Bill Deasy
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Bill Deasy is a singer-songwriter, recording artist and author born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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[edit] History
Deasy is the former lead singer-songwriter of The Gathering Field, whose regional hit "Lost in America" led to a deal with Atlantic Records. After parting ways with Atlantic, The Gathering Field put out "Reliance," followed by "So Close To Home," an album of songs the band played live for several years but had never recorded. During that time Bill also released a semi-acoustic solo album, Spring Lies Waiting. The Gathering Field eventually disbanded and Deasy officially stepped out on his own.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Chasing Down a Spark
Chasing Down a Spark is the follow-up to the 2003 release Good Day No Rain. The CD was produced by Kevin Salem (Freedy Johnston, Emmylou Harris, Rachael Yamagata) and mixed by the legendary Joe Blaney (The Clash, Blues Traveler, The Raveonettes.) The majority of the new CD was recorded in Woodstock and New York City and features stellar guitar work from The Clarks’ Rob James and producer Kevin Salem. Two members of Deasy’s Pittsburgh-based band, Scott Tamulinas and Dave Throckmorton provide bass and drums, respectively. Rounding out the equation is a host of all-star NYC session players like Rob Arthur on keyboards, Oli Kraus on cello and David Mansfield on pedal steel and violin. The CD also features guest appearances by such Pittsburgh notables as Donnie Iris and The Clarks’ Scott Blasey as well as recording artists Rachael Yamagata and Maia Sharp.
[edit] Good Day No Rain
Good Day No Rain is Deasy's first official release as a solo artist on his own Bound To Be Records label. Four of the songs on the CD were produced by Gregg Wattenberg (Five for Fighting, Pat McGee Band, Dishwalla) and the balance co-produced by Deasy and Dave McNair. The CD was received very well by critics and fans and several songs received airplay both across the country and overseas on significant stations.
[edit] Drain Tapes
The Drain Tapes EP series was created to capture the spark of freshness of the first draft in the songwriting process. Worthy songs are often denied the light of day due to mood or timing - either they were written too far before the next big studio production or just after the latest CD was in the can. Sometimes they're just songs that sit in-between in general and would not be chosen for a fully produced CD regardless. The Drain Tapes series is a chance to give these songs their due. It also allows listeners a glimpse into the creative process. Bill lays down a rough acoustic demo of every new song. These demos are an important tool in each song’s completion. There’s a sense of urgency to them, along with any household sounds that happen to bleed onto the recording (including water running through drains, hence the series title.) Volume 1 features seven songs including the bittersweet “Better Than Never at All,” the rockin’ road weariness of “Somebody Else’s Town” and the stark beauty of “The Light I See.”
[edit] Spring Lies Waiting
Spring Lies Waiting is Deasy's first solo effort, made while The Gathering Field was still together and produced by the band's lead guitarist and producer, Dave Brown. In retrospect this was probably a precursor to Deasy going out on his own as a solo artist but the CD wasn't recorded with that intention. Always a prolific writer, Deasy felt he had amassed a group of songs that didn't quite fit The Gathering Field and felt a need to "get them out there" in some way. He has referred to this CD as an "intentionally low-key affair".
[edit] Collaborations
Although Deasy pens the majority of his own material by himself, some collaborations do appear on the full-length CDs cited in this discography and the Gathering Field's Reliance album. Among the co-writers represented are Odie Blackmon, Paul Brady, Molly Bancroft and Teitur. However, Deasy collaborates more frequently when he is writing for artists other than himself. Some of these songs have appeared on albums by Martina McBride, Kim Richey, The Clarks, Bijou Phillips, Howard Jones, Billy Ray Cyrus and Michael Stanley. He has written with other notable songwriters such as Mark Hudson, Darrell Brown, Richie Supa, Stephen Bishop, Maia Sharp, Kim Richey, Jane Wiedlin and Jamie Houston.
Of particular interest is a song Deasy originally co-wrote with the goal of having another artist record it but wound up doing it himself. In 2001, during his first trip to Nashville after having secured a new publishing deal, he and Larry Gottlieb wrote a song called "Good Things are Happening". The original demo was pitched to the popular morning television show Good Morning America for a 10 week fall campaign. The producers fell in love with Deasy's voice and wound up not only using him to sing the song for the campaign but also cast him to actually appear on camera. The "Good Things are Happening" campaign was so popular that the song was used for 3 1/2 years.
[edit] Published Work
His debut novel, Ransom Seaborn, was published to critical acclaim in August 2006 by Velluminous Press. The novel went on to receive the 2006 Needle Award.
Publisher's description: A literary novel in the spirit of Gatsby and Holden Caulfield. It's Dan Finbar's freshman year and he's struggling to find his proper place in Harrison College. When he finally breaks through into the world of notorious loner Ransom Seaborn, their friendship is brutally cut short, leaving Finbar with nothing but Ransom's old leather journal and his sometime girlfriend Maggie. As Finbar and Maggie investigate the journal - and Ransom's soul - their discoveries illuminate the dark depths of the human heart and they find that what glitters is indeed sometimes gold.
Deasy is currently at work on his second novel.
[edit] Trivia
- Deasy first got the music bug listening to Elvis Presley as a little boy. He says he rocked so hard on his bed that it caused indentations and his parents had to continually turn over the mattress. He eventually became drawn to singer-songwriters such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Crosby, Stills and Nash and was especially inspired by Van Morrison, Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen, who he refers to as his "holy trinity of songwriters". Source: Bill Deasy website.
- The song "Levi" was inspired by getting his hair washed before a haircut in New York City. The salon was located on the second floor, hence the beginning line: "I was baptized by Levi in a second floor sink". He finished composing the bulk of the song on a subway back downtown.[citation needed]
- Deasy tours across the country as a headlining act but has also opened up for artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Roseanne Cash, Patty Griffin, John Hiatt, World Party, John Hiatt,Norah Jones and the late Warren Zevon. Source: Bill Deasy website.
- He once sang background vocals on a Mandy Moore album.
[edit] External links and references
- Bill Deasy official website
- Bill Deasy official myspace page
- Ransom Seaborn review
- Personal interviews with Bill Deasy
- 2006 Needle Awards
