Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 6, Issue 12, December 2002

Copyright 2002 Seattle Sun. Please feel free to use the article and photos below in your research. Be sure to quote the Seattle Sun as your source.

LIVE FROM NORTH SEATTLE! by Clayton Park

Billy Moon rising

Billy Moon may very well be the best band you've never heard of.

Take it from Michael Shrieve, the former drummer for Santana, who says: "Kristy Karen Smith (Billy Moon's lead singer) writes songs that come straight from her heart and echo through the hearts of those who listen. Billy Moon exemplifies what great music is all about."

Or consider the following statement from actor Adam Arkin (of "Chicago Hope" and "Northern Exposure"): "The songs of Billy Moon resonate with a sense of the personal, the authentic, and the present. Kristy writes like a veteran and sings like an angel."

With endorsements like that, why hasn't a record label signed this band?

Answer: A label called Samson Records did back in 1997.

Shrieve, a then-talent scout for Samson, heard the band perform at a showcase for the Northwest finalists in Discmakers' Unsigned Band Contest (Billy Moon was named first runner-up).

Billy Moon was promptly signed to a two-record deal with Samson, a fledgling label backed by Gateway Computers co-founder Norm Waite.

The deal included a modest cash advance, salaries for each of the band members, and an expense account that allowed the band to purchase equipment to record its first album.

Everything seemed to be going well as the band proceeded to record the album, which was being produced by Billy Moon drummer Steve Smith (Smith's husband). Steve is also owner of the Seattle Drum School in North Seattle's Pinehurst neighborhood, where the band rehearses.

Several months into the project, the band was surprised to learn that Shrieve had been replaced with a new talent scout, who flew up from Los Angeles to meet them.

"He thought (what we were working on) was great and wanted us to record more songs," recalled Steve Smith.

Alan Paisley, the bassist for Billy Moon, remembers the label paying for a "ridiculously expensive all-day photo shoot" with a nationally known rock 'n' roll photographer. "Throughout all this, we're thinking, 'This is it. We're going to hit the big time.'"

Of the members of Billy Moon, guitarist Bruce Hazen remained the most skeptical, having dealt with record labels before while in previous bands.

In September 1998, the band completed its album, "Storm Before the Calm," and shipped the master tapes to Samson. They then waited for the label's reaction.

They kept waiting for two months until, finally, Kristy Smith ended the suspense by calling the president of Samson. He told her the label decided to drop the band because it didn't consider it to be "Adult Album Alternative," as in acts such as Dave Matthews, Shawn Colvin and Sheryl Crow. (The label later switched to smooth jazz.)

Instead of a national rollout for the album (at one time, the label even talked about taking out a full-page ad in Rolling Stone), the members of Billy Moon ended up putting out the CD themselves, pressing 1,000 copies to sell at shows.

Rather than give up, the band has continued to forge ahead on its own.

It has launched a Web site (www.billymoon.net) and has added a booking agent, Anne Paisley (Alan Paisley's wife). The band is planning a short East Coast tour either this coming spring or summer.

Last year, the band was nominated for four Seattle Area Music Awards, including Best Female Vocalist, Best New Artist, Best Producer and Best Engineer, and was chosen to be a sample band on Apple Computer's new iPod. The band has also opened for national acts, including Roseanne Cash, the Crash Test Dummies and Little Feat.

Billy Moon hopes the recent release of its second album, "Turn," will raise its profile even further.

The album showcases Kristy Smith's heartfelt, yet smooth, lead vocals, the pyrotechnics of lead guitarist Hazen and the solid rhythm section of Paisley and Steve Smith. Paisley takes a turn on lead guitar for the song "Green Marble," while Hazen, Paisley and Steve Smith provide harmony vocals on several tracks. The CD also features several guest musicians.

Kristy Smith wrote all the songs on "Turn," with the exception of "Falling for Me," which she co-wrote with Laurie Webb and Bryan Lennox, "Everybody's Baby," co-written with Webb and Jimmy Abegg, and "Where Are You Now?," which she co-wrote with one of her sisters, Anna Erickson.

A recording of "Falling for Me," performed by Tamara Walker, has been featured on the soundtrack to the Sylvester Stallone movie "Driven," as well as on TV shows "Get Real" and "Roswell."

Smith's songs are reminiscent of the confessional singer-songwriters who were popular when she was growing up in the '70s. She counts Joni Mitchell, Karla Bonoff and Paul Simon among her early musical influences.

Many of Smith's songs are deeply personal, as if taken from a private journal. In the song "Still," she sings: "You can keep that smile polished shiny and clean/And you can keep up appearances 'til the cows come home/You can cry into your pillow so that no one will hear, but I'll know..."

But while she may be describing her own experiences, Smith says people often tell her: "You could've written that song about me."

After one show, a couple came up to her to comment on a song she sang about being a little girl in a large family. "They said 'We have three daughters at home and after hearing that song, we will never look at our children the same. We're going to make sure each one knows they are important to us.'"

"I love doing what I do," says Smith. "I love the universal language of music and how it can bring people together. There aren't many jobs that can do that."

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Billy Moon will perform a free all-ages show at Mr. Spot's Chai House at 2213 NW Market St. in Ballard on Friday, Nov. 22, from 8-11 p.m. The band's new CD will be available for purchase at the show.