Summary: Bill Parker: "When I saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in February, 1964, my life changed from black & white to Technicolor, with a capital “T.” Three years later, I joined my first band, a kid bass player slinging Top 40 hits. By the time I switched to guitar four years after that, I had become well-versed in Top 40, soul (Stax & Atlantic Records, rather than Motown), rock & roll, rock, and The Blues. After graduating from high school, I left the southeast Chicago suburbs, moved to Texas, and started down the path to becoming a songwriter. It was never my intention to be a solo/singer-songwriter, however: I wanted to write songs, be in a good band, tour, and make records. I ended up becoming one because I couldn’t find musicians interested in doing original material, neither mine nor theirs. Seemed like everyone wanted to play the latest and greatest by the likes of Aerosmith and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but I’d already had my fill of being a juke box. A friend once told me, “Billy, sometimes you just have to say ‘later’ and shine it on.” So, I copped a walk. Moved to England, back to Texas, then to Seattle, to Indiana, back to Texas, and now I’m in the Arizona desert with my guitars, my harmonicas, the bass I bought last summer, and my dog Mister Boogie, aka “6.5 Pounds of Death & Destruction.” Have guitar, will travel. Anytime, anywhere. And always remember Rule Number 1: If you can walk, you can make the gig." Guilty Johnny (bestaande uit Felicia Bloemendaal en Johannes Kapteijn) schrijft liedjes waarin het af en toe flink misgaat, over de beklemming van geheimen die niet uit mogen komen, of herinneringen die een loopje met je nemen. Maar ook oude en nieuwe liefdes passeren de revue en tot slot is er een liedje dat een steuntje in de rug biedt. Songwriters Guild Live is a weekly radioshow in Amsterdam, focussed on singers who write songs. This week your host was Rufus Kain.
