About Acid Billy Band

ACID BILLY: THE ORIGIN STORY

Todd’s close friend and coworker Scotty would bring his father Larry to the dispatch hall where they worked. One day in 2010, Larry asked Todd what he and his teenaged friends did for fun growing up in Winnipeg while in high school. Todd replied comically: “Well, we played in rock bands for our high-school dances, and we took a lot of acid”.

Larry found this hilarious.

The next day Scotty called and said “Todd, Larry says your new nickname at the hall is ACID BILLY”. The name caught on and stuck throughout the years.

Ten years later, Todd was looking for a new name for his rock band and mentioned it to Scotty. Scotty looked at Todd and replied: “You already have your name Todd. Think back to 2010. Acid Billy is a great name for a rock band. I would come out and see that band with a name like that”.

Acid Billy is a comical name that piques your interest and make you want to check it out.

Early Beginnings...

When Todd was 7 years old, he and his brother would stay with their baby sitter during the summer. She sang and played acoustic guitar. One day he asked her if he could try her guitar and took a keen interest.

A year later, he started taking guitar lessons at Colt’s Music Studios in Winnipeg, back when there were still “mom and pop” music stores. The lessons were heavily focussed on theory which he knew he needed if he wanted to succeed as a musician.

Around the age of 12, Todd played clarinet in his junior-high-school band. There were about 40 kids in the orchestra and included a string section. During this time he also took lessons religiously from a guitar instructor known as Al Beischer.

Furthermore...

Around the age of 13 Todd with his brother Glen started forming bands to play at community clubs and high-school dances. They played mostly covers, but some originals as well. From here they were hooked on playing live and feeding off the energy of the crowd.

Because of his knowledge of music theory, Todd was asked to play bass in his high-school, jazz-fusion orchestra. Due to the technical nature of this style of music, he received extra-curricular help after school from jazz bassist Ron Paley.

From the high-school and community club bands, Todd started playing in a few hard-rock cover bands which included a lot of Rush, Zepplin, early Judas Priest. One of which was called “Shannon”, a local top 40 cover band.

The first original band he played in was called “Athens”, formed with a few local Winnipeg musicians. The next band “Hell House” was a mixture of metal and hard rock. Their lighter songs got air play on Citi FM, so they changed the band’s format and their name to “Tripp”. Tripp’s music can be found on the music page.

And Finally...

In 2005 Todd moved to BC and started writing music again. He took some time to put together his own music recording studio and starting recording his song ideas. His goal for now and the future is to write songs for people to enjoy on a personal level:

I want to end my life composing and playing shows for people to help them get outside themselves and make them happy. As musicians and composers, our job is to create a catharsis for people, help them forget their earthly troubles, and enjoy themselves. Music is an outlet for not only the musician, but the listener too.

Keep checking back with ACIDBILLY.COM for new songs and material.

ABOUT

ACID BILLY: THE ORIGIN STORY

Early Beginnings...

Furthermore...

And Finally...