 "Grand
Rapids Symphony Pops Series featuring BILLY & THE HILLBILLIES at De
Vos Hall, 245 Monroe NW. 8 pm. $52-$15. Information: 454-9451. Fri &
Sat, 8 pm; Sun, 3 pm. Billy & the Hillbillies isn't your average
bluegrass band -it's a comedy act by four guys who happen to have
extraordinary instrumental chops and a goofball front man. The Grand
Rapids Symphony will accompany, with John Varineau as conductor."
www.grsymphony.com
Concertos meet country
Yet, Billy and the Hillbillies are serious musicians, too. Over the
course of a 75-minute show, their virtuosity slowly seeps out.
John Marshall's slap bass technique, with left-hand hammers
lifted from Eddie Van Halen's rock guitar style, left listeners
wondering how he did that.
Dennis Fetchet's introduction to "Orange Blossom Special," a
long, long introduction, nonetheless wound the audience into a
frenzy with the famous fiddle tune.
Evan Marshall's solo, "Billy Tell Overture," better known as
the final section of Rossini's "William Tell" Overture, was an
amazing tour de force when he played the entire orchestral
accompaniment on mandolin.
Associate conductor John "Billy" Varineau, with clarinet at the
ready, joined the regular Billys for a ditty called "The Russian
Rag," a send-up of Rachmaninoff's famous Prelude in C-sharp minor.
"We couldn't do it without the Grand Rapids Symphony," Wall quipped
at the end of the night. "We could ... but it wouldn't be as good."
In its own way, the Grand Rapids Symphony was as impressive Friday
night as its guests. |
Dateline, Grand Rapids- November 10, 2002
Hillbillies, symphony concoct
a great show
Saturday,
November 09, 2002
By Jeff
Kaczmarczyk
The Grand Rapids Press
Yep, they're still funnier than silk britches on a stampeding sow.
Two summers ago, Billy and the Hillbillies wowed the Grand Rapids
Symphony's Picnic Pops audience at Cannonsburg.
The denizens of Disneyland in California returned for a fiddle sawin',
toe-tappin', knee-slappin' good time Friday evening with the Grand
Rapids Symphony.
"We're known for being daring hillbilly entertainers," Kirk "Billy"
Wall deadpanned. Yessiree, Bob.
Who else would do a bluegrass take on the Bee Gee's "Stayin' Alive"
from "Saturday Night Fever"? Or a rap version of "Thank God, I'm a
Country Boy"?
Most of their act was the same show they did in July 2001. But it
still worked its magic on the Pops Series audience.
Led by their front man, Wall, a singer with a dead-on Elvis sound in
his voice, the comics in coveralls had Friday's audience laughing
with their mayhem, wrapped in the indigenous music of the mountains.
Um, the Santa Monica Mountains, to be precise. Even in a tightly
rehearsed act, featuring such numbers as "Mama Don't Allow," which
worked the Grand Rapids Symphony into the act, Billy and the
Hillbillies left elbow room for added laughs.
Wall is a wicked improviser. The audience howled when he
mispronounced DeVos Hall as "The Boss Hall," which pretty much sums
it up in Grand Rapids. The jokes within jokes don't stop.
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony slides into "Roll Over Beethoven," but
Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" swings into "I've Been Working on
the Railroad" with nary a train wreck.
Where funny becomes hysterical is when their jokes go beyond the
jokes. Friday night, many of Wall's punch lines were followed by yet
another quip that was sly and on the side. Whether meant for the
other musicians on stage or for members of the audience "in the
know," they were the stingers that transformed the initial chuckles
into a hearty belly laughs. |
|
Farley and Bob visit the
Horseshoe
Dateline, Disneyland- Nov. 4, 2002
Billy Hill and the Hillbillies welcomed surprise guest and ex-fellow
castmember, Farley the Fiddler, Monday to their 3:00 pm show.
Visiting the park in honor of his wife, Leslie's birthday, Farley
sat front row center, as he and his lovely wife enjoyed the show.
For those of you who don't remember Farley the Fiddler [Gary], he
use to play in Bear/Critter Country and throughout Frontierland in
the 80's and 90's entertaining guests waiting in lines.
Also, spotted at the park this last Sunday was Kirk Wall associate
and fellow Knights band member, Robert Torti, who was
visiting with his family. Bob's film credits include "That Thing You
Do" with Tom Hanks and Kate's ex-boyfriend on "The Drew Carey Show",
as well as "Smokey Joe's Cafe" and "Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dream Coat". |
|
|
Gazette Editor Fails Audition
 |
Dateline, DCA- Oct. 26, 2002-
Billy Hill Gazette editor, JA Vincent recently decided to try her
hand at a new career as a doo-hickey substitute for The Barncats.
Despite encouragement from fellow band members, Rick Dunham, Candy
Lehrman and Bob Moore, band founder, Dave Eastley vetoed the
audition.
It was decided that regular Doo-hickey sub, Arshag need not worry
about his job future, as Ms. Vincent fumbled her way through the
entire bluegrass number causing the reaction below. |
|
Dateline, Yucca Valley- Sept. 28, 2002-
News
from the Barncats is that master web spinner, Kat Moser will be
designing The Barncats new web page. A soon as it is posted,
we will add it to our list of great links. We look forward to seeing
it.
Be sure to visit Kat's other fine sites at
www.katsmeow.com
|
In a medical study released this week, it was
discovered that the average person over 50 will have spent a total
of 5 years waiting in lines.
[The Billy Hill Gazette would like to point out
that if you are a Billy Hill fan, you can quadruple that number.]
|
|
Bizarre
Photo of the Week
In what year would you have seen this Golden
Horseshoe Menu?
Wow, .25¢ Pepsi, but sadly, no chili
cheese fries!
Answers will be posted next week,
both here and on the message board.
Send your answers to the
Bizarre Photos editor
@
Billy Hill News Gazette
[Answer will appear next week.]
|
Recent new or updated web pages at Jan's World include:
*
Kirk
Wall Visits the Grateful Dudes
*
Preview of Flik's Fun Fair
*
Bug Band Dressing Room Photos
*
Billy Bug Band Show
* Jan's
Ghostly Trio Page.
*
Sarah's Scary Resemblances
If
you haven't seen them, visit soon!
|
|
Last Week's Bizarre Photo
What is this Billy thinking?
Last week's answer:
1] "Is that a
liver pate cupcake over there?" [inside joke for DA]
2] "I think my G
string is a little loose."
3] "Did I
remember to unplug the iron?"
4] "I think
Debbie owns me at least 2¢."
5] "I smell
chestnuts roasting on an open fire."
6] "I could have
been watching Gilligan's Island."
|
Coming
Attractions
The Billy Hill
News Gazette staff is feverishly at work recording the oral history
of the
Golden Horseshoe
Saloon.
Posted as a
separate webpage on this site, information will include the entire
history from opening day 1955 to the present and will include many
previously unseen pictures.
Look for this page
to be open sometime in November.
 |
Jan's
World
This
website is loving dedicated to