Wild Bill - washboard, harmonica, kazoo, vocals
Wild Bill wasn't born with a washboard in his hands - it just seems that
way. He began his washboard career while still a wee lad in the suburban wilds
of Buffalo, New York, as a co-founder of the Zing Kings Jug Band.
He made his public concert debut with "Coney Island Washboard" at a talent Show at Kenmore West High School
and went on to perform at such illustrious local venues as the Allentown Art Festival,
the Pure Tear Coffeehouse and "Dialing for Dollars with Liz Dribben."
Since those early days, he's been a member of such esteemed jug ensembles as The South Happiness Street Society Skiffle Band (backing up famed bluesman Jesse ("The Lone Cat") Fuller, The Sunnyland Happytime Washboard Band, The Henry Graiver Jug Band, and The Star Spangled Washboard Band (whose 1976 album, "A Collector's Item" on Flying Fish Records, lives up to its title).
He's rubbed out the rhythm on his washboard at such diverse venues as the Mariposa Folk Festival in Toronto, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Willie Nelson's Whiskey River in Dallas, "The Mike Douglas Show" in Philadelphia and Disney World in Orlando.
In Ramblin Jug Stompers, Wild Bill not only plays washboard, but also harmonica, kazoo, tambourine, hi-hat, train whistle, mouthbow, the Bathhouse Brass, noseflute, and other assorted toys that he frequently pulls out of his bag of tricks.
INFLUENCES: Geoff Muldaur, Spike Jones, the Hoosier Hot Shots, Marcel Duchamp, Roger Miller, Harry Partch
DISCOGRAPHY:
The Star Spangled Washboard Band (Flying Fish),
Blotto (Blotto, Attic, One Way),
Michael Eck (Dancing Druid, Miss Mary's Art Space),
Sara Ayers (Dark Woods),
Jim Gaudet (1-800-Prime),
Neverland: (Talk Work),
Sara Ayers and G.C. Haymes (Miss Mary's Art Space),
Kevin Bartlett (Aural Gratification),
Ramblin Jug Stompers (Jug Stompers Records)