Billy Werner is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and DJ. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...

bands

Saetia Saetia (pronounced ''SAY-shuh'') is a New York City-based screamo band. Their name originates from a misspelling of the Miles Davis track "Saeta", from his album ''Sketches of Spain''. While relatively unknown during their initial existence, t ...

and Hot Cross.

Background

Raised in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York, Werner earned an undergraduate degree at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

and a graduate degree at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. Billy formed Saetia in 1997 with Greg Drudy, Jamie Behar, and Alex Madara. During their short lifespan of two and a half years, they released a self-titled EP, a self-titled full length, and their full discography on ''

A Retrospective A retrospective looks back at events that have taken place. Retrospective or ''A Retrospective'' may also refer to: Music * Retrospective album, a one-artist compilation album of musical works Albums * '' Retrospective: The Best of Buffalo Sprin ...

''. Billy wrote the lyrics, and sang vocals for the band. The band broke up in 1999, due to personal problems, to form bands such as Off Minor, The Fiction, and Billy's own band, Hot Cross. Hot Cross was formed shortly after Saetia broke up in 2000, with former Saetia drummer, Greg Drudy, Matt Smith, Casey Boland, and Josh Jakubowski. The band released '' A New Set of Lungs'', their first EP, in 2002, and then released their critically acclaimed record, ''

Cryonics Cryonics (from el, κρύος ''kryos'' meaning 'cold') is the low-temperature freezing (usually at ) and storage of human remains, with the speculative hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticis ...

'', the '' Fair Trades & Farewells'' EP, and their latest record, '' Risk Revival'', all on

Level Plane Level Plane was an American independent record label based in New York City that was founded in early 1997 by Greg Drudy for the release of Saetia's first 7". Drudy ran the label until it ceased to exist in 2009. It released records in a variety ...

records, except for ''Risk Revival'' released on Equal Vision records. The band's music was similar to Saetia and other Hot Cross members' former bands. The band went on indefinite hiatus, cutting short their 2007 tour. He also currently deejays under the moniker Billy W as a disco DJ, M//R as a techno DJ and producer, and Werner Williams for his more spacey and house-inflected groovy tunes.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Billy American punk rock musicians New York University alumni People from Queens, New York Alumni of King's College London 1977 births Living people Hot Cross members