Billy and the Willies, Minneapolis, MN
Being a novice songwriter myself, I find it easy to relate to Willie Nelson as a songwriter and have a great appreciation for the lyrics and music he has written.
I've always been a country music lover and love playing and singing country music. A few of the country artist who have always been dear to my heart and a positive influence are Willie Nelson, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Don Williams and too many others to name them all here.
A few years ago, I started going to establishments that featured karaoke. Almost from the beginning, there was always at least one person who said I looked and/or sounded like Willie Nelson. What a compliment!! Now I'm known as the Willie Nelson guy when I visit the karaoke places that I frequent. And so it occurred to me, with a lot of encouragement from the many friends I've made while doing karaoke, to start a band dedicated to Willie Nelson music. One of the great advantages of doing Willie Nelson music is that he's recorded with so many recording artists or groups or at least recorded one of their songs. That gives me a lot of flexibility.
Brothers Terry and Tommy Ferguson who play keyboards and bass respectively, grew up in a musical family. Their father played pedal steel guitar for the legendary country recording artist Eddy Arnold for many years. Terry has followed in his fathers footsteps by also playing the steel guitar. Their brother Ted who lives in Mankato also plays drums. Tommy is also accomplished as a drummer and acoustic guitar player. Likewise, Terry played drums for the Whitesidewall band and Danny's Reasons. Terry also plays acoustic guitar. And both brothers are excellent vocalists. Terry's resume also includes playing piano at Nordstroms for thirteen years.
Our latest addition to the band is Mr. Marty Fountain who has taken over for Dan Elliot on drums. Marty has played with a wide range of music genre bands including his last tenure with the Del Counts. He played with the Del Counts for nine years.
Last but not least is our lead guitar player, Joel Geris. Joel also played with Danny's Reasons for many years. While most of his career has been in the realm of blues and rock and roll, he's had no problem adding great guitar licks to our country catalog of songs. Joel adds a Rock and Roll and Blues flavor to our team, both with his guitar playing and vocals.
I feel very fortunate to have such a talented group of musicians in the band!
