During the intermission of The Buzz Coffeehouse’s poetry open mic on a cold Monday evening in November, everyone filed outside to smoke cigarettes and have an outdoor, impromptu reading. Eventually, someone stepped up to provide his rendition of “Little Bunny Fufu.” It was quite funny, and got even funnier when he accosted and followed three passers-by, moving the crowd with him. This charade lasted so long it outlasted me; I started walking home before it ended.
If these antics sound familiar to you, then you know they come from Billy D. He performs at these open mics (and others) on a semi-regular basis. Just look for the tall, lanky person dressed in black, and chances are that’s him.
There are, doubtlessly, many D stories to tell. I’ve been witness to only a few of them. During one open mic, he partially undressed on stage and, for a moment, indicated that he was planning on going further. Occasionally, he has spoken about his job at an adult store. One night, riding down Willamette Street, I’m pretty sure we passed each other on bicycles — I suspect he was on his way to work.
Billy D has been distributing two recordings — “4 Song EP,” and Sweet Young Things’ “Hungover & Daydreaming,” a six-track band album. These are both lo-fi in every sense of the word — basically just burned CDs, with track listings and titles drawn on with a permanent marker.
“4 Song EP” shows Billy D at his crude greatest. The guitar playing is so out of tune it sounds like it’s a different instrument. There’s slight background distortion prevalent throughout each of the tracks. The singing, well, he sings however he wants to.
“Too Much” is a song that will surely provoke a strong reaction from a listener; whether that reaction consists of shock, offense or laughter will depend on your perspective. The lyrics: “Well it’s the time for me to start eating / but it’s also the time for you to start bleeding” should provide a good taste of where the song moves.
“Copy Bâton de colle” is the most musically interesting track, in what sounds like reversed tape loops of D’s voice mixed with some decent guitar performance.
The liner notes don’t provide any details about Sweet Young Things’ performers, but this is a band album. The instrumentation consists of drums, bass and guitar (and an organ on the unannounced sixth track) — if my ear serves me correctly. However, the words and singing voice can, again, be attributed to Billy D.
These are mostly punk tunes, but alternate with an occasional rocking, and even surprisingly heartfelt arrangements. The lyrics on “Sounds Like A Riot” sound confidently personal: “Nicotine daydreams violent realities / everything is different than it should be.”
In spite of all the distortion and amateur sensibilities, actual character can be discerned from these recordings. Through it all, there is no doubt, be it serious or joking, that D is aware of himself as a performer.
The albums are available from the artist and priced to own — in the best sense of words. I was able to purchase my two discs for an economical $2. Of course, it might just depend on who you are — I’ve seen Billy D provide gratis copies to certain members of the female gender.
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