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 Deasy 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] Spring Lies Waiting
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.
[edit] Good Day No Rain
Good Day No Rain was 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 and the balance co-produced by Deasy and Dave McNair.
[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 and mixed by Joe Blaney. 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 New York City 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] The Miles
The Miles is the first self-produced effort by Bill Deasy and was released in July 2007. The CD was recorded entirely in the artist's hometown of Pittsburgh and features members of the Bill Deasy band and some of Steel Town's finest musicians, as well as a guest appearance by LA singer-songwriter Renee Stahl.
[edit] Drain Tapes
The Drain Tapes EP series features the first drafts of songs that did not make it onto one of Bill Deasy albums. Volume 1 features seven songs including “Better Than Never at All,” “Somebody Else’s Town” and “The Light I See.”
[edit] Learning to Fall
In 2003 Bill Deasy co-wrote Learning to Fall along with Odie Blackmon which was recorded by Martina McBride, a popular country artist. Learing to Fall appeared on the album Martina, which sold over one million copies.
[edit] Your Home
In September, 2007 Deasy wrote and sang the song "Your Home" for Pittsburgh TV Station, KDKA. It is now being used for several image campaign promos aired on the station.
[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 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 morning television show Good Morning America for a 10 week fall campaign but wound up running for nearly 4 years.
[edit] Published work
His debut novel, Ransom Seaborn, was published to in August 2006 by Velluminous Press. The novel went on to receive the 2006 Needle Award. One critic said of the book:
"There's no shortage of coming-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."
Deasy is currently at work on his second novel.
[edit] Interesting Facts
- 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.
