Billy Wallace, My Friend The Troubadour

Posted by: Tony – Jul 01, 2010

I first met Billy Wallace when The Wading Girl played at Empire. The show was Barn Burning, Josh Small and Brandon Peck. There was a tremendous honesty to Wallace’s craft as a songwriter. I would soon there after send him an email asking to play a show with him. This would become his first solo show ever and the beginning of something grand.

In each song featured on The Road Spit Me Out and Learning Things, there is a unique dynamic at play. Wallace keeps the listener informed as to the place where his tales are taking place and the thoughts flooding their mind at any point. His songs are the drunken barroom banter that enables us to find hope at the bottom of High Life bottles and the morning-afters where we feel invincible. He is that type of troubadour who is traveled and true.

He used to call Roanoke, Virginia his home, but he is no stranger to the city of Richmond. If you check the liner notes of any release he has been a part of, this city has been a part of it as well. Whether it’s Adam Tsai of Nick Coward and the Last Battle laying down a horn part or two or T Leggett of the Mason Dixon Disaster contributing drums, Richmond is a huge component to Wallace’s musical output. The guy even played in Tim Barry’s backing band for a few tours. In short, Richmond is Billy Wallace as Billy Wallace is Richmond.

Reflecting upon this connection, Wallace joked about how if you found yourself more involved in the hippie scene, you tend to end up in Asheville. If you find a home in punk rock, you tend to venture towards Richmond. It doesn’t hurt that the proximity of Roanoke to the Appalachians enables itself to the roots of Americana. Wallace also mentioned how the cities of Roanoke and Richmond lend themselves to one another quite nicely and that probably explains the trends of a DIY music community that spreads across the state.

He is now based out of Cincinnati, Ohio, which allows him to tour a bit closer to St. Louis, Chicago and bigger markets. His focus remains on the East Coast. In the midst of his current tour, he will be dropping by Richmond once more this coming Friday at the Triple. I highly recommend dropping by and getting the best possible start to an Independence Day weekend. Come witness one of my favorite songwriters who belongs to this city just as much as the rest of us.

www.myspace.com/billywallaceva

by Shannon Cleary Photo Credit: Jessica Zwolinski www.studio3z.com