Bill Carroll

Bio:

Bill got his start in music when he was 14, squandering all the lawn-mowing money he earned that summer to buy a cheap electric guitar.

About 7 years later, he was signed to the Hollywood, CA-based Aardvark Records and wrote and performed a song (recorded with Fugazi producer Don Zientara when his studio was still in the basement of his house) that was featured on Dick Clark's long-running "American Bandstand" program and MTV.

He toured the East Coast and Midwest extensively from 1987-1994, playing sometimes nice but usually dumpy clubs, bars, and the odd concrete bombshelter as part of mostly original bands Spy and No Such Thing, as well as the Bill Carroll Band.

In 1994, he released his third solo effort, "Kohoutek," which along with his earlier albums "The Basement Tapes" and "Night" became highly sought-after collectors' items by those in need of cheap cassette tapes to record over. After relocating to the Southeast in 1994, he performed extensively with the Plow Hippies, then semi-retired at the ripe old age of 28 to record another solo record.

Fortunately, that was not to be as Bill was tapped to join the critically acclaimed band Doubting Thomas on bass and vocals. He grabbed his bass, jumped into the band van, and arrived back home sometime in early 2001 when DT officially disbanded. During that time, the band opened for acts such as Clint Black, Live, The Murmurs, and Grand Funk Railroad, and released three CDs: "Who Died and Made You King," "Live" and "Cut It Out."

Bill "retired" again in 2001, taking the producer's chair in his home studio, where he recorded soundtracks for several theatre musicals, a few national ad campaigns, some local and national bands, and wrote and recorded the Emmy-nominated soundtrack for the PBS program "The Mecklenburgers." He won an international Telly Award for his work on the program in 2007.

He plays, writes and records just for fun now, and plans on releasing the bulk of his remaining work via two EPs in 2008 and 2009.

Member Since:

June 27, 2007

Members:

Bill Carroll, Slade Carroll (roadie), Elizabeth Carroll, Jennifer Carroll (personal adviser and supervisor)

Influences:

The Beatles, Rush, John Wetton, Bob Mould, Kate Bush, Todd Rundgren, Kevin Gilbert, Steely Dan, John Coltrane, The Jam, The Who, Moe Berg, The Pursuit of Happiness, Martin Sexton, The Cars

Sounds Like:

Tom Petty, Joe Walsh, The Beatles, Peter Frampton, Will Owsley

Record Label:

Unsigned