August 14, 2008

Greetings from Seattle! This is Bill Champlin. Melanie Carlston, my administrator at bc.net and my pal for years, has reminded me that I haven't said anything on my websites for a while. I've been waiting for some news about the new album, and there's been very little, so I've kept my "computer mouth" shut about it. It seems that JVC in Japan has posted Sept. 24 as a release date, and I guess everything is geared toward that end. Dream Makers is trying to set up, at least, a digital release here in the States around the same time. The great news is that Rod Simons has been producing a DVD retrospective to go with the album. The documentary spends a good deal of time on the making of the CD and my career in general. Also, Arnaud Leger has done the cover for the new album and new covers for the re-release of the catalogue. They are awesome, especially the new "Hip Li'l' Dreams" cover. Well, that stuff is pretty much done, so that means that all the product in question is complete. Now it's time to market the thing. Of course, there aren't many retail outlets doing business anymore, so we'll be trying to come up with new ways, or even old ways, to get the music to......well....you. I'm guessing that a download thing will be in place and maybe Amazon.com kinda' stuff, but I'm thinking we may also go with the old tried and true mail order; some people still like CD's or vinyl or, in my case, cylinders. (They were out during the civil war--well maybe not that long ago--but you know what I mean.) Keep checking billchamplin.net and myspace.com/billchamplinmusic. As we find our way in this not so brave new world of what used to be the music business (before Disney and Stridex took it over), we will keep you up-dated as to what we're gonna' do. I think we'll probably put up little vignettes of Rod's documentary, and maybe a little music from the album, just to kinda' repay you guys for hangin' in while us "slower than slugs" old guys figure it out. I know that the album, after all this time, will probably be anti-climactic, but believe me, if I like it after this long it's got some hang time. And I do like it. I hope you will, too. Anyway, gotta' Chicago gig tomorrow somewhere, and that just goes to remind me that some things don't change very much; there's always a Chicago gig comin' up.

Thank you, guys. See ya' soon, Bill Champlin

December 19, 2007

Hey, Guys. This is Bill Champlin. I figured I'd drop a line to you all, or y'all, as they say 'round here. Anyway, it's been a long coupla' years on the road with basically very short breaks, and Chicago is about to go into a 2 month break that I think we could all use. We like working, but I personally think the music is better and fresher sounding when there is a little AIR in our lives. It can't be that good when you think of your suitcase as your home. I have finished a solo album for the Dream Makers Company and the mastering is going great, according to my engineer, Jason Cursaro. I'll hear the final stuff in a few days, but so far it sounds great. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's probably not gonna' see the light of day until about March, or maybe even April. Please believe me when I say that it's gonna' be well worth the wait. A few people have heard rough mixes or even final mixes without mastering, and are knocked out by it. I've been living with it for almost a year, with a little time away from it in the summer 'cause I was doing something else. I can't remember what else I was doing; hmmmmmm, it was something musical, I think. Oh well, whatever; that memory thing kicks up it's heels occasionally. All I know is that when you're living with a record all the time you eventually don't know whether it's good or not. I got away from it long enough in the summer to come back to it and listen with REAL ears. All I can say is that the CD is happenin'. So, the CD is coming out in the spring, the band from the Midwest is going out around the same time, and I'm trying to remember what else I wanted to say.......oh, Merry Christmas guys, and have a slammin' 2008. Be good, Bill Champlin

September 2, 2007

Hey, Everybody!

This is Bill Champlin, and I've got some great advice for that pesky boredom that seems to set in every September. Remember when you were on vacation from school; you actually wanted school to start but wouldn't tell anybody that you really wanted to go back because it wasn't cool to cop to thinking like that? (Whew, that was a long sentence.) Well, consider these upcoming Sons' gigs to be like school starting, except it's more like a new different level of summer vacation that you really wanna have. Well, you're in luck. The Sons will be playing near you; if it's not near you, then you'll just have to get on a plane. I'm flyin' to these gigs--lotsa' frequent flyer miles. So, the night before the Las Vegas Sons' shows at The South Point Casino, there will be a great hang going on at the Palms Hotel Lounge; those of you who've been there know exactly what I'm talking about. Santa Fe and the Fat City Horns will be doin' it on Monday, September 17. You will flip when you hear this band. I'm gonna' sit in a little, but the main thing is checkin' out these guys on their stuff...awesome. Then there are Tues. and Wed. nights at the South Point with the Sons. Tell your friends that it's gonna' be 3 nights of cool music in Vegas, and, of course, there's also the other Sons' gigs as follows:

9/14 Big Fox Theater----Redwood City, CA
9/15 Mystic Theater----Petaluma, CA  (This one is almost always NUTZ.)
9/18,19 South Point Casino----Las Vegas, NV (We will be videotaping the show on the 19th for a documentary.)
9/21 Black Oak Casino----Toulomne, CA
9/22 Hutchins St. Theater----Lodi, CA
9/23 Sierra Brewing Company---Chico, CA  (There's been talk about a livecast on radio that will be streaming, too. This one you may be able to catch on computer in China, the East Coast or wherever you are. We'll let you know the particulars of that stuff as we learn more about it. I just heard of it for the first time today.)
 
So, there you have it. As usual, there will be CD's, T-shirts and all those other decadent capitalist goodies available, including the new re-release of the Ariola Years CD that just came out. It's basically re-mastered stuff from the 3 albums we did in the 70's, and is a must for your collection. Keep an eye open for my solo album, which is still in the mixing phase and should be out by early next year. I love it, but then I'm supposed to love it. See you at the gigs. Come out and have a ball being part of it all. - Bill C.

Oh, there'll be some new songs and cool surprises we're gonna' work out next week. Tamara's gonna' sing a little, and there will be some other cool things that'll surprise us, including some new vocal parts for...YOU! ~ B.

April 11, 2007

Hello everybody,

My friend, Melanie, reminded me that it's been quite some time since I've said anything on my website, beyond the occasional answer on the message board. NEWS: I've been busy doing vocals on my new solo album, between little 2 week runs with Chicago this last winter and early spring. I had what we think may have been pneumonia for a month in there, and I coughed so much and so badly that I thought it was still the 60's and some Afghani Oil Pressed Primo just came in. Anybody remember what they called "Surfboards?" I digress. The album is coming along really well, and you're gonna' love some of the guests I invited to be on it. I wish I could have done more, but with the time I had and the schedules we had to juggle, I think I got some real "Monsters" on the CD. We did horns with The Santa Fe/ Fat City Horns in Las Vegas, and while I was there I got Jerry Lopez to sing a little. A few other kids are on it, too.

By the way, if you haven't checked out the Santa Fe Show in Vegas, you've been missing out on some of the most exciting music I've heard in a long time; they're absolutely awesome. Check them out by going to the South Point Casino every Wednesday starting the end of May, or most Mondays at the Palms Hotel.  I'll be sitting in with them on May 14 at the Palms. Any of you who saw us the last time I sat in would have been pretty knocked out, 'cause some of those songs haven't been heard since the Mayday album. Jerry Lopez is an awesome guitarist and, in my estimation, one of the top 10 singers in the world. Be there if you go to Vegas.

Since I last posted, I had a MySpace site set up: www.myspace.com/billchamplinmusic that you should check out--that is, of course, if you're not there now reading this.......wait......I'm SO confused. Anyway, I haven't worked for a whole half year on my own CD in a long time.  I hope I can finish this one and start right away doing it live and then begin the next one. 10 years is too long between albums....Hey, I'm not Steely Dan. No one is besides them, and that's GOOD. I do better when I work than when I don't; I just don't like working when the vibe is weird, so I bailed on recording for a few years. This time I'm loving the guys we're cutting the tracks with. I've got a production partner and a new label that are truly into this music. We're hoping for the best on this one. Lotsa' fun and some slammin' tracks.

I gotta' stop typing. See ya' soon. Keep your ears open; there just may be a little bit of good music out there.

Bill Champlin

February 6, 2007

Guys, there's been talk of a new solo album and I've kept a pretty low profile about it 'cause sometimes these things fall through. So far this hasn't, and probably won't. Anyway, it's being co-produced by me and Mark Eddinger, a friend from New Hampshire who's played on a lot of sessions and with a lot of bands over the years. He has a great set of ears, which helps when I'm in the phones; it's nice to trust the guy in the booth. It's being released by a new company, Dreamakers. They also own the studio in New Jersey that we cut basics at, The Barber Shop. The owner of the whole mess is this really cool guy named Scott Barber, who also is a singer/songwriter. One of the things that attracted me to this company is that everybody plays and understands what music is supposed to be, rather than what it seems to have become. That doesn't mean that they wanna' go back in time; it means that they want it to be good for music's sake.

I've been dreaming about doing this album for a long time, a dream that is shared by my friends--Bruce Gaitsch, Billy Ward and George Hawkins Jr. We've wanted to do a quartet record since the time when we used to jam regularly at a club in LA called The Mint. We originally thought of this as the "Swampy" or "Bluesy" record, but after sending my rough demos to Mark Eddinger and Dennis Damico, the "song guy" at Dreamakers, we decided to cut what we considered the best songs and make 'em just feel soulful. When I say "song guy" it's becase I hesitate to say A & R man, so "song guy" will do, since A & R are the 2 most dangerous letters in music. Dennis is a great guy who also has ears, and plays great guitar too! See??!!

We also decided to try cutting the old-fashioned way, which is:

1. Write good songs.
2. This is important--rehearse those songs, which we did for 4 days here in Nashville.
3. Get a good studio--done!
4. This is REALLY important--get a great engineer and book him. We got Jason Corsaro who has awesome signal on this record. This guy is special.
5. Know the stuff, cut the stuff, and HAVE FUN!!!!! This is the most important thing of all.
6. Make a good enough record so that if one person hears it he/she tells 10 people, they tell 10 people and they tell 10 people.

On the record we also have a few unexpected surprise guests and re-makes of some stuff you've heard. Will's on a few things and Tamara has sung a little, too. There'll be other guests also. The basic band is Bruce Gaitsch--guitars, Billy Ward--drums and percussion, George Hawkins Jr.—bass guitar and vocals, Will Champlin--piano and vocals, Mark Eddinger--keys, and Me on guitars, piano, and hammond organ.

It'll be a while before we've finished the vocals, overdubs and mix time, so it's too early for even a guess about release date. When it comes out I hope you're gonna' get it and tell 10 friends, etc. Right now I'm trying to come up with a title that isn't dirty, but that always happens eventually after you grow up. My question is this--will I ever grow up? I hope not. Anyway, if nothing else, this has been a great experience doing an album
without the political BS that I've seen so much of in all the dates that I've done over the years. Maybe leaving Hollywood AND Nashville for tracks was a good idea. A great producer, Michael Stewart, once told me, "Bill, the first thing that should hit tape is who you are and how you feel. Time, intonation, enunciation, etc., should be a given, and takes second place after the vibe."

This record is feeling right. Thanks for your attention and your patience. - Bill C.

..August 27, 2006
Hey, guys. This is BC. I want to remind you that there is actually enough time in late September for a few Sons' shows (That's "Sons of Champlin" for you newcomers.) We just call 'em Duh Sons, easier to spell. I always misspell Champlin. Anyway, there's a gig in Grass Valley, CA on Thursday Sept. 28, one at The Little Fox Theater in Redwood City, CA on Sept. 29, there's a benefit show in Novato, CA with "It's a Beautiful Day" and "Jefferson Airplane/Starship" (whatever vehicle they're cruising in, they're always great). That same night we're going out to Rancho Nicasio in Nicasio, CA for a gig. Check out the Sons of Champlin site for more details. We're looking forward to doing some music, as always, and we'll have a few days of rehearsing, of course, earlier in the week. I don't know why, but I love rehearsing with the Sons. Nothin' like a tight unit.......musically speaking.

See ya' there,
bill

..July 7, 2006 :: Nashville, TN
This is Bill Champlin. We have started this website because, first of all, I don't really have one that's close to current, and secondly, because it just seems like a good idea to give the curious an idea of what's happening in this weird world of Champlin. We've posted demos, lyrics, news, a biography and history, as well as a message board, so people can hang out with me and other folks who like this music. I want to keep this stuff about music 'cause, well, that's what we're doing.....isn't it? I'll be tossing in suggestions about what I think is good music by other artists and will link to cool artists who are making good music. There's a lot of what I think is inferior product out there, but there's always some good stuff hiding behind the latest crap that I'll keep an ear open for. Rona and Melanie will help keep the site current; there will be new music and lyrics every month or so to keep it interesting. I thank them for that, 'cause if left on my own I'd wander off and start playing with other toys in my studio and forget everything but the new songs in front of me. I'd like to keep you guys in the loop. I need other ears to keep me honest. Anyway, welcome to billchamplin.net and please keep comin' back.

Thanks,
Bill Champlin