Sons Of Bill
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Sons of Bill is a band from
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
founded by brothers Sam, Abe, and James Wilson, along with bassist Seth Green and drummer Todd Wellons. The band took their name from the Wilson brothers' father, Bill Wilson, a musician and professor of philosophical theology and
Southern literature Southern United States literature consists of American literature written about the Southern United States or by writers from the region. Literature written about the American South first began during the colonial era, and developed significan ...
at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
where the band initially formed. The band's album ''Love And Logic'' is their most successful to date; it was called "a classic roots-rock record for the modern age" by ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', and "one of those delightful surprises that music so rarely springs in the age of digital access and constant, instant discovery" by British newspaper ''
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''.


History


Formation

The seeds of Sons of Bill formed in 2005 when James Wilson graduated from
Deep Springs College Deep Springs College (known simply as Deep Springs or DS) is a private junior college in Deep Springs, California. With the number of undergraduates restricted to 26, the college is one of the smallest institutions of higher education in the U ...
in California and moved back to Virginia. On his way home he visited his older brother Sam Wilson who was living in
Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
playing guitar in a rock band and free-lancing as a jazz guitarist. The two brothers spent an evening in Sam's apartment playing old country songs that their dad had taught them, as well as some new songs that James had recently written. Upon returning home that summer, James began playing those same songs with his other older brother Abe Wilson at parties and open mic nights around Charlottesville and the idea of forming a band was hatched. Abe was currently home for the summer from architecture school at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...
. Childhood friend Seth Green was recruited to play bass and Todd Wellons, who had independently played in bands with both Seth and Abe, was brought in to play drums. The band played their first formal show on December 23, 2005 and within several months both brothers had moved home to Virginia to pursue the band full-time.


''A Far Cry From Freedom (2006)''

In February 2006 the band placed 1st in a Battle of Bands and won recording time at Crystalphonic Studios in Charlottesville. Armed with nine original songs written by James, in addition to two of Sam's compositions, they entered the studio after only three months and several shows together as a band. The album was independently released in April 2006.


''One Town Away (2009)''

In October 2008 the band traveled to
Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...
to record their sophomore album with acclaimed recording engineer and producer Jim Scott (Tom Petty, Sting, Wilco). The sessions produced the album ''One Town Away'', which was released in June 2009 on Gray Fox Records. The album features songs written by James and Sam Wilson, as well as keyboardist Abe Wilson and bassist Seth Green. It also features Brian Caputo on drums.


''Sirens (2012)''

Sons of Bill began pre-production work on their third album in the Spring of 2010. Several months later they received a phone call from David Lowery of 90's
alt rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band
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who was interested in producing their next release. The band first met with Lowery in the fall of 2010 to discuss plans for the album and subsequently entered Sound of Music Studios with Lowery and engineer
John Morand John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...
in December 2010. In March 2011 the band initiated a fan-funded campaign through
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
to help offset recording and production costs. The campaign was a success, hitting its $20,000 goal in just over 24 hours and eventually doubling that goal in the month it was active. The band has continued working at Sound of Music, returning to PLYRZ Studios to work with Jim Scott, and recording at Mission Sound Studios in Brooklyn, NY. ''Sirens'' was released on March 27, 2012. Track Listing *1. Santa Ana Winds (4:28) *2. Find My Way Back Home (4:06) *3. Siren Song (4:34) *4. Angry Eyes (4:54) *5. Turn It Up (7:27) *6. The Tree (4:26) *7. Life In Shambles (feat. David Lowery & Johnny Hickman) (3:10) *8. This Losing Fight (3:37) *9. Radio Can't Rewind (4:09) *10. Last Call At The Eschaton (5:20) *11. Virginia Calling (5:13) Personnel Sons of Bill *Seth Green - bass *Todd Wellons - drums, percussion *Abe Wilson - vocals, piano, organ, guitars, Wurlitzer, accordion *James Wilson - vocals, guitars *Sam Wilson - vocals, guitars, lap steel, mandolin Additional performers *Johnny Hickman & David Lowery - additional vocals & guitars on "Life In Shambles" *Alan Weatherhead - pedal steel & Mellotron on "Radio Can't Rewind" *Luke Wilson - harmonica on "Angry Eyes"


''Love & Logic''

In the Fall of 2013 the band entered Creative Workshop studios in Nashville, Tennessee with
Ken Coomer Ken Coomer is an American musician and producer best known for his drumming in Uncle Tupelo and later Wilco. He was the drummer and co-founder of the Nashville-based band, Clockhammer, in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Career Coomer produced th ...
(formerly of
Uncle Tupelo Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend ...
and
Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...
) to record ten songs for a new album. Coomer originally heard the band from the "Bad Dancer"/"Higher Than Mine" single (mentioned below) that a friend had passed to him in the Spring of 2013. The Creative Workshop sessions were mixed by Grammy-winners Jim Scott and
Tchad Blake Tchad Blake (born 1955) is an American record producer, audio engineer, mixer and musician. A native of Baytown, Texas, he has worked with artists and musicians including Al Green, American Music Club, Ani DiFranco, Apartment 26, Arctic Monke ...
to complete the album. ''Love & Logic'', their 4th studio album, was released on September the 30th 2014 in the United States and on January 27, 2015 in the UK and Europe. Track Listing *1. Big Unknown *2. Brand New Paradigm *3. Road to Canaan *4. Lost in the Cosmos (Song for Chris Bell) *5. Bad Dancer *6. Fishing Song *7. Higher Than Mine *8. Arms of Landslide *9. Light a Light *10. Hymnsong


''Additional Material''

The band released two new songs, "Bad Dancer" and "Higher Than Mine", as a Vinyl 45 through WarHen Records for Record Store Day (April 20, 2013). In conjunction with a tour of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK in February and March 2014, the band released ''The Gears EP'' in Europe only on Blue Rose Records. The EP features three songs from the album ''Love & Logic'' ("Brand New Paradigm", "Road to Canaan" and a new recording of "Bad Dancer"), live recordings of "Turn It Up" (from ''Sirens'') and the Neil Young song "Unknown Legend", and acoustic versions of "Santa Ana Winds" and "Radio Can't Rewind" (also from ''Sirens'').


''Oh God, Ma'am''

''Oh God, Ma'am,'' the band's fifth studio album, was released in April 2018. The album was completed after James Wilson suffered a debilitating injury to his hand that impacted his ability to play guitar.
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called the lead single from the album, "Believer/Pretender," "an absolute stunner, a sweeping piece of ‘80s-tinged guitar rock that recalls the sounds of New Order, The War on Drugs, and R.E.M., while still being unmistakably Sons of Bill."


Personnel

* Sam Wilson: lead guitar, vocals, pedal steel guitar, harmonica * James Wilson: vocals, rhythm guitar * Abe Wilson: piano, organ, rhythm guitar, vocals * Joe Dickey: bass * Todd Wellons: drums


Discography


Studio albums and EPs

*''A Far Cry from Freedom'' (2006) *''One Town Away'' (2009) *''Take a Shower, Call Your Mother, Your Life Is in Shambles'' - EP (2010) *''Sirens'' (2012) *"Bad Dancer"/"Higher Than Mine" - 7" single (2013) *''The Gears EP'' (2014) (Europe only) *''Love & Logic'' (2014) *''Oh God Ma’am'' (2018) The band's website and SoundCloud page also offer several full-length live concert recording free to recipients of its e-mail list.


References


External links


Sons of Bill’s Official PageSons of Bill's Facebook PageSons of Bill's MySpace Page
{{Authority control Rock music groups from Virginia Musical groups established in 2006 Musicians from Charlottesville, Virginia Family musical groups Loose Music artists