Billy on the balcony

I thought this was going to be a Kreutzmann thread

It's just a little show business, and that's the business he's in.

I'm not usually a big fan of that type of shtick, but that 'playing in the crowd' bit is harmless and IMO there's nothing wrong with it.

The clear fact that he understands that "show business" is a big part of his business is one big reason why he's as popular as he is.

When he starts showing up two hours late and wasted he'll start becoming obnoxious.

Geez.  Maybe try a laxative, Doc.

I watched the video, and I don't get what's obnoxious? 

Could you imagine if he dressed like Bobby while playing on the balcony? It would put Doolittle over the edge.

Airto does it;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCOJ6z_uiqM

I've seen Dick Dale, Buddy Guy, and countless others do it as well...  maybe not as Romeo and Juliet ish (Twangeo and Strumliet?)

The irony of do-little calling someone else obnoxious is lost on him, I'm sure.

Yep. Completely and consistently. You've mastered the form.

Telling me to STFU is some wonderful gaslighting.

Phil liked the balcony.... May 2008 closing of the Warfield. Such a fun run of shows.

5/13 "...Are Lesh and friends really going to the play the 1967 classic in its entirety? When the band launches into “Cold, Rain and Snow”, track four on the album, the concept is confirmed and a 13-pointed lightning bolt (one of the Dead’s classic logos) shoots through the Warfield crowd, which basks in the sudden knowledge that this show will be one for the ages. After a hot run through “Sitting on Top of the World”, the ante is upped as the band launches into the ultra-rare “Cream Puff War” with none other than Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir stepping on stage to sing. A shower of confetti and two go-go girls accompany Weir’s entrance; the latter pulled straight from the 1960s, an Austin Powers film, or possibly the strip club next door. Three more ‘60s-styled gals boogie in each of the balcony’s side loges as the Warfield teleports back to 1967 for a spectacular vibe that sends the crowd into an ecstatic delirium."

5/14 Next night:  Rosemary *, Doin’ That Rag, Mountains of the Moon> jam> China Cat Sunflower, What’s Become of the Baby*, Cosmic Charlie (* Teresa Williams on vocals from the side balcony.)

https://www.popmatters.com/phil-lesh-friends-part-1brokedown-palace-2496...

Billy's balcony

Grateful Dead Drummer Bill Kreutzmann​ Owned This Oceanfront Home. The coastal Northern California estate comprised of not one but two homes is listed for $4.75 million. (2018)

Features as listed on Realtor.com: Once owned by a legendary rock-and-roll drummer, this truly dramatic oceanfront estate is a living embodiment of the Mendocino dream. On a bluff edge with a rare panoramic view of historic Mendocino village and the sparkling blue Pacific, this 4.98 acre bluff-edge property astounds.

Don't sweat it, Doc, what Billy is doing isn't really Bluegrass, more like Country Boy Rock & Roll as Jimmy Martin used to say.  Can't really imagine Bill Monroe through a wireless pickup, much less having all the EDM lightshow bullshit.

Bill Monroe could also never fill the venues Strings does & will.

You can't knock the kid for using some modern tricks to achieve a level of success that eludes most in his genre.

Personally, I don't care for the big light show and all the drunken jabberers the bigger venues draw, but I won't be off him until he adds a drummer (which will almost certainly be coming).

But that's just me. I still say good for him to be making such a name for himself in a brutal business that doesn't usually significantly reward artists like him.

I'll stick with Bill Monroe, met him at his festival once in the 90s, signed a hat for me. It was a mature responsible audience 

So much hate

Just givin the kids what they want

Shappy's idea

^ fish wins

Right on brother doolittle for starting a thread that goes against the grain. Nothing like a different opinion to ruffle some of the old crow's feathers. It was getting a bit slow around here, thanks for kickstarting a little rumble.

Speaking of Rumble, did you see they offered Rogan $100 million in case he loses his spotify job ?  Neil would have done better to stay and possibly influence some morons even if they just accessed his music by mistake. Segregate, yeah that'll get it done.

I'm with doc ....

https://youtu.be/-TqXWrmID4s?t=492

Fishcane, I was lucky enough to have Bill Monroe sign my guitar at his last Telluride appearance (backstage just as he was about to leave - car door was open - whew!) and I left a space next to his and later told Sam Bush I saved a spot for him. "Sign right here next to Bill Monroe." Sam smiled. Nice hat.  

look, there's chicks.

Billy doing Bill

The Del McCoury Band with Billy Strings perform Bill Monroe's "Cant You Hear Me Calling" at Grey Fox 2019. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABpfjkqtax4

“I’m just trying to get inside of the music as much as I can,” Strings says. “I love bluegrass, but it’s not 1948. What I’m doing has always been my calling.” 

It’s easy to see why Strings’s music sparks exuberance: His ferocious flat-picking guitar wizardry melds traditional sounds with the rhythmic crunch of punk and heavy metal, along with exploratory  jams that have already become the stuff of legend.... “He’s the future of bluegrass,” says Dobro great Jerry Douglas, who guests on Strings’s mesmerizing new sophomore album, Home. “He’s found a way to bring all those sounds together. No one has been able to do that yet.”

https://gardenandgun.com/articles/new-string-king/

Traditionalists have been bitching about new bluegrass styles ever since people first started playing bluegrass.

Awesome with the signed guitar, he was a very gracious man. I especially like the period he signed at the end of his name, does your guitar have the period? kinda fitting today...

>>> It was a mature responsible audience 

I'm already asleep ;)

Buddy Guy has walked into and around back of the audience every time I've seen him

I think Bela Fleck found Monroe to be a dick.  He doesn't say it explicitly, but it's in the eye rolls.

Bromberg used to end his big band shows with Northeast Texas Women, walking out into the 7th or 8th row, on the arms of the seats, while playing a blistering solo on the coda.

I wonder where that falls on DocDoo's obnoxiousness scale.

It's amazing to me how many people I know went from being Billy String fan boys when he played in small clubs to a few hundred people to hating him when he started selling out huge venues in just a few short years.

As quickly as his fame shot up, their disrespect did also. He's popular. Some folks struggle with that. At least he plays well and band sounds good.

I've seen worse performers as popular or more

I've really enjoyed Seeing Billy Strings and Band in small intimate venues,  but also welcome his appearances in larger Venues.  After all,  they are trying to earn a Living out there.

I own various Acoustic guitars,  some of them are nice Martins and such.  However, I can't pick like Billy,  more of a weekend Amateur.

BluestNote and others here are much finer Guitar pickers than myself,  but I really pick it up for the Fun of it.

Never practiced enough to get good.
One of the things I noticed Watching Billy Strings & Band;  "I will probably never Pick as well as that person."
 

i wont see him again unless its a stadium

I love William Apostol. He's awesome. <<<

Thanks, Stu.  But I can't flatpick for shit.  

I will steal from Pat Donohue and Jorma 'til I can't, tho'.

Love this novel use of and engagement with the space.

Blurring the line between stage and seats. Often those private balconies are off limits or closed/ unoccupied. Taking advantage of interior balconies to create "drama" as show is interesting to me.  It's all great. I don't care it's not the first time done. Seems like something David Byrne would do. And most importantly, seems he's having fun with it and that translates, raising the whole vibe.

  I'm not even gaga over this kid, but he's not using this balcony thing as a crutch and clearly has a talent, chops, gravitas and savvy in spades. He's a young performer in every sense of the word who is finding his way and keeping it fresh for himself and his fans along the way.  No flag on the play from me.

Not that it matters.

Billy Strings is inevitable.

The cool part that everyone is missing is that, right before the OP's video begins, a big black box was wheeled onstage and the two musicians crawled into it. The bass player then came out with a large saw and sawed the box in half, and half again, and then, half again. Then he tapped on each piece with his "magic bow"  and recited the lyrics to the Beverly Hillbillies theme song. And then he slowly opened each mini-box one by one and -- they were completely empty.

All od a sudden, PRESTO !!! - Billy and the mandolin player instantly appeared up in the balcony. That's when the video starts.

In addition to being a very talented musician and performer, Billy Strings is in the business of building community, and he seems to be very aware of this. He's the focal point of a gathering collective consciousness and he knows it.

I know this because I'm watching his show from last Saturday at the Cap right now, and just before the first set starts, he addresses the audience about a "little situation" down near the rail. He encourages the audience to make sure everyone is doing okay, that folks are taking care of each other, and looking out for for another. He's setting the rules, or boundaries, for how this thing should work. "We came here to party," he says, "and have a good-ass time. Didn't we?" By using the word "We", he's telling us that we're all in this thing together, and that he's only a part of the we. Playing from the balcony reinforces these ideas in a visceral way. It's not just words; the dude means what he says is how it plays for me.

In show biz it is called working the room.  I am not personally drawn to show tricks.  The masses generally are as evidenced by this thread, it got someone's attention.

As to Bill Monroe, in his youth during the time his music was contemporary he filled plenty of theaters.  Had his own festival for many years, Bean Blossom. Member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Sold lots of records as part of the Monroe Brothers and later with the Bluegrass Boys.

Old Bill did not think lead guitar belonged in bluegrass per Tony Rice. I saw Bill play about six months before his death for about 300 people at an elementary school auditorium in Pensacola, FL. Voice rough but the mando was still hot.

Like Monroe, Strings will not be filling theaters when he is old.  He will likely have some loyal fans who will follow him. 

He is the current face of that genre which has changed quite a bit since the trad revival of the eighties.  He's great.

Bill struggled with the new and especially frowned on the hippie scene. He refused to participate in the nitty gritty circle project 

I found The Feb 2 show on LMA last night.  First-set Tony Trischka sit-in.  Hoping more of the run has dropped when I log on for work.

Here ya go, Fishcane.  Period indeed! 

John Hartford took my Sharpie, had one of his own, and did this with two hands. 

Here's the whole thing.

Damn, Slick! That rig has been around! Nice work.

^ Yeahyah...that's pretty darn cool Slick. Nice job.

Who's / what's the oldest / earliest signature?

Wow incredible 

First was John Prine. He played it for 8-10 of us in the lobby of a radio station I was at ("Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian" and one other) and after, I said "Well, now that you played it, you need to sign it." Signed it in the middle, and Arlo was added later to the left of Prine. 

Which led to one of the funnier stories I can tell about it.

I was at a Jackson Browne show at Park West by Park City. I was leaving and ran into a buddy from the radio. "What are you doing" I asked. "Waiting for Jackson Browne", he said. "That's his road manager over there and he said Jackson would come out and talk to us." So I headed to my car and got my guitar (bringing it for the outside chance...). Went back and Jackson came out and was chatting with folks and signing stuff, like tickets. I waited for a few minutes and then hollered out "Hey Jackson, would you sign a guitar?" "A guitar? Sure man." So I brought the guitar up and it had about thirteen signatures on it at the time. One guy saw them and asked "Who else is on it man?" I didn't want to go through the litany so I said "John Prine for one." Guy replied "Who's John Prine?" Jackson immediately stopped what he was doing and in this incredulous voice turned to the guy and said "You don't know who John Prine is?"  It was a little after Jackson had sang on the big chorus on the "Bruised Orange" album.   

Jackson's is below the bottom line on the big pic, just above Martin Sexton, Michael Hedges, Guy Clark, Tom Rush and Richard Thompson, and below Pete Seeger. Emmylou is to the left at the top of the guitar. Weir is on there too and John Mayall is the guy who signed with a water based marker in the middle (not my Sharpie) so it's fading. This was actually my working guitar while the signatures were going on so when I started rubbing off Townes van Zandt from sweat, it gave me an excuse to go out and buy a new Martin HD-28. 

Michelle Shocked was probably the nicest. Got backstage and asked her to sign it and she said "Wow. Let me take a look at this." After a minute and a few questions, she looked up and said "Wow. Thank you for asking me to be a part of all this." One of the bigger wienies was Todd Snider, who I love. Could barely put his bong down long enough in the back of the bus. One of those "Don't meet your heroes" occasions. But I still respect his art - he's so good - and went to see him last fall. 

And yes Judit, Jorma's on there. Also Tom Paxton, Richie Havens, Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Robert Earl Keen, John Gorka, Tim O'Brien, John Stewart, Ferron, the late great Bill Staines, Peter Himmelman, Christine Lavin, Utah Phillips, Loudon Wainwright, Lyle Lovett, Leo Kottke, and more. 

Plus he's from Michigan yet talks with a southern accent onstage. Off stage he sounds like normal.

I have never heard Billy use a fake southern accent on stage. What a weird thing to make up, because who would really fucking care if he did? He's not pretending to be from the south at all. The guy is very genuine and I've seen fans hounding him and he stopped and told some jokes and signed like 25 things for them if anything I'm surprised he's still so patient and nice to people who'd annoy the shit out of me. 

Billy's haters post more about him than his superfans do. It's so weird, stalky and looks a little bit gay.

I apologize for the run on sentences in my previous post. Whatcha gonna do?

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Greg Brown, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jesse Winchester, John McCutcheon, Nanci Griffith, Norman Blake, Peter Yarrow, Bill Morrissey, Steve Forbert, and a few that are hard to figure out.

Guess I shoulda kept track. LOL  I started a list once long ago, but never compiled a list and haven't taken the guitar out in years. Maybe I should sell it. 

One guy at a show years ago saw it and said it's worth about 12K, but at a collectors show in SLC, the guy said without Certificates of Authenticity, the guitar is worth just what the guitar would go for.

Oh yeah?   

^Whatcha gonna do?

Get a sharpie and an acoustic guitar and.......

Some of those signatures might take a bit of guessing if you don't remember who signed where, Slick! 

btw the Mando player Jerrod Walker was up on the other balcony opposite and they were doing a dueling thingy. It wasn't all about hot young Billy..

Wow bravo slick. Really. Some serious heaters on there.  And a nice big bold Hartford sig by itself is always just such a thing of beauty and a real credit to the guy who really lived and breathed his art. I see Townes. And do I see Michael hedges on there?
 

Billy on the balcony? That's totally fair game. Maybe it's something they've just wanted to do for a long time and found the venue where it could work and gave it a shot? Maybe it's schtick. Maybe the promoter asked him to do it? Maybe it's a little of a few reasons. Whatever. Artists expanding their creativity physically into the group space and people complain? lol 

afaik it's the first time he's ever done the balcony thing and doodoo over there is insinuating he's got a coke problem all because he personally doesn't think entertainers should entertain their audiences. I mean who pays people to play music in front of them to be entertained? Crazy!

I found The Feb 2 show on LMA last night.  First-set Tony Trischka sit-in.  Hoping more of the run has dropped when I log on for work.

Nugs has the full run up already, and a taper was actually streaming free (audio only) every night so it should turn up on LMA eventually. Thanks for the reminder, I missed the TT sit in by that > < much and need to have a serious listening to the recording of that set! 

Amazing collection there, Slick. Maybe if you wrote up how you collected each signature, that could work as a certificate of authenticity.

Coas are a scam anyway. Just as often faked as not . A good one costs a lot. I have a Lennon autograph that my dad got in 1975 at a radio station, even have a photo he took while Lennon was signing it and the legit COA guys want like half the value to authenticate. Your provenance as the collector of all the sigs is strong. But who cares,it's value is likely greater to you then any money anyway. 

^ slick wins, no wait,, fish wins. Good job fellas, and dads.

When young Billy dons the loin cloth and starts swinging from vines around the stage ala ted nugent I'll get concerned.

Actually the only thing that worries me about him is his schedule. Every time I log on it seems he's scheduling another run of shows somewhere. I hope he don't flame out, he's a treasure.

That's a lot of cool scribbles that have great meaning, slickrock!

Can one genuinely love Hot Rize, but roll their eyes at "Red Knuckles"?

It amazes me how many people get roped into this shtick and laugh along the whole way ... at the same time, not looking to rain on anyone's parade so I kind of just chuckle to myself at the dynamic as an "observer".

Billy fans are happy to see him play anywhere. He's having fun and creating great music. 
 

It's not like he fell over drunk on stage,  dropped a vintage axe.. 

It can't be worse than when Michael Franti all of a sudden sounds Jamaican.

COA isn't necessary nor possible for something like that. The guitar is its own provenance. Like fish said total scam.

Keep it in the family unless you want to sell, then call me. 

>Billy Strings was born William Apostol on October 3, 1992, in Lansing, Michigan and raised in Morehead, Kentucky, before his family moved to Muir, Michigan.[2]

says here he was raised in Kentucky, I'm from Ohio and people from parts of Southern Ohio and Kentucky definitely have accents, some call it Hill Billy, Southern or Country. Definitely does not sound like that Michigan speak and that Detroit drawl. Michigan has there own sound going on, and Detroit is like Pittsburg with its own uniqueness 

 Strings' voice sounds more like an Appalachian hill thing than a southern twang to my ears.

Billy's a young guy trying to navigate his way. Quit pickin' on the kid. He may make mistakes. He has a LOT to adapt to. His music has really caught fire. First with the bluegrass crowd, then with the jamband / deadhead crowd. He probably did not expect to be where he is at this point. But he's doing the best that he can. And his history tells me he's authentic. He and his daddy have been playing this stuff a long time. 

Re: the guitar. First thanks for all the nice comments. It was fun having access due to radio involvement. Had backstage passes at T-Ride for 3 years, and a lot of folkies coming through in the past when I did radio spots for all the local shows.

Yeah it's a nice keepsake with lots of great memories. But I have those memories no matter what. I'm 68, just retired, wanting to get a travel van, just bought a new river raft for about 10K, and am thinking about selling some stuff to finance my fun and travel. Looking around thinking WTH? What am I doing with all this stuff? Make it useful. No kids, and my wife doesn't care. I was thinkin' I might put it up on Ebay or something with a high enough reserve to make me not regret it later. I have to look into it. That one guy said $12K years ago, figuring each autograph at $40 a head. But there's more on there now, and a bunch have passed on. And they're all in one place. So who knows? Hard to put a figure on such a unique item. Need to find some rich bluegrass/folk fan who has $$$ to burn. Like if someone made a killing on bitcoin or something. Oh hey - Mark Eaton from the Jazz is local and his wife likes folk music. Hmmmmm. 

Speaking of the Jazz, I also have an autographed Utah Jazz pennant from 1985, signed by the whole team and Coach Layden, the only year where Adrian Dantley, Karl Malone, Ricky Green, and John Stockton were together. They wanted to get A.D. away from Karl ASAP so he didn't poison his attitude. Thinking about selling that, too. Maybe closer to playoff fever. Find that crazy doctor who sits under the basket. 

Sorry, just musing here. I've been tryin' to figure out how to finance some fun for the next 10 years or so on a fixed income. 

Oh and FOM, I LOVE Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers. GREAT country swing well played. Red is the inspiration for "The Slickrock Stranger" character from when I first saw them at T-Ride in 1991. I figured it would work better to present pointed political folk at these momo's if I was dressed like an absurd-looking goofy fucker. Better than a shamey finger that wouldn't work.  

Slick, another way to do this might be to see if an organization, like the Folk Hall of Fame or Grand Ole Opry, might be interested in your guitar. Seems like a museum setting might be the best place for it.

I believe there are places that can Authenticate the autographs based on past signing by the artist. Any other info to back your story might also be used to further authenticate the signature, backstage pass, pictures, etc. A truly unique item, thanks for sharing.

Not really a fan, I dont get the hype, then again I dont get the hype behind D&C either.  When BS played Strings & Sol a few years ago, he played into the dawn every night by the pool.  Fun to see an artist people were genuinely over the top stoked for play for free,  just because the fans wanted it.  good stuff.