Captain Bill
My early years were spent as a sound engineer where I had the wonderful experience of mixing for some very cool entertainers and Bands. In the 70’s I worked with such bands as James Gang, Brownsville Station, Ike and Tina Turner, Bob Hope and the list goes on. To me these bands were “Far Out” and had what it took to make it to the top. Then I got married had a family and got a real job in the Computer World. After many years of techno geek stuff I decided to become a Private Yacht Captain, it was here that I started playing guitar again and performing for the passengers. I was in the Islands, playing and singing Island music when I had the chance. Naturally my influences were Jimmy Buffett, Bob Marley and Kenny Chesney among just a few. I started writing songs and creating the music.
In 2009 I jumped back into the music business and once again became a sound engineer but, this time it was for the purpose of providing my own production for my own shows. I was really surprised how little it had changed in almost 40 years, but, I was now writing songs and applying my ass off. Then I ran into Will (The W in WB and the Geezers) in 2012. Will had a marvelous talent of writing lyrics and
Writing lyrics with a meaning and a purpose. We combined our talents and starting cranking out songs that told stories or were making statements about current and past issues. Like Don’t a Dream the title cut our first EP. Don’t Wanna Dream is about the Vietnam Era but, quickly became a song about all conflicts. We needed some funny songs in there to lighten the mood a little so, we wrote “4 Hours is Never Enough” a song about Viagra and then “Grandma’s got a Boyfriend” a song about Senior Center Gigolos. As you can see we have a serious and satirical side to our music.
We are releasing our new full length EP in April with once again songs that make statements or tell stories. The Title Track will be “You see old and I see History” this song is about how you are perceived by the younger ones in our life. The Title says it all. Delta Gamma Sigma (DGS) will be about our political views.
There you have it a little history about me, Capt. Bill and the music I create with Capt Will – who also is a mariner.
Captain Will
I have seen the Sunset from the top of the Pyramids and watched the Sunrise from the Great Wall of China. I have seen the fury of the Oceans and watched the glassy calm of the sea as she rocked me gently in her arms.
I was born in Houston Texas and became a world traveler as soon as I could walk. I made my first Trans-Atlantic crossing at the age of 1 and a half. God gave me a booming voice and I loved to sing along with the movies and TV shows of Gene Audrey and Roy Rogers. The son of a Sea Captain my family had a chance to travel and live in different countries as well as the States on the Gulf Coast or as we call it The Redneck Riviera. It was in the 3rd grade that I got the lead in the class play and my first standing ovation for singing “Let Me Call You Sweet Heart”. I enjoyed singing, whether it was at school or the church choir I kept singing. In 1970 as a senior in Gulf Breeze High I joined my first Band as the lead singer and I loved the feel of the band stand. I spent a year in Australia after high school singing in a band around Perth. Throughout college I kept singing in school musicals or just around the camp fire with friends and their guitars and banjo’s.
In 1977 after leaving college I took a job on a freighter going to Egypt and I got the bug to see more of the world. In 1982 I became a licensed officer. I have been a sea going tourist for over 38 years. In college an English professor inspired me to write free verse poetry. For years I kept notebooks of my scribbling’s as a reminder of the many places I have been and the wondrous and sometimes horrible things I have seen. One of the benefits of a sea going life is the vacation time you accumulate after months at sea. In 1987 I moved to New York to enroll in the MFA theater program of Brooklyn College. For 5 years I paid my dues as an actor/singer while singing in the occasional bar with guitar in hand and empty cowboy boot for tips.
1993 brought me home to help my family as my mother fought a losing battle with cancer. Throughout her life, Mary Lake was my number 1 fan and supporter. She taught me the love of musical theater and the songs of her past as a girl growing up in Liverpool England. I was exposed to Howard Keel by my mother and Hank Williams by my Father. In 1994 I began a collaboration with Janie Nowell and Ross Orenstein to write an original musical called The Redneck Rivierie.
After Hurricane Ivan in 2005 I moved to Navarre Beach Florida the essence of the Redneck Riviera. There I became involved in the Arts and started the Greater Navarre Beach Arts Association. It was there I met and joined forces with Bill Crouch. A long time boat Captain and a wonderful guitar player, Bill and I have combined to create the music for my lyrics. In 2013 we recorded our first EP called “Don’t Want To Dream”. We continued to collaborate and in 2015 we recorded our first full length CD “You See Old I See History” Together they have written 20 songs and expect to reach a 100 before it’s over. It’s Time to “Embrace Your Geezerdom”.
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINK:
http://wbandthegeezers.bandzoogle.com/
