Question One

This question hot off the press courtesy of THE BEEZE:

I’ve got a question, or two…

What is your favorite song of all time?

Who are your biggest musical influences?

ALL TIME!?!?!?

I ONLY GET ONE!?!?!?

gosh.

Atlantic City by Bruce Springsteen. I have listened to it about a million times.
Other tunes on the all time top listening list include:
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down – The Band
Joleen – Ray Lamontagne
Oh My God, Whatever, Etc – Ryan Adams (actually, everything by Ryan Adams)

Biggest musical influences? Hmmm. Much the same of the all time favourite song list… The Band, Neil Young, Dylan, Springsteen, Kathleen Edwards, Ray Lamontagne and Ryan Adams for sure. Musically, that is 😉

Random Fact 15: I hate listening to my own music. In fact, I can’t even be in the same room with someone if my music is playing. This includes recording. I’m incredibly shy.

A Question

Anything you want to ask me?

Got a question, problem or concern?

Ask away! 🙂

Random Billy Fact 14: I love sending you mail

Win A Prize, Get A Thing, See A Show

Hey Gang.

Couple things…playing some shows, including Tomorrow at the Hotel Cafe and July 28th with Our Lady Peace at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Details attached, please let me know if you’re able to make it.

So, I got this new website, and I had an idea (stop me if you’ve heard this): If you put a link to the new site http://www.BillytheKidOnline.com on your Facebook, Myspace, Blog, Website etc., I will send you a signed promo photo and/or thank thank you letter. Just let me know where you’ve put the link and where to send you your mail.

Lots of new merch including hats, bags, aprons, key chains, mugs, beer steins and dog shirts at http://www.zazzle.com/billythekidlost

I’m in the studio working on some new Billy and the Lost Boys tunes as well as some new Billy the Kid material. If you want to keep up to date on the struggles of producing, engineering, writing and recording your own album (a first for me!) follow my blog at http://www.BillytheKidBlog.com

Last but not least: I’m thinking of starting a Video Blog. Anything you’d like to know or any questions you might have for me?

Thank you so much for your support…love you to bits.

-Billy the Kid
http://www.reverbnation.com/bilythekid
http://www.twitter.com/billypettinger
http://www.myspace.com/billythekid

Happy Tears

I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty overwhelmed today.

Not in a bad way. No, not at all.

I put up this thing… a thing that says “if you put a link to my new site www.billythekidonline.com on your blog, forums, facebook, myspace, website, etc I will mail you either a hand written thank you letter or a signed promo photo.”

I honestly expected about 2 people to sing up for this endeavor. But now, I’m really overwhelmed.

Everything from car blogs to toy blogs, you guys are out there spreading the word. It makes a little happy tear go to the corner of my eye and try to bust out, but I say “No! You Will Not Escape The Confines of My Eye! Stay In The Eye, Happy Tear!”

I know awhile back I said I was going to try and blog every day. Some days though, I feel like I have nothing decent to say. Sure I could think of something, but why drag (the two) people reading this in to how my brain works some days.

Most of the time, I’m as happy as I could possibly be. The fact of the matter is, though, I’m still just trying to get by and this music thing is just struggle after struggle. I mean, I got some good things going, some new plans in the works, and my future is looking like it just might turn out ok. But right now we’re in the trenches people. Contracts, meetings and trying to spread the word about my music takes up my day so that I rarely have time to do my fav. thing which is create.

In case you wanted to know my day-to-day these days, it mainly consists of planning and executing ways to inform new potential fans that I exist. I know this sounds ridiculous, but this is really the only way I live. And, I am the only person I have helping me. Sure, I have a producer, my family and the love of my life are extremely supportive, but when it comes down to “marketing”, it’s just me and this MacBook that I am now writing on. Whereas some people who have been playing music, touring, recording and creating for as long as I have likely have some type of management, booking agent, record label, publicist or internet marketing help, I have: Me.

Don’t get me wrong, I am certainly not complaining. This is the path I chose, and most of the time, I prefer it this way. I guess I’m kind of a “lone wolf”. “Doesn’t play well with others” heh heh. The bottom lines is that my life, my music and the portrayal thereof is extremely important to me and I can’t stand people screwing that up and/or trying to capitalize on it. I’m just a kid who really liked making music, and most of the time I have my head on straight enough to realize that everything else is just a bonus. But in the trenches, it’s hard to know when the fighting will end.

That is, until I get an email, a comment, a facebook message…any little sign of life from someone out there that I either know or don’t know, telling me that they’re out there, they exist, and they’re listening. Most of the time I live a pretty solitary existence. You stare at a computer, a console or a highway and see the same couple of people most every day. I don’t mind this because I try to surround myself with the best caliber of people imaginable, making it very easy to tolerate them for extended periods of time 😉

But it does get lonely. Every time you guys reach out to me, or show your support, or I get an email saying “You Have A New Order”, you don’t know how happy it makes me. I actually smile every single time. And it doesn’t have anything to do with money. It doesn’t have anything to do with “success” (which is a perspective driven definition, in my opinion) or “fame” (which I don’t believe in anyway). It’s just the feeling that there is someone else out there, like me, and we’re in this together. Lost.

Forever,
Billy the Kid

Random Fact 13: My first car was a 1965 Valiant that my foster dad gave me. It was the car that got be to band practice and shows for years. It was also the car that got my foster dad to his band practices and shows for years.

Billy the Kid – New Merch

Hey guys!

Just wanted to let you know I have some cool new merch items for sale…if you head on over to the Billy the Kid Zazzle page you will find Billy the Kid Mugs, Lost Records mugs and Trucker hats.

I’m just wondering…are there any other merch items you guys would like to see? If so, please add a comment to this post. I’d love to know your ideas!

I have two shows coming up in L.A. posted in the shows section, let me know if you can make it out and I’ll keep an eye out for ya 🙂

All the best,

Billy the Kid
http://www.twitter.com/billypettinger
http://www.myspace.com/billythekid


create & buy custom products at Zazzle

Stan, Anvil, Tofu Scramble


The other day I went to Venice Beach for the first time.

I went to Venice to hang out with a living legend by the name of Stan “The Baron” Behrens. I met Stan (like many of my favourite people on this planet) because of a certain producer named Raine Maida. Raine had already called Randy Cooke and Joe Karnes in to do the session and while recording, we started talking about getting a harmonica player for a couple tracks. Joe recommended Stan, and the rest is history.

Stan grew up in New York and has played with the likes of Willie Dixon, Canned Heat, Ruth Brown…he’s even on a Four Tops record! You can also hear him in the T.V. show “My Name Is Earl” (among others). Stan is a supremely talented multi-instrumentalist and we had a blast walking around (and over) the canals of Venice while catching up (the guy has a million amazing stories…and such a sweet man).

Yesterday I wrapped up the last of the electric guitars for the firs batch of Billy and the Lost Boys tunes. I finally owned up to the fact that, left to my own devices, I will take all day to get ONE guitar sound. So, we asked a friend to come in and help for a few hours. Being on the clock and having a little input turned out to be exactly what I needed. I finished everything in about 6 hours and then it was off to see Anvil: The Movie followed by a very special performance by Anvil: The Band! (followed by Tofu Scramble at Swinger’s Restaurant. Yum.)

Little Known Fact Day 12: I have been listening to nothing but Ryan Adams records for two months straight

New

What is creation?

What does it mean to create something?

For that matter, what’s a song? What is your art? How do you know when it’s done and what makes you decide it’s good enough?

I’ve had some “technical difficulties” in the midst of creating. I realize this is a necessary evil… a part of the equation when it comes to creation. As humans we strive for fluidity, some sort of cohesiveness to our existence, but the nature of life is the complete opposite. Chaos, unrest, ever-changing and doomed to collapse.

This is the way buddhists see it, at any rate. Don’t they seem to have something figured out? Their take on this whole mess of life is that it is the nature of our reality to fall apart. The sooner we accept that, the closer we will be to Nirvana (not the band. ok maybe…eventually).

It’s thinking in circles like this that brings me a standstill. I once read that Kerouac and his gang of N’er Do Wells would talk each other in and out of this Stand Still. You start thinking of every thing as equal, fluid, transitional, ever changing and never the same, in the grand scheme of things (technically), inconsequential. Eventually, you cannot help but ask: What is the point?

Creating.

Or is it?

If a tree falls in the forest, and no one hears your damn album, was it really worth cutting it down so you could feel better about your life for 19 minutes?

more on this later.

Little known fact day 11: I keep less than 5% of what I write/create