Billy T and his band

Billy T and his band will perform at Barentz Pub in Longyearbyen on February 18 during VinterBlues 2012 .

Bill was born and raised in New York but has lived in Norway for the past 12 years. Both he and the rest of the band he’s bringing along for the occasion have collaborated with a number of well-known musicians both in Norway and abroad. Bill has a long history of working with artists such as Tom Russell and Eddie Kirkland, in addition to several years as the leader of the house band at Muddy Waters. Bill is joined by a group of outstanding musicians who have built up a large following in Norway and abroad through countless performances on concert stages, from Moscow to New York.

Bill, with his Billy T Band’s second album *L.O.V.E. (just a silly notion)*, won the 2010 Spellemann Award for Best Blues Release. In addition, it was named the best Norwegian blues/soul/gospel release of 2010 by the Swedish magazine Rootsy.nu. One of the songs from the album (Try a Little Harder) was also selected as a finalist in the international songwriting competition ISC 2010 in Nashville.Billy T has performed on Svalbard several times, most recently at Dark Season Blues in 2009.

This Saturday at VinterBlues, Billy T will take the stage with a band put together especially for this event.

William (Bill) Troiani: Bass and vocals
Ian F. Johannessen: Guitar
Alexander Pettersen: Drums
Erik Harstad: Guitar and vocals

The lineup has been put together for VinterBlues 2012, and two different concepts are planned for Friday and Saturday at the pub, headlined by Erik Harstad and Billy-T, respectively.

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[youtube height=”212″ width=”300″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5X6NUc3sVc[/youtube]
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[youtube height=”212″ width=”300″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXRqkpKXiW4[/youtube]
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An interview with Bill Troiani by Øyvind Pharo. Filmed during the record release party for the Billy T Band’s “L.O.V.E. (just a silly notion)” on January 27, 2010. The interview is divided into three parts due to its length. In this interview, Bill talks about his more than 40 years in the music business and his journey from New York to Oslo. He has played with such diverse artists as Stanley Eisen, Tom Russell, Lightning Hopkins, and Eddie Kirkland. Interviewer Øyvind Pharo is one of Norway’s most well-known writers on roots music.
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[youtube height=”212″ width=”300″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G36wrZcjnsQ[/youtube]

Interview Part 1

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[youtube height=”212″ width=”300″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IxYuxz4kYU[/youtube]

Interview Part 2

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[youtube height=”212″ width=”300″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pioa1IUPtJ8[/youtube]

Interview Part 3

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