If you stopped by Muddy Waters in Oslo in the early 2000s, you couldn’t help but notice a burly American expat with a firm grip on his bass guitar on the small stage at the back of the narrow venue. Billy was the leader of the house band that backed a number of major American artists, and he thus became an important bandleader for some of the greatest guitarists we have in this country.
The New Yorker started his first band with Paul Stanley, who would later join Kiss, and had a background with Eddie Kirkland’s band and the Tom Russell Band back in the U.S. when he “ended up” in Norway. Around the same time Muddy Waters closed its doors, he started his own band, so we can still reminisce about the Muddy Waters era. They’ve released five albums, the latest of which was launched at the Notodden Blues Festival last year. Two of the albums have won Spellemann Awards, and the bandleader himself received the Notodden Blues Award in 2021. They’ll be performing at Dark Season Blues with their regular lineup: guitarists Håkon Høye and Ian Fredrick Johannessen, and bassist and vocalist Troiani, while Martin Windstad is filling in for Alexander Pettersen on drums.
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