Bill Deasy | |
|---|---|
 Deasy performing at a house concert. Pittsburgh, PA. November 4, 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Bill Deasy Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States |
| Origin | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Genres | Pop rock Folk rock |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Website | Bill Deasy |
Bill Deasy is a singer-songwriter, recording artist and author born and raised inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In the late 1980s, Deasy's musical start blossomed at open stages in and around Pittsburgh. Within a few years Deasy and his band, Shiloh, outscoredRusted Root to win the 1991 Graffiti Rock Challenge, a local Pittsburgh competition.[1] By the mid-90s, with Shiloh defunct, a new group emerged and Deasy became the lead singer-songwriter ofThe Gathering Field, whose regional hit "Lost in America", from an album by the same name, led to a deal withAtlantic Records in 1996.[2] After parting ways with Atlantic, The Gathering Field released three more albums:Reliance, the self-titledThe Gathering Field andSo Close To Home. During that time Deasy also released a semi-acoustic solo album,Spring Lies Waiting.[3]The Gathering Field did not record for several years during which time Deasy continued to record and perform as mostly a solo act.[4] In 2014, The Gathering Field reunited for their releaseWild Journey and in 2017 Deasy and Gathering Field band-mate Dave Brown releasedGlory Bound.
Spring Lies Waiting was 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.[3]
Good Day No Rain followed as 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 byGregg Wattenberg and the balance co-produced by Deasy and Dave McNair.[5]
Chasing Down a Spark was the follow-up to the 2003 releaseGood Day No Rain. The CD was produced by Kevin Salem and mixed by Joe Blaney. The majority of the new CD was recorded inWoodstock and New York City and features guitar work fromThe 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. Other session players were Rob Arthur on keyboards, Oli Kraus on cello andDavid Mansfield on pedal steel and violin. The CD also features guest appearances byDonnie Iris, The Clarks’ Scott Blasey,Rachael Yamagata andMaia Sharp.[6][7]
The Miles was Deasy's first self-produced recording, released in July 2007. Recorded in Pittsburgh, it features members of the Bill Deasy band and a guest appearance by Los Angeles singer-songwriter Renee Stahl.[8]
Drain Tapes, Volume 1 is a 7-song EP containing acoustic demos of songs not previously recorded. Songs include "Better Than Never at All," "Somebody Else’s Town" and "The Light I See."[9]
In 2003 Deasy wrote "Learning to Fall" with Odie Blackmon, that was recorded byMartina McBride for her albumMartina.
In September 2007 Deasy wrote and performed the promotional piece "Your Home" forPittsburgh TV Station,KDKA.[8]
In November 2008 Deasy releasedA Different Kind of Wild, a collection of "heartfelt and earnest" songs that include him playing keyboards for the first time.[10] The collection of ten songs is another "thoughtful and intimate"[11] record on which Deasy penned nine of the ten songs without collaboration.[11]
One year later, Deasy released his sixth full-length solo CDBeing Normal. One review of the CD states: "The full-band instrumentation onBeing Normal is flavorful without being overbearing."[12]
In 2013 Deasy releasedStart Again, a record that he says is a reflection of the musicians who first inspired him such asVan Morrison,Neil Young,Bob Dylan andJackson Browne. Produced by Chris Parker, the album includes songs co-written with Odie Blackmon andKim Richey. Once againMaia Sharp is a guest vocalist.[13]
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'sReliance album. Among the co-writers represented are Odie Blackmon,Paul Brady, Molly Bancroft andTeitur. However, Deasy collaborates more frequently when he is writing for artists other than himself. Some of these songs have appeared on albums byMartina McBride,Kim Richey,The Clarks,Bijou Phillips,Howard Jones,Billy Ray Cyrus andMichael Stanley. He has written with songwriters such asMark Hudson,Darrell Brown,Richie Supa,Stephen Bishop,Maia Sharp,Kim Richey,Jane Wiedlin and Jamie Houston.[4]
In 2001, during a trip to Nashville, Deasy andLarry Gottlieb wrote a song called "Good Things are Happening". A demo of the song was submitted to the television showGood Morning America and was selected to appear as part of a promotional campaign. The 10-week campaign was extended for four years and the song became known as the Good Morning America theme song.[5][14]
In early 2007 Deasy joined creative forces with Rick Jacques, formerly a guitarist in the Pittsburgh band Brownie Mary. Within a few months Deasy and Jacques had co-written a handful of songs. Continuing their collaboration, the result was a "shimmering studio product"[15] titledThe Invisible Ocean released in early 2008. The duo chose to release the CD under the nameThomas Jefferson's Aeroplane which, Deasy says, was sparked by a discussion about the bookThe Disappearance of the Universe which stated that Thomas Jefferson had his own version of the bible.[16]
Deasy's debut novel,Ransom Seaborn, was published to in August 2006 by Velluminous Press. The novel was the recipient of the 2006 Needle Award.[17] One reviewer said, "There's no shortage ofcoming-of-age novels, so any addition to the genre best have something unique about it. Bill Deasy's debut,Ransom Seaborn, has an original premise, one amazingly eccentric character and some solid writing to recommend."[18]
Velluminous published Deasy's second novel,Traveling Clothes, in October 2009.[19] The third novel in the trilogy –Ghost Tree – was published in 2010.[20]
– 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 asubway back downtown.[6]
– Deasy tours across the country as a headlining act but has also opened up for artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan,Rosanne Cash,Patty Griffin,John Hiatt,World Party,Norah Jones and the lateWarren Zevon.[4]
| 2023 | Live at Club Cafe | Slightly Aimless Records |
| 2022 | If the Creek Don't Rise | Slightly Aimless Records |
| 2018 | Swingers, Scamps & Stallions | Slightly Aimless Records |
| 2017 | Glory Bound (with Dave Brown) | Mudpuppy Records |
| 2016 | Timeless Things | Slightly Aimless Records |
| 2014 | Wild Journey (Gathering Field) | Mudpuppy Records |
| 2013 | Start Again | Slightly Aimless Records |
| 2011 | Gathering Field Live (Gathering Field) | Mudpuppy Records |
| 2010 | Express (Thomas Jefferson's Aeroplane) | Cousteau Records |
| 2009 | Being Normal | Slightly Aimless Records |
| 2008 | A Different Kind of Wild | Slightly Aimless Records |
| 2008 | The Invisible Ocean (Thomas Jefferson's Aeroplane) | Cousteau Records |
| 2007 | The Miles | Slightly Aimless Records |
| 2005 | Chasing Down a Spark | Bound to Be Records |
| 2004 | Drain Tapes, Vol 1 | Bound to Be Records |
| 2003 | Good Day No Rain | Bound to Be Records |
| 2001 | So Close to Home (Gathering Field) | Mudpuppy |
| 2000 | Spring Lies Waiting | Onoma Records |
| 1999 | Reliance (Gathering Field) | Onoma Records |
| 1996 | Lost in America (Gathering Field) | Atlantic Records |
| 1994 | The Gathering Field (Gathering Field) | Mudpuppy Record |
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