Coming to you from the studios at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66, it's the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast. Hey everybody, it's Ray the Roadie. And this is Hollywood Mike, how you doing? I'm doing good, how you doing Mike? I'm doing great, I couldn't be happier.

We are here at the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, one of my favorite places in the world. On Route 66 in beautiful downtown Joliet, Illinois. And we are with some of my favorite people in the world.

Once again, you have brought in another group of people for us to interview. The Billy Osmond Band. I'm kind of slacking.

You know, that's okay. You're retired, I understand. You've totally fallen into it.

I'm not going to do shit today. I'm going to hang out. We're just going to sit back.

That's right, that's right. So it's the Billy Osmond Band. That's right.

I wonder where they came up with their name. You know what, we will discover that in the interview. We will.

We'll find out how they came up, because like, which one's pink? Who's Hootie? Bob Geldof. Bob Geldof is pink if you really know the answer to that. So who's joining us this evening? Do you want them to introduce themselves like we did in first grade? I think they should do that.

No, no, no, no. Let's do the first grade. I took F all the time.

I took F like in speech class and having to speak. So I just say, this is that guy over there. I'm Billy Osmond.

Billy Osmond. Yeah. Yeah.

Hence the Billy Osmond Band. Hence the Billy Osmond Band. That's how it came about.

Well, you know, it actually came about laziness, actually. Laziness and like I would put a band together and every time I would do something, none of those guys would be in there. And then somebody would get upset that like or whatever.

So it's like I so I decided it's easier to do my name that way. Nobody could get mad. No other than me.

No, actually, laziness would have been the B.O. Band, but that would have gone over very well. Yes, I did do the Oz Band for a minute. So I think we should do this.

This was kind of good. The last second we're going to steal something from Jimmy Fallon. All right.

So as we get going, Billy, introduce yourself as you just did. But give us don't tell us what they are. Give us two truths and one lie about yourself.

Two truths and one lie. Two truths and one lie. This is a pregnant pause, everybody out there.

Like it's hard to tell the true one. So don't worry, we edit this so you can say it's got to be two true ones. I don't even know.

That's I don't like that. That's too many questions at once. It's one question, three one questions with three answers.

That's right. Think about it, Billy. Let's get on to somebody else.

Yeah, move on. Move on. We'll we'll have our we'll continue with our introductions at the present time.

How you guys doing? I'm Dave Walters, local drummer. All right. And two truths and two truths and a lie about yourself.

Two truths and a lie about myself. And Mike, not you, Mike. Well, there's another Mike here.

I'm going to go with I'm I'm sober and I'm sober and and I'm sober. All right. I wonder which one that one is.

I think I got I think I got it. Now, this man over here, the bass player, Mr. Mike Brown. I mean, he really needs no introduction because everybody in this area knows who this guy is.

I'll tell you what. I met Mike Brown. Let me tell you, I'm going to tell you how I met this guy.

You are going to tell me. I am going to tell you. So I played in hard rock bands for most of my life.

And we had a project come to an end. And I said, you know what? I am going to get back into playing roots music. I want to play some blues is what I want to do.

All kinds of blues. And I heard about this open jam that was going on at a place that we have mentioned many, many times on this podcast, the uptown tap and playing fields. And I walked in with a three piece band.

And we signed up on the sign up sheet for the very first time. And we were sitting there for about 15 minutes. And this man, Mike Brown, takes a look at me and goes, you're up next.

Who you got with you? And I said, well, I got a drummer and I got a bass player with me. And we went up there and we played a couple of songs. Then he said, we'll play one more.

So we played another one. And I took that to be kind of a good sign. Right.

And then I got off the stage and Mike comes over to me and he goes, I don't know where you came from, but we've nobody here knows you. But stick around. We're going to have you hang out with us a little bit, you know, a little bit longer.

And the rest of that is kind of history. And this man, Mike Brown, sitting across the table from me, I will credit him. And I'm looking him square in the eye as I'm saying this.

Mike Brown, I will credit him with the person who brought me back to the music of this area. He introduced he reintroduced me to the music of Joliet, which is, of course, rooted in the blues. And all of these great, fabulous musicians that I have learned to become friends with over the course of the last 12 years or so.

He truly is a brother. Mr. Mike Brown over here on the bass. I need two trues and a lie for you, my friend.

And I know what they are. So I'm not going to guess at the end because I know what they are. And let's hear from Mr. Mike Brown.

So here is a the three that you wanted. I'm skinny. I'm in shape.

And I and I drink a lot. Bum, bum, bum, pick, pick one. You guys are dark, man.

We will answer those questions at the end of this show. We're still waiting to hear from Billy, though. Yeah, we're still waiting to hear from Billy here.

Yeah, it's two truths and a lie. Yeah, yeah. One, did I play blues to that? I play it all nicely.

Or did I play frisbee golf? I might play frisbee golf. All right. There's a three.

There's the three. I like his jersey, too, by the way. Yeah, it's Joliet.

It is actually a slammer, Joliet. You know, one of the it's a team that the year they last year we won. Yeah, absolutely.

I'll tell you, one of the greatest things that's not to make you didn't hold on. You didn't guess which one was the truth. We'll do that at the end.

Do that at the end. But I'll tell you what, you know, I've been fortunate enough to have several things happen to me in my career. And one of the coolest things that has happened to me within the last couple of years, I got a phone call from the Joliet Slammers baseball organization.

And I sing the national anthem several times a year before the baseball games. I never thought in my life I'd ever get the national anthem in a baseball game. But I do for the Joliet Slammers.

And every time they introduced me, they introduced me as Mike Mottoyer from Cadillac Groove and the Illinois Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because the first time I did it, Ron Romero, the founder of the museum here, asked me to sing the national anthem. I believe it was rock and roll night over at the stadium. So that's awesome that you're wearing that jersey.

I got to get one of those things. Yeah, I got it. Got the year of the only season ticket year that I had when they won 19, I believe.

Last championship. So I love to go there all the time. They're so close for me.

It's my backyard. I was hoping that was going to be the Frisbee golf jersey. Now I'm now I'm completely in a conundrum, right? So the Billy Osmond band, we obviously have to start with you because I mean, the band's obviously pointing at Billy.

Yeah. There's two things that I always that stand out about you when I when I think of you. Number one, you play cover songs and you play cover songs that really nobody in their right mind decides that they're going to play.

You're welcome. You're very welcome. Thank you.

I mean, you ain't the biggest compliment that I could. You are not right. And I absolutely love that about you.

Thank you. You're right. I love the music that you play.

And number two, I tell this to everybody. I really have the opportunity to say this to his guitar tone is so distinctive that I know it's him playing before I even lay eyes on him. He's got a very distinctive.

I mean, I know it's Billy Osmond. And that's that is the greatest compliment from one guitar player to another. That is, too.

Thank you. I'm going to stop talking and go tell us about Billy Osmond. Who are you? Man, like it started out with taking F in school and speech class.

I seriously I did all through all through speech class. I took F because I was scared to death to stand up in front of people. And now I was counted up to the other day.

I think it's been almost 35 years that I've been playing music in front of people. Now, not every not all the time and not as much as I like sometimes and sometimes too much. I've always been the different the different person when it comes like in high school.

I guess going back to the high school thing when everybody else was listening to Judas Priest and had the razor blade T-shirt. I was listening to Adam and the Ants. So it was always something I was always a different when everybody else had a party.

I was probably not there. Right. So I was never that.

I was always my own person. So when I come to music, the same thing. I always I started playing right out of high school.

That's a whole nother story. Like how I even started playing. I didn't want.

I knew that I wanted to, but wasn't telling my last day of high school that a band was playing in the little auditorium like I couldn't. I didn't know anybody. I do know two people that are in it now that I that I found do because of doing open mics.

But I couldn't tell you anybody at the time. All I know is that they open with Cat Scratch Fever. And as soon as that dude said, well, when, when, when, when I said, I want to do that.

Yeah. And I started playing guitar that summer. Wow.

Two years later, almost to the day. I had my first gig at the Lockport Moose across the street from where I was kitty corner from where I was taking lessons from almost to the day. And I've been playing ever since.

So I started playing the summer, 87, played my first gig summer of 89. How old are you in 87? 21. 21.

Just turned 12 old enough to be in there. I was sneaking into the clubs to watch my teacher and everybody else. They'd pull me up on stage and let me play Johnny be good.

Native of Lockport. Nope. Joliet.

No, Joliet. Joliet. You were hanging out in Lockport.

Lockport was where I started taking lessons with Rick and about two weeks after into it, a month into it. Maybe he says, well, you're going to have another teacher. I'm not going to be here next week.

And I'm like, I, I'm not going to break in another teacher. I just got you broken in. He said, he said, Oh, I'm opened up in a store.

And he opened up Lockport music, which is now Allegro there on. Right. And we just lost him.

We just lost her. Rick Young was like, he's why I am who I am on guitar. Like, I didn't know anything.

I come in and I had a piece of wood with strings on it. And he's like, you need a guitar. And he's like, what are you going to get? I didn't know a Telecaster from a Stratocaster from a banjo, maybe a banjo.

I did. But I, I said, I don't know. He said, well, who do you like? I said, I like Mark Knopfler.

He said, well, you want a Stratocaster. So that's actually why I play a Stratocaster. Not from what you would think.

Because of Mark Knopfler. Because of Mark Knopfler. Still to this day.

Like, that's probably why I'm not playing with a pick most of the time now. Right. Yeah.

That's the other thing I noticed about you. And our in people around us, Mr. Ferguson had a lot scratched off. We could talk about that too.

You know, I'll tell you, Mr. Ferguson is mentioned in almost every one of these podcasts. He's not like, gosh, I wish he was still around. But Dave and I, Dave and I will probably maybe two weeks before we lost him.

Like he was gone two weeks. Yeah. We were on stage with him.

It was, it was awesome for me too. It was one of the best. Him and I had a, him and I had a thing where like, if we were on stage, we did my thing.

Cause he, he knew that I wasn't going to get the thing from twist. Right, right, right, right. And it was all, and it was awesome that night.

There was a young kid playing bass who didn't know, like, like twist was, twist was being twist and on guitar. And I remember the only other thing I remember is that I never did around Herman or any of those guys. I always thought doing, doing any of the, any of the hardcore, I did Stevie Ray Vaughn and stuff when they were around.

I never did muddy waters though. I knew, I knew it just cause I thought, I felt like I was like almost disrespectful. I was, I was being, but that night we did a backdoor man, backdoor man, we did backdoor man.

And I do like, I do like literally like a completely bastardized Hendrix version of it. And twist just locked into what it's supposed to be the whole time. And I remember looking over him to take a solo and he wouldn't, I was happy that he didn't because like he forced me to do what it's supposed to be the whole time.

And I was like, I would, it gives me, I'm getting, I'm getting chills right now. Thinking about that, that and him doing that. Uh, it's, it's, isn't that unbelievable? I mean, and just for our listeners, I'm explaining that we refer to someone by the name of twist, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Ferguson, Professor Ferguson.

It's, it's all the same person. So every podcast that you've listened to and you've heard those three names, we're all talking about the same person. And if you are a musician in this Joliet area, you know who he is.

Cause at one point in time you were on stage with him and you hit a wrong note and he looked at you and said, what the fuck you do that for? Now see that, that, that, that wasn't just, that wasn't just for one time. Gave you that look, look, which is enough for you. Now, everybody that, that, that new twist is going to know what I mean when I ask this next question.

Uh, anybody that's ever played with twist. Now, how long did it take after you met twist for him to stop giving you the look? I got to, I never got stopped. No, I never did.

No, because you never reached that level. You know, um, um, you never reached that level of perfection where, um, you know, twist would just not look at you. The musicians, by the very nature, we will make a mistake and twist caught every one.

Every one, you know, and he would, he would give you that look and everyone that new twist knows that look, you know, and if you didn't get it, then you didn't play with them. But, and you know what, if he, if he gave you that look, it meant that he cared. If he wasn't looking at you, if he wasn't giving you that look, he didn't care.

I've seen twist where he'd get up and just, you know, whoever's playing with him, he'd look at him, right. He'd look at him again. And the guy didn't get it.

He'd get up and say, okay, I'm done and walk off. Yeah. You know, you know, the funny thing is like you, I got that look from him, you know, until until the day, until the day he died.

But when I knew that I was in with him is the day that he invited me to his jam at his house. Right. And, and he walked up to me and he said, he said, Mike, I heard you went to Al Spears house and you made some gumbo.

I said, yeah, I made some gumbo. And he goes, bring that gumbo when you come over to my house this Saturday. And I was like, are you inviting me to your house for the jam? Yeah.

I'm inviting you to my house for the jam. I was like, I just, I just made it. I made it.

Yeah. Twist knows who I am. Like being anointed.

And he'd walk around still, like all the way up with pieces of paper to put them in your guitar case. Like I had one of my guitar case. Right.

And I remember the same thing. I remember not only being invited, I remember gone. And like, I wanted the whole, like, cause it was, I heard the, the talking of the, of the fish and the fried green tomatoes and I've never had fried.

I get there and twist is like, oh, there's hot dogs over here. I'm like, dude, can you come here for any hot dogs? You got gumbo and fried green tomatoes. I can get a hot dog anywhere.

I think I got to look once if I ever really got it. I got blessed with that end of it because more like we had this unwritten rule. I don't know how it got that way.

Uh, I probably, because he knew that I wasn't going to get yelled at on stage. Like I love, I always love twist. And I always said that he was, he was everything about what you should do and should not do on stage.

Right. Cause some of what he called out people like would make me want to not like hurt things. You know what I mean? Uh, but that is what I loved about him.

But him and I always had a thing. My favorite was early on. We were, I think it Leo's there in Plainfield.

Right. And, uh, uh, it was the end of the night. There was like three guitar players on stage.

And twist was playing keyboards. He was to my left and roughing was just to my right playing drums. And, uh, there was the end of the song and it felt like it went on forever.

And, uh, twist nodded his head to me. And every time he nodded his head to me, I give him the what's up nod. And we did that like three times while Jeff was doing his role and Jeff's snapped the snare.

And I hit an E at the same exact time. And I got that, I got that smile. And that was the only, like, that's the closest thing I got to getting the look was like, like pay attention to pay attention to what's going on here.

And I looked him dead in the eye the whole time. It was cool. I still, that's one of my fondest memories of that and him showing up to a jam last second on stage.

And, uh, John Hewitt says, Hey, let's do that song. You made me learn. You called before that.

We didn't do the first round. It was the end of the night. And twist walks in and he walks up and he pulls his guitar out right away.

And he says, I'm going to do some Billy songs. And my first thought was, man, like, what am I going to do now? He's not going to know to Rolling Stone. And then, then I thought, well, he walked up on my stage.

So like I said, this is NC and hang on. And it was like, it would, he was, he did twist, you know? Right, right, right, right. And it was right.

Yes, absolutely. Yeah. He didn't know what to do for it first.

He was, but he's going to look sideways at it, but he did. He stood right in there and did what anybody should have done in his, like who he was. He was just like, so, you know, note to self, we need to do a podcast where we just bring a bunch of twists students and that could be a lot of, that's a long list.

I mean, it would, it would literally have to be like a multi-part segment because we can tell, we can tell twist stories all night long. And I want to get back to David. Something I didn't want to talk about it.

You're like, yeah, I can tell you some of those. Oh God. It was their nights when things went down in places where there were things that I like.

Yeah. We'll talk about maybe after this is over. Yeah.

I have a, yeah, I could. Yeah. I'm going to say, I'll save the street from where we hang out all the time.

A big thing went down. I was there when a bunch of people that we all know were there and it was, I mean, I'll save the story for, for another time. But just a couple of days before he passed, he and I had a conversation and hindsight being 2020, it was almost like he was saying goodbye to me.

Almost like he knew what was going on. And it's a story for another time in the whole bit. Cause I really want to get back to Dave.

Cause Dave was the one that posted the question and we ended up on a tangent. This whole sudden became, and you know, a discussion about twist Ferguson and the whole bit. So I want to make sure I get back to Dave here real quick because the first time I met Dave was at uptown and the people who listened to this podcast are going to hear two words a lot.

Actually three words. You've already heard twist Ferguson. You're going to hear the studio and you're going to hear the uptown a lot.

And that's the first time I met Dave was at the uptown and he walked up and played drums and we, he played, uh, we played together for the very first time that I met you. And you're a fantastic drummer. I'll play with you anytime I get the opportunity.

So I want to know more about Dave. Where'd you come from? What are your influences? That's actually not quite true. Um, I, I, I do drink when I play.

So a musician that drinks, no, that doesn't exist. Sober, sober and sober. Right? Right.

So Billy and I are actually in Eden's for the jam one night. And, um, I, I'm not sure if it was called Eden's yet or if it was still called old school, but there's this good looking kid on stage that can play and can sing. And he looks like that.

This is Billy. I said, who the fuck is this? He said, I don't know. Who the fuck is that? And that's, that's that night.

I come up to you and I said, who the fuck are you? Because you're talking to, wait, you're talking about me. We gotta get, we gotta get back to me. You said, wait, wait, you said, you said the place was called Eden's.

Where was this old school? Just off of 53 and Dodie road there. Or right off the 80 and 53. Right off 80 and 53 and 53.

Oh yeah. You and I met it. We have to go back.

I don't, I remember when you and I met, but him and I like, I already, I must've known who you were and didn't want to tell him or whatever at that time. But you and I met at a different place, a different way. I believe.

Okay. I think that you had said that you had, you had seen him before maybe. But, um, it was, it was a come out of nowhere for me.

And, uh, I was really kind of curious. So I came up and said, you know, who are you? What's your story? Where are you from, man? Like I play around and nothing I know. And then there's some time, maybe, uh, maybe a couple of years before the next time I see you and we get to play together.

Yeah. Disclaimer. You have to forgive me.

I have no idea what people put in my drinks when I'm playing, but no, I do remember Eden's. Wow. That's going back a little while.

That's going back a little while. Wow. Yeah.

Maybe, uh, who's, who's hosting at Eden's. Could have been Shiner and slab. Yeah.

Maybe Moses. Moses. No, not quite that far back.

Quite. You know what? It was definitely Tommy slab. Tommy slab was Shiner.

Then it was that, it was that brief period when we were hosting jam over there. That's do you remember when we met where we met? You were drinking that night too. Oh yeah.

Another rare night refreshment. 12 handles. I was doing a jam night and, uh, I was the only one singing that was hosting a jam night.

I was the only one singing and I, and you came up and I like you play guitar. And my next question was, do you sing? And you said, yeah, I'm like, thank God. Was that for Scotty Evans's, uh, college same night.

Was it, was that his college graduation night? And they had that. They had his party at 12 and you could have been doing an auditioning thing there. That's right.

That's right. I would say I was a part of that. And a lot of my open mics.

Yeah. I have, in fact, I'm pretty sure that Ellis and, uh, Cooper got together on one of my jam nights and showed up and that's how they wound up meeting each other. Well, well, because, uh, Will, Will's wife used to work at 12 handles.

No prior to that. No, I'm talking even prior. I'm gone.

We even, I'm jumping all over the place. Like Will and I met on an open mic. Like Will, Will Cooper and Ellis met at the river club on one of my open mics.

Okay. Okay. Yeah.

Me knowing me, knowing all the people I'm being labeled as a blues player comes from. And I almost like sometimes almost get offended being labeled a blues player because I'm not, I don't think I am, but you do a lot of the notes. Take it, take it as a cop.

I do. I do. I don't take it as a, like, I don't, I did say I get offended to it.

I don't want to get pigeonholed, I guess. Right. Right.

Cause they're like, Oh, he's just a blues player. Cause I, because I'm not, and I don't, and I'd love that. I am like Stevie Ray.

Ron's my hero, but most, I know most hardcore may not go that way though. Like twist wouldn't twist. It wasn't until towards the end with twisted.

He learned, we go back to him again all the time. Did he learned, uh, uh, pride and joy. He used to call me all the time as somebody who wanted to hear it.

Right. Out of those hardcore guys wouldn't do Hendrix and Stevie Ray. So that's kind of why maybe I didn't.

Right. You know, I always was Stevie and Hendrix. And well, this is everybody does them.

This is all fuzzy, was he? And I, now we all know how you all met together. Yeah. You all know each other.

It's all lovey. It's all why it's usually a lot more chaotic. Yeah.

But no, like something on fire or something. I myself would like to know how the hell did this Osman band come to Billy Osman band come together? Where did this happen? The Osman band. Yeah.

What happened? I mean, was it a lightning strike? Was it? No, no. I kind of struck on that a little bit ago. I really was, uh, just naming it my, uh, me because it was easier that way.

Uh, I would get together with buddies and we would brainstorm and come on up with a name. And then, uh, I just lost one of them. Uh, uh, JJ moved to Tennessee and we were named bamboozled and I booked a gig and we were bamboozled and he calls me up.

I'm like, Hey, what are you using the name for? So I'm talking about you guys here. So how did we, so how did we get together? How did you guys? So, uh, same thing, man, I was, I was hosting a jam. I he'd have to, he might remember Walter's would remember better than me, but I think I was hosting a jam night right by my house, downtown down by, uh, what was, uh, buds at the time.

And, and you and I played maybe, yeah, maybe when I don't, maybe I wasn't hosting. I think it was a T-Bird jam and we wound up on stage together. And I had just, um, I had just recently become acquainted with Bob Shiner, uh, over at what is now Fireman Ted's, uh, as he had just moved back from Tennessee.

Uh, he said he knew you and, um, that's initially how that got, how that happened. Oh, from Shiner. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. That was, so that was there.

Yeah. So how long has this been? That's gotta be, that's 12 to 15 years ago by now. Or now.

Is it better than half of my half of our plane? Okay. Lives plan. Mikey and I, the same way in an open mic too, though, but I don't quite sure Mike still here.

Yeah, he's over there. He's the one with the headphones on. I am still here.

Y'all the, um, here's the interesting thing about, about Billy. Um, I met Billy many, many, many years ago before BNB Riverfront. Um, but I was fortunate enough to play with him, Marty Mercer and JJ, and, uh, it expanded to dock on keyboards and we ran the open jam and everything I know about running an open jam.

I learned from Billy, Billy taught me more than I can ever, ever express and be, be grateful for the guy knows what he's doing. He puts together the right people and he keeps the jam running the way it should run. And I was fortunate enough to play with him.

And one day I'm sitting at home and just chilling out. And I get a phone call and he says, what are you doing now? This is gotta understand. I was really nervous.

We'd have shows and I'd screw up shit because I was so nervous about playing and forget notes and stuff. And so one day he called me up and he says, what are you doing? I said, just sitting here. He says, you want to play tonight? I went, okay.

He says, we'll meet me in 15, 20 minutes at this place. I forgot the name of it now. Um, right off of route 30 next to the laundromat.

I said, okay. And I showed up there and I had the best show with him ever. I, and I, and I didn't know why.

And he explained to me later. Why he says, because you weren't nervous. And I wasn't, I, because I didn't have a chance to think about it.

Didn't have any time to give him a chance. Exactly. I got there.

I unloaded my equipment. And by the time I got my power plugged in, it was time to start. So all the things that I'll be nervous about, I wouldn't.

So I credit Billy with just so many things. And, um, you know, a lot of things in, in my personal life, Billy was there has been there. Um, he's, he's not only great musician, but he's a great friend.

Um, so I, uh, I can't think of, I can't think of him enough and I can't say enough about him. And because I can't say enough about him, I'm not going to say any more. Oh yeah.

You will like how to tell them how you, tell them how you got that, uh, the gig at the river club, John Hewitt got ahold of you. Remember what's that story about? I usually tell a bad version of it. So John Hewitt was instilled.

As far as I know, it still is a fantastic bass player and builder. Yeah. As I was saying, the Lutheran person.

Yeah. He's a great person too. You let me finish this shit.

Sorry. God damn. Sorry.

And, uh, he's, he's a front man. He can't help himself. I know.

Right. Just, you know, you know, front man, you know, bass players like usually sit in the over there and sit down and give me a chance to talk. And now you can't shut me up.

So he would call me up and say, Hey, you know, what are you doing? I said, nothing. He says, can you fill in for me? And I did. And I started playing with Billy and it's, it's honestly, it's been great ever since this guy has the most eclectic set.

And I showed you earlier, it's just song after song after song from all these different artists and he doesn't do a set list. So if you want to play with Billy, you got to notice crap, you know, at least have a, an idea of how it goes. Cause he'll pull something out of his, you can say, you can say ass to pull us some out of his ass.

Right. As the lounge puppets that we all play in four years or something, he'll play some out of his ass and, and, and, and just y'all go. And his Billy's moniker when he's at a show was, what do you want to hear? Somebody's getting a call.

Oh, is that a booty call? No, no. Well, maybe it's still my favorite one was John. John calls them up.

Maybe it was coming from John. Maybe that's why that's the story. I remember about you getting that gig when we were doing the river club, but John, John called you up because he was leaving or had, he's got a, he got a proper job and he couldn't do their gig like are you gonna get a job you're not gonna be a musician so he got a real gig and he needed you and he like busted soul like he replaced himself with you he called he got you first and then he said oh yeah by the way I'm not doing it anymore and I got a replacement for you already and uh so he calls you up and and Mike was like to John said well could you give me a could you give me a set list and John starts laughing at him he said yeah I could give you one those songs when he when you do it because every time I learned the songs off a list I do and I do ends up never doing them so who are who are some of the people that you cover because we mentioned about how you you cover songs and not a lot of you you know who are the artists the artists is the most surprising thing so Todd Schneider's on my favorite if it's weird and you don't know what it is it's probably him and I tend not to do that all the time anymore because most of the time they want to do at least something that they know from both Elvis's Costello and Presley the Beatles petty Hendrix SRV by Preston violent found some violent films I'm not yeah goes on Johnny Cash but what about what about some Billy Osman original no no I needed to I always wanted to yeah I think that's partially why I've been a trio I don't know if you've ever noticed when you hear me but most of the time I don't do the exact solo in the song right so I like to say not not because I think mine is better but I come up with ideas with X so I'll hear something in a cover and I like to extenuate on it partially because I'm a trio I think right to pick the part that I think is cool and embellish on it and then really embellish on it even more so I like to say I take other people's songs and fix them twist them make them my own I always say make it your bitch you gotta make it your right right right I mean I threw you just gotta mean it whatever it is any and it all what it no matter what song you do and there's a hundred songs that are half written that just yeah I come up with both I'll come up with lyrics and go back and look at it and go what was I thinking and I'll come up with the music I've never split the two together I need to sit down with people somebody that knows how to do that well give us something you got these instruments here give us give us a sample yeah give us a sample of some we even have this is this is I think of first we even have the drummer with a snare drum and I'm telling you this is a first let's do that let's do Elvis that man I like to do the Elvis thing right oh yeah do what let's do a watch him really Wow nice girls not the ones with the defects till the paint shrink wrap so Matt dogs under legally she looks so good she is watching the details oh he's so cute she is watching the details shoot to beat him up and tell the teardrop stop you can't be wounded cuz he's got no heart non-acoustic yeah first time well except for the drummer that was an electric drum that wasn't an electric drum good kind of happenstance all right we did something that was turned out to be pretty fun I think we're gonna do it right here just to kick off the second part of the show right so I've got something here we call my two cents let's pick which one you guys wants to do this sure all right so my two cents pick two random pennies now can you can you read the year that the penny was minted pick one of them and tell me what the year is 1973 1973 so this is a hard one I this is kind of a hard one because you and I are we talking what are we talking about you and I are really close to the same age so in 1973 where were you what were you doing music related or otherwise what does 1973 to mean to you mmm bump on seven years old man I was already being I was already being drugged to drug not drugged that drug I was already I was already being with a gun standing with my will to the Grand Ole Opry at that point already Wow the Grand Ole Opry yeah my grandmother every year we're either at the White Fence farm for her birthday the whole family or we're in Nashville for the Grand Ole Opry the wait the White Fence farm over on 53 yes that one the original so so the choice was let's go it was her choice it was her birthday but her birthday that was what we did like so I got yeah and then and I always got to grow up rock and roll on my mom's side and country on my dad so Nazareth hair of the dog and stole all the Dylan records from my mom and then I got Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson on my dad's side so Wow and Johnny Cash is always like my hero I have that story too from going to Nashville about seven seven eight about three or four years after that seven about 73 I was probably about 11 years old we were going up up the gravel driveway that leads to Johnny Cash's house I was in the passenger side backseat parents 72 Monte Carlo right Jeep coming down the wrong side of the gravel driveway with kids in it the Jeep stops in the passenger side I roll the window down hit my head in the roof sticking my head out the window and Johnny Cash says how do you son Wow joy so what's on that other penny oh first of all can we acknowledge it that was probably the coolest story that we've had yeah see with the you know with Johnny Cash rolling down the window I was the reason we were going there yeah I was the reason we were going there I got to read this one too huh we're 77 getting getting closer 77 okay or it could be one of these guys who's got something about 1977 oh that's important no say that again was the first year I got married I went in the Air Force in 1977 and got married in 1977 Wow what'd you do that for son I'm just stupid and thank God I got divorced and met the true love of my life that I was married to for 32 years yeah what were you doing musically in 1977 well I had joined a bunch of guys before I went in the service I was with a band called melody that was a great band I loved them and then I went in the service and got out of boot camp and went up to the high desert and joined a group of guys up there playing bass and had a great time and how just a very uneventful time in my life from 77 to 81 yeah Wow except some of the greatest music we've ever known well yeah it was fun music but it was as far as my life goes it was right yeah 77 I was uh I was just I was just getting turned on I mean I've been beaten oh easy easy I've been I've been beating pots and pans with wooden spoons for older you I'm 11 years old okay 77 I'm 11 years old same year and oh yeah okay yes I am the youngest in the room I acknowledge that my grandparents house because I'm my grandparents would let me step in let me step and watch Johnny Carson and Johnny Carson is where I first saw real drummers like like like Buddy Rich and and Louie Belson and Ed Shaughnessy who was with the with the with the house band was just a magnificent drummer one of the only drummers I've ever seen actually keep up with and go head-to-head with Buddy Rich so that's kind of where that started you know sitting on the floor in the living room after my grandparents went to bed beating on red white and blue vinyl pillows you know watching to Johnny Kirsch you know after that I don't know I got a set of drums when I was about 12 and we were off to the races after that there was no real holding back took lessons for a couple years but like a other drummings as soon as I could put four on the floor one two three four screw the lessons we're off to the rock and roll races we don't we don't we don't need to know any of this so as a result of that you know 40 years later or something I still played mostly by feel but yeah that's that's what I was doing 77 oh and listen to the WLS radio as much as I could in the in my parents 72 Mustang John records land yeah it was it was to go to sleep with the radio under my pillow maybe that's why I couldn't sleep at night a couple years after that somebody introduced me to XRT and I found I'm like FM what's that yeah you're gonna have to add a coat hanger from here yeah you had to like wrap aluminum foil around your head and wrap aluminum foil around their head you know somebody else's underwear so if people are looking for the Billy Osmond band where can they find them social media wise yeah social media like I've been blessed for the last quite a few years now I don't book myself I get booked people call me and Facebook this is a big one my numbers on Facebook I'm not I'm approachable text me I think my voicemail is full even but give me a text let me know I know the since the pandemic I do parties most of the time I have more fun kids I love playing where their kids are at like Mike can attest to that doing festivals and just seeing like I love playing kids and I also like parties I can I make more money I don't have to deal with clubs so Facebook is a place to go Facebook numbers on there and I'm gonna be doing some things to studio or the studio have favorite place I have to get a hold of Laura and for my own booking for us but I'm Mikey and I are gonna we're gonna do something too for sure come on out like the first week of March or something like that I'll be sitting with the house band and we'll talk to Laura and I stand sure you can yeah you can stay I mean I'll sit maybe you'll see you can stand no only the only person allowed to sit is Herman Hines Herman Hines everybody else can do whatever I got stories about him too but this isn't about him I got that's right so many alrighty guys thanks for coming out tonight really appreciate it it was thank you very much some great some great music yeah I got to come out and see you guys somewhere at either a jammer or call me I call you yeah I'm cheap man alrighty guys thanks a lot thank you appreciate it guys well there you have it the Billy Osmond band the Billy Osmond band a group of three very talented musicians very talented very interesting musicians yes go out and see those guys when you have a chance like I said if you're tired of hearing don't stop believing no offense journey or you know or songs that you hear it every other show go out and see Billy Osmond because he's definitely not going to be playing any of the songs that you hear at other performances that's right he's not he's not playing the b-sides he's playing like the C and D sides yep the stuff that was never released on a 45 right you know you older folks that's right and what a 45 was that you would only have heard of if you listen to an album and you heard that song right never made the radio never played anywhere but they're playing them right absolutely sounding good too very very good well thanks for listening once again from the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66 in beautiful downtown Joliet Illinois we're gonna be back with you guys next week and we've got another fantastic interview our next episode is going to be with Stereo Phi Stereo Phi Stereo Phi is gonna be here and we'll have that show for you next week looking forward to it talk to you soon take care bye the rock and roll Chicago podcast is edited by Paul Martin theme song courtesy of MNR Rush the rock and roll Chicago podcast does not own the rights to any of the music heard on the show the music is used to promote the guests that are featured