I Released Two Albums This Week
Demo-Lish is a collection of demos both old and new from the past few years. Available on iTunes and the online store. 26 songs for just $9.99
Get Demo-Lish on iTunes
Get Demo-Lish at the Billy the Kid Online Store
Ours Acoustic features all the songs from the Billy the Kid and the Southside Boys album Ours but stripped down to just piano, acoustic guitar, vocals and strings. Give it a listen!
what. is. up.
I was listening to the Lemonheads and it occurred to me to do some snooping and see what Evan Dando was up to these days.
I found this interview that ends with him referencing a photo of his wife and saying “That’s my wife. She’s gone.”
It struck me as really sad.
So I decided to write a song about it from his perspective.
I don’t know if he is overly sad about it or if I did anything justice but I will tell you this…I really enjoyed researching for the project! I felt like some kind of sleuth or amateur detective.
I am pretty sure he is not going to like the song.
Today was weird because I actually finished two whole songs by 7:30pm. The primary reason for this is that I woke up at 5am with an idea in my brain. I always tell myself “Oh you will remember this for suuure” but I have learned that if I don’t run with it and just get it done…well, it doesn’t write itself. So I crawled downstairs, got a guitar, and went back up to bed. My 7am it was finished.
Joe and I have been working on stuff while he is in Australia. Here’s a video of how that works:
that’s my wife. she’s gone.
we met by accident out in the gutter
in a new york moment, a dirty black summer
no time to think, no time to recover (just drive)
get in the car now, before we go under
the lower east side might start to wonder
but i got a habit and it’s got my number
that’s my wife. she’s gone. her picture stays on the wall.
that’s my wife. she’s gone.
she’s gone.
smack heads on lemon drops, under the covers
she was my sanctity, she was my lover
when I kick the habit, I’m thinking of her (oh just drive)
blisters and meltdowns and airports and thunder
blitzed out amazement and dilated wonder
I climbed to the bottom, I learned how to try again from her
that’s my wife. she’s gone. yet her picture stays on the wall.
that’s my wife. she’s gone.
she’s gone
baby come back
but don’t come back
don’t come back
that’s my wife. she’s gone. yet her picture stays on the wall.
that’s my wife. she’s gone.
she’s gone
bloggin’ up a storm over here + shows
check out billy’s new blog “how to be a professional independent musician” as well as 6 new videos over in the blog section. while working with the southside boys and on solo material for a new double album billy has joined forces with joe from smoke or fire (fat wreck chords) for a new project called billy + joe. check out their new songs whiskey and breathe. here’s the schedule:
Thursday, October 21st
Richmond, VA at Empire
727 W Broad St
(804) 344-3323 http://www.empirerichmond.com
Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/BillyTheKid#!/event.php?eid=170934666324501
Billy the Kid from Billy the Kid & the Southside Boys/Billy and the Lost Boys and Joe Mcmahon from Smoke or Fire debut songs from their new project Billy + Joe.
and then some.
Saturday, November 5th
Richmond, VA at Baja
1520 West Main Street Basement (804) 257-5445 http://www.bajabean.com
Billy + Joe play Billy + Joe songs, Joe McMahon songs, Billy the Kid songs and some fun covers like Avett Bros, Samiam, Descendents, Ryan Adams. and more.
Friday, November 11th
Vancouver, BC at the Railway Club
579 Dunsmuir Street (604) 681-1625 http://www.therailwayclub.com/
Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/BillyPettinger/posts/303063946374656?ref=notif¬if_t=share_comment#!/event.php?eid=168170759937642
Billy the Kid show with opening acts Joe McMahon of Smoke or Fire (Fat Wreck Chords) and Billy + Joe (ha ha)
EARLY SHOW STARTS AT 7pm OVER AT 9pm
Saturday, November 12th
Vancouver, BC at the Chan Center
6265 Crescent Road
Billy will be speaking and performing at TEDx Vancouver. If you’re not familiar with TEDx check them out at http://tedxvancouver.com/
“TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading.” The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.”
Saturday, December 3rd
Richmond, VA at Hat Factory
140 Virginia Street (804) 788-4281 http://hatfactoryva.com/
Billy the Kid & The Southside Boys open for Smoke or Fire
Friday, December 9th
Boston, MA at O’Brien’s Pub
3 Harvard Avenue Phone (617) 782-6245 http://www.obrienspubboston.com/
Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=249685475084375
Billy + Joe show with Jeff Rowe (http://jeffrowemusic.com/) and Matt Murphy of Wolves and the Radio
How To Be A Professional Independent Musician
I hear from kids in bands all the time who want to “make music professionally”.
It can be practically impossible. Especially if you are in your twenties, working some crap job you hate just to pay your bills. Here are a few things I have learned over the years that I wish I realized sooner rather than later.
1. It Doesn’t Matter Where You Live If You Are Gone All The Time.
Say ya wanna make music “professionally” (I assume by this you mean “for a living”). Your biggest challenge right now is likely money. If money isn’t your biggest challenge because Fighting With Your Stupid Bass Player Who’s Also Your Older Brother Who Is Always Bossing You Around And Telling You What To Play, time to get back in the sandbox (garage) and work it out.
I am also going to assume that by “making music professionally” you mean either touring or being a writer/producer. Both are decent gigs and can be pretty lucrative. What if you’re at the entry level of the spectrum and trying to get out of the rut of bill paying and bill making? That Fender Reverb didn’t pay for itself you know.
As a professional music maker you are going to be gone all the time. Like, ALL the time. Whether you’re in the studio cuttin’ fresh jams or rehearsing your band for your upcoming dates, it will take up a lot of your life.
My life started to change drastically when I started analyzing my expenses. Do I really need a $1500 a month apartment downtown? If your answer is yes, you may want to consider alternate sources of employment. Music will not pay you and your 3 to 27 band mates enough for cover this for years (even if you *do* play your cards right and/or get extremely lucky). Do anything you can the cheapest way possible, always…you’re going to need that money down the road.
I suggest moving yourself somewhere that is insanely cheap. You’re never going to be home anyway. Even if you’re not on tour I recommend getting 1 full time job and 1 part time job to cover all the expenses you’re going to have when it comes to building your career. Because it is a career. If you are really going to be doing this for your life, you are in school right now and this is your $100,000 education. So get ready to eat dirt and live in a laundry room.
2) Bigger Is Not Better.
Amp, van, apartment, rehearsal space, etc. You’re small potatoes right now small fry and it’s time you started acting like it. You don’t need a school bus to get you to the venue down the street (if that is where you are at in your career). Most careers are ten years in the making so accept where you are and know that in the grand scheme of things, you’re just putting in the time that everyone does until slowly, over time, it will begin to change. It will likely not change over night. I apologize for that.
Don’t break the bank on a huge stack, a 15 passenger van with a 350 engine and a trailer and a loft to jam in unless you know for sure you can a) afford it and b) are ready. We need to start creating a self sustainable business model so be humble and aware of your position in the world and in the time line of your eventual goals.
3) Do Something That Makes Money
Duh. I’ve said this before and I will say it again…you gotta get great. But you also gotta do what you love, right? So what if what you love is making weird acoustic instrumental music? Power to ya man. If the gigs don’t come rolling in, just be ok with the fact that you might have to work at your job at the same time for a bit, building things up over time. Maybe your experimental percussion project just isn’t gonna be touring the world anytime soon. Again, I apologize. But so what if it doesn’t? A wise man at a bar once turned to me and said:
“Once you know what you’re doing, everything is easy.”
The second you embrace that you were put on this planet to make weird bird houses, going to your day job won’t seem all that bad (“I go here so that I can afford to do what I was meant to do: Make Weird Bird Houses”). Then, one day, you will realize you are the world’s finest weird bird house crafter and, there is a substantially low number of weird bird houses in the world 😉
4) If You Build It, Some People Might Show Up.
The play by play generally looks something like this in the beginning:
You imagine starting a band, wow what an amazing thing that will be.
You get your band of friends together and imagine playing a show. Wow, won’t that be great guys?
You play your first show. Now, you’re hooked. Hey…we should go on TOUR!!!
You book a small tour, with the help of other touring bands who have done the same. It’s even more fun than that first show, cause…it happens every night!
Then you go back to your job and count down the days until you get to do it all over again.
One day, you wake up and realize you don’t have to go back to your job. Because…the tours are playing for themselves!!! There are obviously many factors in this equation, like what kind of band you’ve got, how often you can tour, and how many jerks are in the band (I’m serious).
On the side you’re selling songs on iTunes, merch at your shows and your online store, maybe you even get the occasional placement or two. Even if you can figure out one of these things, it is a model to a self sustainable entity known as a business (or something). If you’re at this place right now you will likely want to chirp in that it all happened with fans, and building relationships, and…time. Lots, and lots, and lots, and lots of time.
There are people you can hire to help you with a lot of stuff. A lot of times it’s better to just figure out how to do it yourself (I’m talking booking, publicity, radio, social media type stuff and so on).
As always I’m here for ya if you have any questions. Fire away.
I love you,
Billy
http://www.twitter.com/billypettinger
this week was awesome
back from tour. much to tell you about.
after the tour i decided to just…stay in richmond. so ya. i live in richmond virginia now. it’s cool. i been coming here for years and always loved it. the band is from here. more importantly though, i totally fell in love. more on this later.
i have started a new project with joe from smoke or fire. here’s a little preview of some of the songs we have been writing. so far we have written half an album. in 4 days.
yesterday we got a piano for $50. here’s smoke or fire boys and friends getting this thing (somehow) in to the house!
still writing one song per day. here’s a video of today’s song (just got out of shower…hair still drying haha)
over the weekend i went to new york and saw one of my all time fav bands of all time ever, the descendents. never in my life did i think i would be on the guestlist my first time seein ’em. nor would i believe i’d be in a vip section of the vip seciton. Bam! descendents back in your face!
the second show of the tour a friend showed up and asked if i wanted to get a tattoo. to commemorate the Elephant Rage Tour 2011 with the Southside Boys I got a tattoo of a crazed elephant at 11:30pm. then the words ‘breathe’. then i tattooed the words ‘remember’ over his LOST! tattoo.
i am going to be performing and speaking at TEDx on November 12th in Vancouver. really looking forward to this. while I am in town I am also gonna be speaking at a high school where a friend i went to school with in grade 8 currently teaches. i love this kind of stuff. SO much. it seriously is the best thing about being involved in music/this thing… getting to talk to people/kids about all the good times and maybe put a little thought in someone’s brain…wow.
talk soon. hope you are well.
billy.
leave eve and the justice league
it is leave eve. tomorrow i embark upon a series of new adventures. although they will be fun and exciting and i will get to see the southside boys and play shows in southern/east-ish america, i feel very sad to have to leave the batcave.
i was really getting in to a routine here. but such is life. all i know is i can’t wait to come back. in the last week i have written enough material for another full length album. i wonder if i will ever be able to record all these songs one day.
did you know i am obsessed with the byrds? well…i am. here is today’s record. originally panned and not overly popular as it’s one of those ‘let’s get the band back together’ kind of things but i like it all the same. for what it is.
mug of the day. the justice league.
here’s yesterday’s song, jimmy doesn’t want to be friends. i started working on a country thing today called no one loves me like you do, about this guy who actually is really terrible at love but that’s just how he does it so…he kinda has the trademark on that haha. i don’t know if i will be able to finish it cause i have to fit all the merch for the tour in my suitcase somehow. more on this later.
jimmy doesnt want to be friends and the greatest moment of my life, srsly.
today’s mug is: barcelona. got this at the picasso museum. my second time at viewing a large body of his work (the first was in virginia). at this point in my life i have seen over 3500 of his pieces.
today’s record. cover by joni mitchell.
yesterday’s song: today is still yesterday stream of consciousness rough draft 
today is still yesterday almost done:
today i’m working on a song called jimmy doesn’t want to be friends. i was flipping through some pictures online and came across my friend from the *******, a los angeles band that has always been great and recently was working/touring with mike ness from social d. jimmy didn’t want to be friends…he wanted to be something more. but i was with someone who i thought i was going to be with forever… and who turned out to be not-so-awesome as i thought and ended up doing me wrong (as a country singer would call it). i sure wish i knew where jimmy was.
i had a great dream last night i won a contest to meet ryan adams and had just started working tgthr on a bus. it was me and this other kid but the kid was on a mission to just straight hang out and i was like ‘no. we must make something’. then mandy showed up and was like ‘there’s been a misunderstanding, only one person is supposed to win the radio contest’. for a good long while i tried to convince her ‘no, i totally am not mackin’ on yr dude, i seriously just want to make something. like, music. and this kid is essentially macaroni so no anything is ever getting made if i leave’. she didn’t care, and i was heartbroken. then ryan came and got me after she left and we top-secret-made-something. this super weird dream was probably the result of sleeping 3 hours after ryan replied to my post on his facebook page, a moment which i am referring to as The Great Moment of My Life, Srsly.
the end.