Biography
The brother duo of guitarist Sean and keyboardist Jody Ryan has revived what, to many, is a lost sound in bands today. Armed with the incomparable Janky Bones on bass and the untamable Brad Simmons on the kit, Uncle Billy's Smokehouse is roaring through the New England music scene and beyond.
Hailing from Worcester, MA this four piece rock outfit has seen their fair of the road in the past few years. Playing shows from Burlington Vermont to New York City and down to New Orleans, the band seems to have found the path to the everlasting temple of Rock'n'Roll. The key, it seems, to their success has been in their songwriting formula - mixing the substance and ideals of the 60's/70's with the aggression and intensity of modern times to create music that will grab you by the throat and pull you into the speaker so you can learn the damn words.
Now playing their way through bars and halls in the Northeast Uncle Billy's Smokehouse is bringing a party to every new club they set foot in. 2008 was a busy year for the band and rockin out is the ultimate goal so the future is lookin pretty good. With hours upon hours of material - their 50+ original songs and covers ranging from the Beatles to the Beastie Boys - they tear through their sets and can turn any crowd into a raging, booty-shaking machine. So whether you like to get the funk out, stomp your feet, raise a fist, or just toss back a few and get a little silly, the Smokehouse can accommodate your needs.
2008 HIGHLIGHTS
Worcester annual St. Patrick's Day parade (3/19) - Tammany Hall float
(That float won the Spirit Award by the way...),
The Higer Ground - Burlington, VT (4/10),
Worcester Palladium (4/12) w/ Badfish (1800+ in attendance),
Showcase Live @ Patriot's Place (9/6);
VooDoo Fest New Orleans (10/24 - 10/26),
Halloween @ Tammany Hall - Worcester, MA (10/31),
New Year's Eve @ The Middle East downstairs w/ Badfish (12/31)
Named in part as a tribute to their father (Uncle Billy), and a surprisingly inspirational hot-dog cart (Billi's Smokehouse) seen for sale on the side of the road in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Ryan brothers created Uncle Billy's Smokehouse in November of 2000. First formed as a classic rock cover band to feed the brothers need to play music, Uncle Billy's Smokehouse soon grew into a vehicle for Jody and Sean to explore original songs and sounds without any outside influences besides themselves.
In 2002, longing for the concrete landscape and random hostility of their hometown, the brothers Ryan returned home to Worcester, Massachusetts. Back home, Uncle Billy's Smokehouse quickly entered the New England circuit with friends and former bandmates Jon Golen (bass) and Bill Connor on drums. Infusing the varying musical tastes of each member, UBS began to churn out new songs that exposed a wide range of influences and genres, five of which were captured in the studio in the fall of 2002 for their debut EP. With live shows consisting of numerous originals and the occasional tasty cover, Uncle Billy's was quickly filling clubs throughout Central Massachusetts with some pretty rowdy crowds.
In December of 2003, UBS made a rhythm section change to old friends Matt LeBoeuf and Brad Simmons. Even more original songs began to find their ways into setlists. Life was good for UBS but there was something that was missing - a bassist from hell - and then he was sent from below. Long time Worcester musician Steven 'Janky Bones' Sullivan returned from an 8 year absence from California's Bay area. California was the perfect place for Janky to hone his skills playing a variety of styles of music. From the jam sessions with Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction and Banyan to the tourning funk band .dias funK, to the king of punk/jazz Willie Waldman, to the L.A. based Pop Killers with guitar great Ronnie Rey Gunn. It was time to return home to the east coast where he quickly started to admire the direction Uncle Billy's Smokehouse was taking their music.
In March of 2005 the release of their first full length album 'Tracks', has already sold over 1,500 copies without any outside help. The album has quickly gotten the band on the 'must see' list so many bands spend years attempting to reach. The album recieved a numer of very positive reviews from a variety of differnt types of media, including a cover feature on the March 2005 issue of the nightlife entertainment publication The Pulse Magazine. "One song and youll be converted by the power of their blues and funk inflected rock n roll" -Pulse Magazine
A review by Mick Skidmore, a writer for Relix Magazine for over 20 years says "A hot quartet that is intent on taking the ballsy blues-rock and psychedelic rock of the early 70's and melding it with a savvy 21st century jam sensibility, and on the evidence of their recent Tracks album that was released earlier this year they are doing a pretty darn good job at it!" -Mick Skidmore
A review by Jambands.com "A thick, blues-based classic rock influence, for sure, with solos a-plenty, grungy organ, and hopping backbeats" -Jesse Jarnow, Jambands.com.
A feature that had the band sharing the cover with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in the Boston Massachusetts based music publication Metronome Magazine "They have resurrected the energetic pomp and circumstance of bands and days gone by that arose out of the ashes of the flower-child movement of the late 1960's" -Shaun McNamara, Metronome Magazine.
A review in Massachusetts' internet live music playground Wormtown.org "Its the vocal harmonies that do it for me. They really hark back to the AM radio days of the mid 60s. No one even bothers trying to harmonize like this nowdays, but Im glad they did" -Phil McNamara, Wormtown.org
Instrumentation
Sean Ryan - guitar, vocals
Jody Ryan - keys, vocals
Steven 'Janky Bones' Sullivan - bass, backup vocals
Brad Simmons - drums, backup vocals
Discography
3/17/05 - 'Tracks' debut LP
6/24/06 - Uncle Billy's Smokehouse 'The Blue One'
Links
| MySpace page |