Album Notes

"When I hear Billy play, I want to jump on stage and sing along! Great toe-tappin' old style music." - Cara Luft


Billy’s journey began on the back roads of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The soundtrack for his childhood was provided by his guitar-slingin’, country-singin’ mother, star of Canadian stages, TV and renowned Pasty Cline impersonator. (Oh, that old story). He spent his formative years shyly playing guitar in his bedroom until he finally ventured out of his room to travel around a fair bit of the world. The trip back home stopped in Calgary where he now lives, writes and performs.

Along the road Billy has met some pretty cool players. With the guidance of such luminaries as Tim Williams, Ronnie Hayward, John Rutherford, Bill Zulak and Charlie Hase, Dave McCann and his Ten-Toed Frogs, among others, Billy went into the studio to record. His self titled debut album is what he descries as “an honest and hopeful reflection of the human condition, experienced by a musician who has travelled the world embracing different cultures and music.”

Recorded in Calgary at Rocky Mountain Recording Studio, produced by Rob Smith and Daniel J Coe (Aerosmith, The Trews), this mostly “live off the floor” studio album could be best described as roots music infused with a range of influences as disparate as Wilco, J.S.Bach, Chris Whitley, John Lee Hooker, Bill Frisell and … wait for it … even ABBA.

The record was mastered by Mark Chalecki (Cracker, June Carter Cash) at Capitol Records in Hollywood. The 13 tracks include guest performances by Canadian greats like former Crash Test Dummies violinist Billy Zulak, country blues singer/songwriter/guitarist Tim Williams, and pedal steel journeyman Charlie Hase.