Billy Pfrommer
Hey all... this is the singer/songwriter page for my acoustic stuff. To hear the techno stuff here on soundclick check out . To hear the punk powerpop stuff also here on soundclick, check out . I been in circulation on the music scene here in Chicago for like a thousand years (really more like 20) and hope you will enjoy the more sensitive "real music" side of what I do. Any and all feedback welcome as well as collaborators and production projects. Bring 'em on!
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
I been all over the place... touring, clubs, studios, for years.
70's: Began writing songs.
80's: Played in big hair poseur metal bands as a keyboardist. Continued to record and write at home.
90's: Toured and recorded with rock and pop band SandraLee as a keyboardist and background vocalist. Almost signed twice... once with Warner Brothers, once with Sony Records. Asked to tour with Enuff Z'nuff in Europe as a keyboardist but never went. Continued to write and record at home.
00's: Joined Chicago punk band Genral Patton and His Privates as rythym guitarist, backing vocals. More touring and recording. Wrote a handful of acoustic ballads in three years time. No recordings as a solo artist emerged from this period.
Currently: Sole writer of electronic music for the Canadian-based www.flashgrooves.com website. Owner of Big Yellow Hand Studios, Records and Productions, writer and producer of all Steaming Dookies material and a bunch of other projects!
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
I play all over the north side of Chicago, in coffeehouses, mellow bars and restaurants...very low-key. I love a club that's full of other singer/songwriters...they are my biggest fans. I also play the Windy City Hemp Fest in May and the Chicago Peace Fest in July every year.
Your musical influences
I love Rob Zombie, Crystal Method, Portishead, John Hiatt, The Pixies, Ramones, Flaming Lips, Iggy Pop, Garbage, Sonic Youth, Don McLean, and a host of other good writers.
What equipment do you use?
See the Steaming Dookies page for electronic stuff. I use Ovation, Gibson, Fender, Takamine guitars, Hughes and Kettner heads with a 4 X 12 Sunn cabinet or a 2 X 12 Rivera cabinet, Shure SM57 and SM58 mics, SWR bass head with SWR 2 X 15 cabs, Roland XP10, JV35 and D20 synths, and assorted drum and percussion sequencers.
Anything else?
I heard John Hiatt say once that it's hard to write a song when you are content or happy. True, it's much harder to write a happy song than a hurting one. He also said you're only as good as the song you haven't written yet. I believe that too, so get out ther and write that next song, play it for everybody and anybody until you get the reaction you want.
