy of Scott McGill from some friends of his who are students of film at Florida Tech. Scott is a talented bass player for us and many others as well as a multi media guy working with cartoons and film. It's a pleasure to have him around and I wanted to thank him for not only facilitating the making of the video, but patiently guiding yours truly through the installation process. Scott, you are the man.
I also wanted to celebrate adding two new venues to the calendar this month. The first is Tequila Willie's out in Palm Bay behind Carrabas. A Million Tiny Fingers played there last weekend and we had a blast. The place is big and new with a courteous staff and a comfortable feel. They have a nice stage and dance floor, good looking pool tables and it looks like this place is going to be alot of fun in the coming years. The second new place is The Redheads Martini Bar on the port. I can't wait to begin playing at this well known cigar and martini bar right on the port. It looks like it's going to be a great summer.
One more really cool thing for The Fingers is our opening for Eddie Money on May 28th, a Southern Jam Production. Check out their web site for tickets to the show; it promises to be a blast.
Getting late so I gotta slide. 'Till next time, Billy.
April 3rd, Hey, everybody. Hope all is well. I just got done with a couple of weeks off of my teaching job at A+ music in Melbourne. It's a lot of fun to teach. I've enjoyed watching my students learn about playing over the years. Spring break brought my son, Cody home again from North Carolina and it's always good to see him. It's his thirteenth birthday on the ninth and we just bought tickets to go to Cirque du Soleil and I can't wait for him to see La Nouba. It's a great show and he'll really enjoy it. Going back a week, my sailing buddies Erik, Jeff and I went to the Suwanee river music festival to see some music and drink some beer, grill out and see some music. Then we drank some beer and grilled out and saw some music, etc.... Some of the acts were Bela Fleck, Donna the Buffalo, Sam Pacetti and Gabe Valla, Tony Rice and Peter Rowan, Guy Clark and many others. The weather was cold, almost freezing some nights. Thankfully we brought lots of firewood to stay warm and fully enjoyed ourselves. We camped out in tents and were situated on the main drag right down the road from one of the main stages. What a blast. Well, gotta run. Will get some pictures from the pool job ( almost done) soon.
March 14th, Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I wrote to let you know what was up. Let's see, I've been busy as usual with the kids trying to keep up with them. I had the unprecedented opportunity to go and re-record Scattered Man with Three Dog Night drummer Pat Bautz. Kerry Morris lent his hand on bass and again JD Daniel was on keyboards. I am so excited about the sounds and can't wait to finish this next release. I'ts been a real learning experience watching these guys work. Karen and I decided to put in a pool and ground was broken for that on Karen's birthday in the beginning of March. I also bought a new guitar from the good people out at J Michaels instruments. I purchased a Breedlove accoustic guitar and man, is it nice. I got to use it on this last weekend of playing at HOB Orlando and enjoyed it immensely. It's got a great neck and an awesome tone. Best guitar I've ever owned. More pictures to come soon. Hope all is well, Billy.
Jan 25, Man, so much happening lately! January is chalking up to be a pretty good month for recording. Made it up to north Brevard to have JD Daniels play some of his golden keyboard licks on my newest song "Scattered Man". It was a great time hanging out making music. Said goodbye to my son, Cody, who was down for New Years from Fayetteville, NC. He's doing great in school and getting into guitar and paintball like alot of young guys. It was a nice visit and christmas break but now it's back to the real world. The kids are getting bigger and becoming more fun all the time.
Jan 1- Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe It's 2006 already. I remember thinking back in the seventies how old I would be in 2000 and I thought, Geez, how could I be 34 years old! Well, that was a long time ago. Sorry I haven't checked in recently, but I've been busy as a bee playing, teaching and taking care of the kids. Christmas day has come and gone and I've been Santa, elf, and child this year. The kids were really looking forward to this year so, it made it even better. Conor is three and a half and just learned to ride a bike without training wheels, so he got a new bike and Rowan, our daughter who just turned two, got a new Barbie scooter from Santa right off a fire engine on Christmas eve! The kids liked the lights and noise and even posed for a picture with Santa although, Rowan was not so sure about the picture thing. Thanks to the Melbourne Beach Volunteer Fire Department for their service all year! My folks had come from Ocala and my sister and her husband came over as well as Karen's mom and dad and we had a hoot !
Just after Christmas my twelve year old son, Cody came down from Fayetteville followed by Karen's sister Jenny and her husband Leroy, their daughter Alex and her friend Flo from Grand Rapids, Michigan for the New Year. It's nice to have the family together again.I played at John and Verena's house for New Years and we all had a real good time with great food and friends.
As great as the holiday was, the gig scene was great as well. In addition to some great solo gigs, The Fingers also played two dates over at Abaco Jacks in Melbourne, Fl and had a real good time with some of our old friends. We were able to procure the great and noble JD Daniels on keyboards again and what a pleasure it was to jam out with such a talented cat. JD has played with the Eagles, Super Tramp and Englebert Humperdink to name a short list of his accomplishments. He has great licks, a great songlist and sang some tunes as well and it was a real blast. Billy Van Riper tore it up on guitar as usual and John Paul McCune and William Tuu Shored up the rhythm department on drums and hand percussion while Scott McGill held down the bottom on bass. Fun was had by all on that cold night.
Nov 28- Last night was a great night! My folks came down from Ocala to visit us and my sister, Cherise and her husband, Bill. Just so you guys know, my fathers name is Bill, my brother-in-laws name is Bill, my father-in-laws name is Bill, my lead guitar player and the conga player in A Million Tiny Fingers are named Billy Van Riper and William Tuu, respectively. That's alot of bills, as you might say at the end of the month. When Billy Van Riper and I play duo gigs we call ourselves The Unpaid Bills. To answer your next question no, we don't play for free. Anyway, my mom and dad were in town and mom was willing to watch the kids so Karen and I could go do some santa clause things and have some dinner at one of our favorite places, Island Pasta. Steve was there and made us feel very much at home, as we always do. Long story short, great dinner, great time.
Later, we stopped by Lou's Blues on the way home for some live entertainment and saw some Orlando boys, The Smokin' Torpedoes do their blues thing. We saw some old friends and got to catch up a little as we watched the band and had a great time. I also saw Rick Fincke and JT Burley fresh from a private party in Merrit Island where they had just played with George Wilson. Always nice to see some of the local greats out and about.
Dec4th-Wow, what a weekend. Played thursday thru sunday and boy, are my fingers sore! Just kidding. Thursday kicked off the workweek with a trip out to Siggy's in Palm Bay ( I-95 and Malabar Road). Got to hang out with some of the old guard and some new friends. Thanks to Devin and everyone else for making it fun. Beat a computer virus and saved the 70 dollar repair fee thanks to Ali down at Bankers Bar and Grill in Cocoa Village. Played down there on Friday night and had a great time with Jim and Rick and all the fine folks at Bankers.
House of Blues on Sat nite and, it's colder in Orlando than here in Melbourne. Nice and cool and everyone was out having fun. Played 6-11 and had a great time. H ad some requests and sold some cd's. After my gig on the front porch I met and heard the legendary Sonny Rhodes do some sets with his band and they were just killer. Sonny plays the lap guitar and did some tunes on electric, too. Lots of energy and style. I traded Sonny cd's and had him sign mine.
Today, Karen and I did some work in our kitchen. We have a new project; to upgrade the appliances and countertops, etc...just needed a little more room. So, we tore out a cabinet and placed the fridge there and got the room we were looking for. Had to replace the tile under where the cabinet used to be. Got dusty and dirty, but it is nice to do something constuctive.
Sunday afternoon and I'm off to Slow and Low Barbeque in Cocoa Beach for my last 5-8 shift of the season. I've played for the owners Nicole and Joel before and always have a great time playing their resturaunt. Look forward to picking back up there after the first of the year sometime. A friendly and helpful staff make their great food even better. Hello there to Sam , Dave , Sue and everyone!
Time to go snooze. Peace, Billy.
7 December 05
Hey, all.
A nice little article printed up in several of the local papers! Thank you Jennifer Torres. As soon as I can work out some kinks in my system I'll post the article up here. Billy
| One of our first cd reviews in Swerve Magazine , Sep, 1994 | |
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December 8
Hey, guys. I thought I'd toss up some old archival reviews of our cd from back in 1994. I've been going through some articles and pictures of the old days back when we were all a little (or a lot) skinnier and had more hair. I'll show some more pics as I figure out how to install them in a small enough size so they don't take over the whole page. Got almost all of the xmas shopping done and, in case anybody out there is interested I want a cadillac.