In advance of tonight’s Sons of Bill / Wrinkle Neck Mules co-bill at Toad’s Place in Richmond, WNRN 91.9FM invited two of Bill’s sons into the studio for a live interview and performance on Friday.  Anne Williams interviews James and Sam Wilson of Sons of Bill on WNRN’s Acoustic Sunrise below.  By the way, WNRN is presenting this show.  [And if you haven’t yet taken the time to do so, also check out my interviews with S.O.B.’s James Wilson and Andy Stepanian of the Wrinkle Neck Mules]

Listen:
MP3:  WNRN interviews James and Sam Wilson 10.10.08

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Yesterday I brought you Part 1 of our Sons of Bill / Wrinkle Neck Mules post which featured an interview with the Mules’ front man Andy Stepanian.  Today I present you with Part 2 and this time around we’re talking with the lead singer of Sons of Bill, James Wilson [pictured above, standing in the center].   James, along with his brothers Sam on guitar and Abe on keys, and fellow band mates Seth Green on bass and Brian Caputo on drums, have in a short time established themselves as one of Charlottesville’s hottest acts, based in large part on the band’s hard-drivin’ country-rock sound that is equal parts Steve Earle & the Dukes and straight ahead rock n roll.

The Sons of Bill will once again team up with their good buddies the Wrinkle Neck Mules for a long overdue reunion show this Saturday at Toad’s Place in Richmond.  [ticket info].  In addition to our interviews with both lead singers, we’ve got a pair of tickets to giveaway to this Saturday’s show.  To enter to win, just drop a mighty “Yee-Haw!” in the comments section to this post or into yesterday’s Wrinkle Neck Mule feature.  I’ll announce the winner on Friday at noon.  Winner will be drawn at random and will be notified via email.

James Wilson responds to my questions after the break.  Plus we’ve got an exclusive live version of the unreleased song “Goin’ Home”, recorded live at Satellite Ballroom this past March, for your listening pleasure.  The track also features an appearance by guest guitarist Brian Chenault.  Enjoy. »Read More

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This Saturday (October 11) two fantastic Virginia bands will once again share the same stage as Charlottesville’s Sons of Bill team up with the Wrinkle Neck Mules in the Mules’ hometown of Richmond, Virginia for what promises to be a can’t miss show at Toad’s Place.  [ticket info]  These two bands have played together on numerous occasions in the past, but for fans of Sons of Bill and the Wrinkle Neck Mules it has been too damn long since we last saw them together.  Saturday’s show will mark the first appearance for the Mules here in the Old Dominion in over a year and given the friendships that exists between the two bands this should be a special night indeed.

Over the weekend I had an opportunity to interview the lead singers for both bands and today I’m giving you my interview with the Wrinkle Neck Mules’ Andy Stepanian, who currently resides in Houston, Texas.  [Andy is pictured second from the right above]  I’ll be presenting Part 2 of this post, featuring my interview with S.O.B. front man James Wilson tomorrow.  In addition to having MP3s from both bands, we’ve also got a pair of tickets to giveaway to see the Mules and Sons of Bill this Saturday at Toad’s Place in Richmond, Virginia.  To register to win, drop a big “Yee-haw!” in our comments section.  I’ll be announcing the winner this Friday at noon.  The winner will be drawn at random and will be notified via email.   [interview with Andy Stepanian after the break] »Read More

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I’m not going to lie.  When I saw that the scheduled Dierks Bentley show at the Pavilion had been postponed until 2009 and that Robert Earl Keen was slotted to fill the show date left behind, I considered it a musical upgrade.  No knocks on Dierks, but he’s no Robert Earl Keen.  I’m just calling it the way I hear it.  But don’t take my word on it.

You can hear the Texan-born singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen for yourself tomorrow night at the Charlottesville Pavilion along with special guests The Sons of Bill.  Unfortunately the Wrinkle Neck Mules, who were also scheduled to perform, have been forced to cancel their appearance due to Hurricane Ike.  (at least two of the band’s members currently reside near the Texas Gulf Coast).  Gates open at 5pm, show time is 6pm.  Tickets are still available.  $27.

After the break check out my 5 reasons for wanting to see Robert Earl Keen live.

[Robert Earl Keen photo by Mark Austin]

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I’m kind of surprised that more hasn’t been said locally about this upcoming show but for all I know I’ve just been listening in all the wrong places.  Either way, this one should be circled in bright red on your Weekend To Do List as the The Sons of Bill and The Hackensaw Boys perform this Sunday, June 1 for FREE in Scottsville.

The Sons of Bill/Hackensaw Boys double-bill kicks off Scottsville’s 10th season of Rhythm on the River, a series of free summer concerts to be held outdoors at Scottsville’s Dorrier Park along the banks of the James River.  You can find the complete schedule for the Rhythm on the River performances here.  This Sunday’s free concert kicks off at 6pm.  Bring a blanket and your friends.  This should be a fantastic way to wrap up the weekend!

For directions to Dorrier Park in Scottsville, VA, click here.

[Hackensaw Boys photo credit  Aaron Farrington]

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The title alone should be enough to get the attention of our friends over at the Charlottesville Drinking Club.  Who knows?  Maybe once they hear about this one, they may change their usual Wednesday get-togethers to a Friday for a change of pace.  And why not? 

This Friday marks the beginning of one of Charlottesville’s Rites of Spring as Fridays After Five kicks off at the Pavilion on the Downtown Mall with The Sons of Bill!.  And if that alone isn’t reason enough to celebrate the end of the work week, then what do you say we up the ante with a smokin’ double shot of Charlottesville performers at the Satellite Ballroom to close out the evening as Sarah White opens for 6 Day Bender.  By the way, 6 Day Bender (pictured above) will also be celebrating the release of their brand new self-titled debut album on Friday. 

 Did I mention that it’s also supposed to be sunny and in the 70’s on Friday?  I’m not suggesting you call in sick to work and try to squeeze in a three-day weekend or anything but you may want, at the very least, to have Wahooptie on speed dial for that late night ride home.  For all the particulars on these Friday happenings…

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It was recently announced that the Sons of Bill, our own local twangin’ and bangin’ country-rock wonders, signed with Coran Capshaw’s artist management company Red Light Management.  The band now joins local indie-pop rockers Sparky’s Flaw, as Charlottesville bands currently in the Red Light stable.  Many congrats fellas!

But now let’s assume for a moment that we here at cvilleMUSE have our own artist management company.  We’ll call it aMUSEing Artists Inc.  And we here at aMUSEing Artists have just named YOU as our director of Artist Development.  Your job is to sign 3 local Charlottesvile artists/bands that you feel have a shot to make it big.  What three local artists/bands are you going to ask to sign on the dotted line?

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This past Friday night (03/21) local favorites Sons of Bill and Sparky’s Flaw were joined by Richmond-based Duchess of York, as they played to a packed house at the Satellite Ballroom.  The following show review comes to us from one of our readers who saw it all take place.  Thanks to Tito who sent this one our way!

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Two exciting and on-the-rise local favorites team up for what promises to be a packed house double-bill tonight at Satellite Ballroom.  Sons of Bill and Sparky’s Flaw will once again share the same stage right here in their hometown of Charlottesville.  The last time these two got together here in C’ville was at a sold-out performance back in 2006 at the Starr Hill Music Hall.  I can’t imagine there will be many tickets remaining after this show either.

Sons of Bill brings the country-rock and Sparky’s Flaw adds the indie-pop for what promises to be an amazing evening of music.  Duchess of York opens. 

Doors at 8pm and according to Satellite’s home page, tickets are still available.

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Here’s another semi-regular feature.  I’m hoping to do at least one of these posts a week, but I’m sure there will be times when they will appear with a greater frequency.  And no, these posts are not going to deal with noise pollution.  In fact, it’s just the opposite.  Here’s where I’ll highlight a few upcoming shows that I have circled on my own music calendar.

Sons of Bill w/ Sparky’s Flaw–Friday, March 21 @ Satellite Ballroom.  Doors 8pm.

This is the second time these two local bands from different sides of the musical tracks have shared the same bill.  At the very least, it’s a really interesting dynamic just to walk through the audience at one of these shows.  S.O.B. brings the boot stompin, whiskey drinkin, good ol boys and Sparky brings the teeny boppers and the young indie-pop kids.  The last time they were together they sold out StarrHill .  Satellite Ballroom has all the details on their music calendar.  Just click here.

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