Short Bio:
Billy Sherwood born in Las Vegas, NV is a musician, record producer, and engineer.
Billy Sherwood's music career started when he joined a band formed by Michael. Called
Lodgic, Billy played bass and sung while Michael played keyboards and sang back
up. Lodgic also included Guy Allison on keyboards, Jimmy Haun on guitar and Gary
Starns on drums. They eventually moved the band to Los Angeles in 1980. After many
years of trying to get things together, they recorded their debut album Nomadic
Sands, released in 1985.
Lodgic eventually broke up, and Billy Sherwood put together a new band with Guy
Allison. They recruited guitarist Bruce Gowdy and drummer Mark T. Williams to form
World Trade. They recorded their self-titled debut in 1989, with Sherwood taking
on the roles of engineer, mixer, and producer again, along with his band duties
as bassist and lead singer.
Then, Sherwood and Gowdy were asked to come and jam with Chris Squire, Alan White,
and Tony Kaye of Yes. Singer Jon Anderson and guitarist Trevor Rabin had left the
band and the idea was for Sherwood and Gowdy to replace them in the band. Rabin
returned to the band, but demos were recorded by a line-up of Squire, White, Kaye,
Rabin and Sherwood. However, Yes were to merge with Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe
and Sherwood was relegated to the role of side musician, appearing on one track
of the subsequent album Union. Like Trevor Horn before him, Sherwood was uncomfortable
with the idea of replacing Anderson as the front man of Yes, but he struck up a
friendship with Squire that would lead to work with him throughout the next 20 years.
During the hiatus of Yes, Squire put together the Chris Squire Experiment, having
Sherwood as the lead singer while playing some guitar and keyboards. Sherwood then
went on to record a project called The Key with guitarist Marty Walsh, though they
would not release the album until 1997.
Behind the board, Sherwood worked with Motörhead, Dangerous Toys, and Paul Rodgers
(formerly of Bad Company) as producer and engineer. Sherwood also guested on Toto's
Kingdom of Desire album, singing and playing bass. He also produced a couple of
tribute albums, including Jeffology, a tribute to Jeff Beck. Sherwood then joined
Yes on tour as an additional musician, playing guitar and keyboards for their tour
in support of Talk.
Sherwood got back together with his band mates from World Trade and released Euphoria
in 1995, with Jay Schellen replacing Williams on drums. After this, he worked with
a multitude of artists. Most of his work was as producer, mixer and engineer, including
on more tribute albums: Dragon Attack, a tribute to Queen; Salute to AC/DC; and
Crossfire, a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Sherwood would co-produce, engineer and mix the new studio tracks for Yes's Keys
to Ascension and Keys to Ascension 2 albums. Sherwood started work on a third album
by World Trade, but the band would fall apart.
After the two Keys to Ascension albums, Rick Wakeman left Yes. Sherwood's friendship
with Chris Squire would then lead him being asked to join the band again. The material
that they had written together was used as the basis of what would become Open Your
Eyes, released in 1997 by Yes. Sherwood played guitar and keyboards. Igor Khoroshev
would join the band before the tour as the keyboardist leaving Sherwood to playing
guitar and supplying backing vocals.
After returning from the tour, Sherwood and Yes returned to the studio to record
The Ladder. During this time too, Sherwood and Squire started putting the finishing
touches on their album Conspiracy, largely based on the Chris Squire Experiment
material, which was released while Yes was on tour in support of The Ladder in 2000.
Billy also took time to perform on his brother Michael's album Tangletown, released
in 1999.
Yes recorded a show during The Ladder tour in Sherwood's hometown of Las Vegas at
the House of Blues. This was released as an album and DVD titled House of Yes. Then
after the tour, an announcement came that Sherwood was no longer a member of Yes.
After his departure from Yes, Sherwood worked with Chris Squire to release Conspiracy,
including some work they composed together some years before. Following that, Sherwood
com posed his first solo album called The Big Peace in which he played most of all
the instruments and also produced.
In 2007, a new band with Sherwood, Alan White, Tony Kaye and Jimmy Haun was announced,
called Circa. With the release of their debut album Circa 2007 and a live DVD concert,
Circa has played various live dates. White left the band and was replaced by Jay
Schellen.
Recent Billy Sherwood's solo album, At the Speed of Life, was released in August
2008.
On January 14, 2009, Circa self-released on the Internet its second studio album,
Circa HQ. An Italian tour was scheduled for February, but then canceled. The tour
was to see former Toto singer, Bobby Kimball, joining them on stage to play material
from Circa, Yes, and Toto. Kimball, Sherwood, along with Tony Kaye and Jimmy Haun,
have now joined forces to create a new band, Yoso, and were working on an album
in April 2009.
Gear:
Billy both plays and endorse Spector basses using a 4 5 and 8 string. He also uses
line 6 bass pod pro xt pedal board. This is where the sound effects are generated,
fuzz, wah, delays etc... Amps are Acoustic at home where he records, on the road
he uses backline gear and it's hit and miss as to the maker. The last tour was ampeg
which he said "sounded great". He currently does not endorse any amplification company.
He also doesn't use wireless and said "I don't like the alteration in tone that
occurs when you don't use the wires".
November 2010
Billy: Hey man!
AGB: Hey Billy. How’re you doing?
Billy: Good, man. How are you?
AGB: Pretty good. Well, before we get started with the interview, being this
is a bass site, it’s about the bass player.
Billy: Beautiful. And we love that, because bass is awesome, and there are
many, many greats out there to talk about, that’s for sure.
AGB: Yeah, I had some really interesting discussions with other bass players.
Billy: Cool, cool. Right on. Well, whenever you’re ready to roll, we shall
go for it. You got all the components I sent you and everything?
AGB: Right, the only thing I would be missing is any kind of links that you
would really want to have added here.
Billy: Yeah, I’ve got some… point them to the Myspace where they can hear
music and video of my solo thing, and Circa, and Yoso, and just a heads up there’s
four items there.
AGB: Okay, good. Just looking to make sure we put as many links as we can.
I mean, some have contacted me and said “I’ve got one more link” , that was a month
later and I put it out there. Every once in a while, somebody sends me a new picture.
Billy: Yeah, you can update that as things progress. These are from the last
tour, so I figured they were the most relevant recently, so…
AGB: OK, I ask this question of everyone. It gives an insight as to what
brought you to this point in your career. What really made you pick the bass guitar
as your instrument, I know I saw that when you played with Chris Squire, you were
playing guitar, not bass.
Billy: Well, I started out as a drummer, and right as Logic was forming and
getting serious, they lost their bass player. I grabbed a bass, started practicing,
and became part of that band. One thing led to another, and I just stayed on bass
from that point forward, and then started playing guitar and keys as a result. Bass
kind of became a necessity at a point in time with what I was doing with the band,
and I loved playing bass, I love playing all instruments, so you know it was cool
to dive into bass. When I did, I kind of studied in my own way, you know, how Jaco
approached things, Chris Squire and Stanley Clark, Abe Laboriel, all these great
bass players, and sort of tried to do my own thing. That’s when it really kicked
into gear, and I think I seriously started diving in, at about sixteen.
AGB: Just curious, what do you think the driving force was to keep playing?
You know, obviously, you didn’t know you’d be right where you are at sixteen. Were
you ever ready to give up?
Billy: No, music has just been something I’ve just gone for relentlessly
and tenaciously and I’ve just stayed at it, and I never really thought of the idea
of giving anything up, because it was always just, what’s next, keep pushing on.
I had a very confident way of looking at it, and positive attitude, you know, I
still wanted to go for it. I have and still do, so it’s kind of all what you make
of it, I suppose.
AGB: Looking at the list of gear, I mean, your backline is whatever you get,
but your bass guitar, what made you decide that was it, that was the one?
Billy: Well, Spector… I’ve always loved playing Spector basses, and back
in 1987, when I was working on the World Trade album, they approached me to endorse
them and I did. They built me this amazing eight string, one of a kind that’s just
gorgeous, and I still use it today. And you know, we had an endorsement rolling
there, then World Trade ran its course, and I moved on, they moved on… One thing
led to another, all these years later, they approached me through the Myspace, and
kind of said “what do you think about rekindling the relationship?” I loved playing
them before anyway, so I said yeah, let’s go for it, and I’ve been an endorser ever
since, and I really enjoyed playing the 4, the 5 and the 8. I took them all out
on the road with Yoso recently, and they all just play fantastic, and sound great.
Great people involved with the company, PJ and Stuart, and everyone else involved.
It’s just a great axe, and I love the way it feels, and the tone, so that’s become
my main thing.
AGB: Have you thought about an amplifier for touring?
Billy: You know, at this point, the way we’re touring, it’s all kind of backline.
I usually request an Ampeg with 8x10s and I go for it that way. It’s hit and miss
out there, what you get, but for the most part, I don’t really have an endorsement
per se with an amp company. I just kind of go with whatever’s available, and I make
it work. Most of what I do sound-wise comes from the Line 6 pedalboard that I use.
I’ve designed a bunch of sounds that I like, and I have it all preset so it can
do its thing there in real time. The amp becomes just a supplement for getting that
sound out nice and clean.
AGB: Going back a few years, you know, on the internet, you can read all
kinds of things, but I read you were with Logic and World Trade. Is there anything
in between there that was of any consequence before you started working with Yes?
Billy: Yeah, there was a band called The Key and we made a record actually.
Myself, Jimmy Haun and Mark Williams. We made the whole thing, and then it kind
of got shelved two days before it was released, but we actually did the entire cycle
of making a record and everything like that. Then after that, I was just kind of
looking around musically and I was working with Chris, and we put together the Chris
Squire experiment, which turned into Conspiracy. We’ve done some shows, and it was
just kind of making music and figuring out what band was next, at that point, which
can take a little bit of time.
AGB: I also saw that you worked with Motorhead, Dangerous Toys, Air Supply...
Billy: Yeah, yeah, a lot of production work in terms of producing and sharing
and mixing , and then a lot of getting involved with other people writing. I wrote
a song with the guys in Toto, and wrote some songs with the guys from Air Supply,
and produced Ratt, and mixed their record for them. Dangerous Toys, as you said,
and all kinds of tribute records that had me working with a ton of people. I do
a lot of thigns to stay busy, and whatever area comes my way, I love working on
music, so for me it’s all one big pool to pull from artistically. I like it.
AGB: With all these bands and artists that you’ve worked with, could you
give a few highlights, of some of the more interesting periods over the years? Something
that just stands out. There’s always that one story that you never forget.
Billy: That Paul Rodgers record that I made is one that stands out for me,
because everything came out great, there were so many great artists involved. As
far as putting it all together, it was a lot of fun, and a great experience, and
I sort of cut my production teeth on that record and went forward from there. That
one sticks out as one that was important, and the end result was great. It was a
Grammy nominated record, and we lost to Buddy Guy, who had a record out the same
year, but he had played on our record as well, so it was kind of funny. But it was
cool. It was a good record, it still sounds great today, and I had a great time
making it. That one sticks out.
AGB: You’re working with Bobby Kimball, Tony Kaye, Scott Connor, Johnny Bruhns
in the band Yoso. I’ve heard two different stories, one is that it’s a spinoff of
Circa, and the other one was some former members from Yes and Toto.
Billy: It’s really a new band altogether, by the virtue of the songs, and
they way they’re crafted, and how they’re put together. It’s more in the classic
rock genre, Bobby coming from that Toto side with classic rock, and Tony and I bringing
that progressive thing in. Circa is much more progressive in its roots, you know,
it’s just very progressive from tip to tail. So they’re two different projects completely.
Circa has two records out already with a DVD, and there’s a record up at iTunes,
and we’re working on a new record as we speak. Yoso now has a record out, and it’s
been out for a while in Europe and online, but the official release in America is
January 1. There are plans to do more shows and keep that rolling, and get Circa
going as well, so… they’re two different animals in their genre, but it’s great
to have all that music to pull from and play, and go different directions at the
same time. It’s very cool.
AGB: Do you have any projects that you’re thinking about working on besides
Yoso?
Billy: Right now, it’s Yoso coming out in January, with some shows, and there’ll
probably be a Circa record as well, with some shows tacked onto that. Beyond that,
live, that’s plenty. I’m working on the studio side of things… I’m supposed to be
doing a record with John Wetton in January. I’m working with him in the studio,
and there’s another band called Mars Hollow that I’m working with, starting next
week. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes as well. Live, it’s Yoso and it’s
going to be Circa too, so there’ll be more bass notes flying around.
AGB: I just heard that Chris Squire and a bunch of them got together, and
Yes is back together.
Billy: Yeah, they’re working on a record, they’ve got the thing going… yeah,
I heard what you heard.
AGB: I try to keep the interviews about the bass player, honestly. It’s about
the person, not the band you’re in. It’s still about you, but it’s still about the
band, because you’re in it. That’s your job. So, being in Yoso, it’s a supergroup.
Here you’ve got all these people that were in these bands, Bobby Kimball from Toto,
you’ve been in Yes… I mean, you kind of answered that. Can everyone look forward
to another Yoso CD, and tour?
Billy: Yeah, that’s the idea. It’s up and running now, and it’s an entity,
and off we go. We just got off of a European tour where we did fourteen shows, and
the idea now is the official release in America more gigs after that, so it’s up
and running.
AGB: You know, the music business has changed over the past twenty years,
and with the Internet you’ve got ReverbNation, CDBaby and others like that. How
do you think this has affected the industry, you, and those you’ve worked with?
Billy: Well, it’s definitely changed everything. On one hand, it’s a good
thing because it gets the music out there, and it’s saturated if you will, between
Youtube and Myspace, and the other medias to get music out there. If you want to
find it, just search it. So that’s very cool. In a perfect world, the pirating would
be lessened, because that’s killing people. But other than that, I think the information
flowing around the way it does in the digital world is very cool, and it’s not going
away any time soon, that’s for sure.
AGB: I was wondering because, with the advent of the internet and the passing
around of information much quicker, you hear about a new album and a tour, and you
can even see videos of what you did in Europe.
Billy: Yeah, I know, it’s funny. They’re usually up there that night, before
you get back to the hotel. It’s kind of funny.
AGB: But in the same vein, you’ve got 1,500 people who are trying to put
their music out there at the same time. People you never would have heard of.
Billy: Yeah, and that’s the beauty of the internet. There’s always that room
for discovery now, of something that doesn’t have to go through the shield of some
sort of bureaucracy to get their music heard, you know?
AGB: Just kind of an open-ended thing here, there’s a lot of questions I
could ask, and I’m sure dozens of other magazines have asked the same thing, so
I’m going to give you an open ended question here. Feel free to give us some insight
on Billy Sherwood.
Billy: Okay, well [laughs], I’m just a musician, I’ve been going for it for
a long time now, and pursuing my music as I’ve been doing for a long time. Been
through many, many bands, and worked on many projects, and continue to do so. I’ve
been lucky enough to have that road available to go down, and have enough work to
stay busy all these years, and I look forward to many more years of making music
in various formats and with various people. I mean, as we spoke about, right now
it’s Yoso with myself, Bobby, Tony, Johnny and Scott, and that’s one thing that’s
rockin’. The other project that’s coming up now is going to be the new Circa, moving
out there and playing shows as well. We’ve already done that in the past, so I’m
looking forward to kind of getting that going again, for the future. Just making
music live and in the studio, that’s what I look forward to. Other than that, hanging
out and playing video games, that’s about the size of it.
AGB: I actually heard about Yoso when it was still AKA.
Billy: Yeah, I mean, it’s been a long road going to get it to this point.
It kind of looks more recent than it really is. We’ve been at it quite a while,
so… it's nice to have a firm footing, and moving forward with it.
AGB: I heard from Bobby Kimball, and he told me about it.
Billy: And the cool thing is for me, as a bass player, is that, you know,
Yoso is coming from one place in the bass player kind of thing, in that one genre,
and then the Circa project is much more like a free-form sort of crazy prog thing.
There’s a lot to work on from the bass angle of things. Both projects, in the approach,
are quite different. It’s interesting.
AGB: Well, is there anything that you’d like to add that might not be out
there [something]?
Billy: The only other thing that I would add, and this is kind of a thing
by proxy of the internet, I’m kind of social on the internet with Myspace and Facebook,
and people reach out and I send messages back and whatnot. Along the way, I’ve met
a lot of artists who are trying to do their thing, and just reaching to that region
and they just need some help getting it over the finish line, to bring it to a more
professional sounding place, if you will. So I do mixes for people over the net
now. Through that, I’ve made some unique connections. I mixed a band that reached
out to me from Brazil, and I mixed their record, sent it back to them, and didn’t
think anything of it. After that, they sent me a message about a half a year later,
invited me down there to play a show, and we played five thousand people with an
orchestra, doing their record and also doing music from my world with Yes, Circa,
Conspiracy and Yoso. So you never know where things go. I guess what I’m saying
is, if you have an idea, and you need some help, you can contact me, we can work
something out. Owning my own studio makes that kind of thing doable for artists
who might not be able to throw down a ton of dough to get things rolling, you know,
to move things along. It’s interesting too, the internet, how things have developed
on a few fronts, outside of just working with your icons, if you will. Just musicians
trying to get on with their thing, so… It’s cool.
AGB: Okay, well, I don’t want to tie up your day too long, I probably could
think of about a hundred thousand more questions, which is an exaggeration, of course.
Billy: Well, I appreciate the interview, and, you know, it really is about
the bass, and for me, both of these projects, live and things behind the scenes
in the studio, that is one of my favorite things to do is play bass, so… If we can
end it on a bass note, thank you for that.
AGB: Billy I want to thank you and I appreciate your time talking with me
for the interview.
Billy: Cool, man. Right on, Chuck, I appreciate it. Have a good one.
February 2011
Since the interview YoSo has disbanded; here are some updates from Billy
Billy I'm currently producing/recording/mixing the new John Wetton solo record.
Eddie Jobson, Steve Hackett, Steve Morse, Geof, Downes, Tony Kaye are guest artists
on the project. I played Drums, Guitars, Keys, John played Bass, Acoustic guitars,
Keys and of course sang his &^% off !! The pic (first picture below) is for a guitar company I endorse
and turned John onto while recording.
CIRCA: "And So On" will be released this year and a tour of Europe being planned
for Oct/Sept. This new record marks the 3rd studio record for the band.
CIRCA: is Billy Sherwood {lead vocals/bass}, Tony Kaye {keyboards}, Johnny Bruhns
{guitars/vocals} and Scott Conner {drums/vocals}.
After touring with Johnny and Scott with Yoso it was clear that they both have incredible
talent and skill. TK and myself began speaking about a new line up for the next
chapter, we got to work recording and created this new record for 2011.
Thanks to all the friends and fans who have supported CIRCA: over the years, we
wish to return the love by getting the band out on the road so we can all gather
once more, under the flag of progressive music, see you all soon... Forward motion
!!
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