Public Domain

Hi Billy! First of all welcome to AOR LAND!
I know you have just finished
touring with Elton John.
How was it?
Actually I'm in the middle of this world with Elton, our next adventure starts august 7th in Texas and ends the last week of October in NY. Then we start in Europe 2nd week of November to mid December. Until next year?

How did you get into Elton's band?
I met Elton about 8 years ago when I was in the band the Warpipes, I got invited to a party in his and Bernie Taupin honor. After that every time he needed some background vocals I got called to do it. the first time was when he won the Oscar for the Lion Kin and the following year I worked with Elton and Rod Rtewart at a charity benefit. So it became a sort of slow process over the years then when the oportunity came up to join full time last year I did.

Why you formed PUBLIC DOMAIN. Did you needed your own band to express another side of yourself as a musician?
At the time I didn't think R needed to record any more songs but there was something missing in my life, I was making good money in the studio, I was married, had children, house... But needed something. so I called my old friend Dave Young (Cock Robin, Air Supply) we got together and started writing, and there it was my missing link. I did need to make a record so on the rock n'roll road again.

Who are the other guys in the band?. Introduce them to the readers.
This is a great band of some of the best musicians in LA that just happen to be some of my best friends. When I called everyone to see if they wanted to make a record with me they all said this would be great!. so let me introduce you to the guys: on guitar, mandolin, pedal steel and backing vocals we have BRUCE WATSON. I met Bruce when he was with Patty Smith then he was playing with Rod Stewart for awhile, also Cher, Toto and some la-la bands. Next, we have on bass, laricello and backing vocals LARRY ANTONIO. I met Larry when he was with Air Supply, then another friend of mine Mark Free grabbed him for his band Unruly Child. Also in the line up we have MATT LAUG on drums and percussion. I used to do a lot of session with Matt, but his credits are that also he recorded "Jagged Little Pill" with Alanis Morrisette. And last but least, the man behind the mix, the guy who stayed up for 16 hours a night ripping his hair out till it was right... On keyboards, vocals and producing skills DAVID YOUNG. I've known him for so long now and I think we went through puberty together. We first met when he was in Cock Robin then AIr Supply with Larry. We had always kept in touch and when we had the time we wrote a song or two together. Also I would like to introduce the additional musicians that shared the fun. STUART MATHIS helped out on the backgrounds CAMERON STONE and ROLAND HARTWELL on strings. JIMMY HAUN played rhythm guitar on "Confetti" and DAVID GLEN EISLEY blew harmonica on "Confetti" as well. All in the family we JULIUS ROBINSON who give us a hand on the lyrics and PAM RESWICK and STEVE WERFEL wrote "Confetti" with me . And that's rock-n-roll folks.

For this record you have got a deal with MTM which is rapidly growing and developing as a very good label with a strong roster of artists. How did you reach this agreement with the Swedish-German label?
When I first met Magnus Soderkvist in 1993 he was working with a label called Empire. He had such a vision on what he wanted to do in the music scene but nobody to do it with, he always said if he could put the right company he wanted to sign me a contract, I think he liked the way I sang and though I needed the break. When he joined forces with Mario Lehman and Thomas Hassler his vision came true and here we are 5 years later talking to AOR LAND.

I do specially like Radio Nighs, Marching On . Which are your personal favourites and why?
I really like them all, this was a fun record to sing because there's so many different styles to play with, but some of my favourites were Radio Nights, Child in my Heart, Confetti and China Rain. I think the reason for that is there are just some songs you can seek your teeth into, instead of trying to find the character of the song you just sign and the song will flow out.

In this debut with PUBLIC DOMAIN. The listener can find touches of Midwest, pop and AOR. Could you explain how you got to that blend of styles?
When writting for a record most artists have their own sound. Eddie van Halen the way he plays guitar, Bono the way he sings and phrases, Led Zeppelin for their melodic blues sound. with this band there were so many influences we thought why not incorporate them all and make that our own identity, so the result is a melting pot of music.

Which are your main influences as a singer?
I have so many to choose from but my top 5 would be Sam Cooke, Paul Rodgers, Steve Perry, Aretha Franklin and Elton John.

Do you follow the AOR scene nowadays? What do you think of it? Which bands do you like?
I never left the old ones but I do like alot of the new bands out today like the Semisonics, Radiohead, Goo Goo Dolls, and my favorite right now is Daniel O'Brien.

Do you have plans to release new material under the PUBLIC DOMAIN name or this is just a one-off project?
The sky's the limit!. As long as there are people to listen there will be Public Domain

What about your solo career?
This is my career, I had the option to go on my own, but I love being part of a band, its a privilege to be in a band specially of this caliber. But who knows maybe I'll do something more soloist.

Well, Billy this is the end of the interview. From AOR LAND we really thank you for taking part of your holiday time in order to answer these questions. We also wish you all the luck for the future. Would you like to say something to the fans?.
It's nice to know there is still an audience that likes to listen to music with melody, singing harmonies. I still believe this sound of music has a home and there is no reason why we can't mix the different types of music in today's market. When I listen to radio all I hear is the same sounding bands. it's a pitty the labels don't show more of a variety, give some of the the other styles a chance. So with this I thank you for reading this and taking the time to hear the music.