Photo by Hannah Austin
Between magic, mic nights, a cajon and a Dobro, these two musicians heard each other play. Soon they were playing together, together with other groups and then just back to themselves.
Prescott Now: How long have you guys been playing together?
Billy: I was at Andrew Deering’s open mic in the Back Alley Wine Bar, and I heard him (Austin) again. This this time he was playing a cajon like I had never heard before. I started booking gigs like a mad man, and we played our first gig together Feb. 15, 2023 at La Planchada. We went on to play 80 shows together in 2023 in various formats.
Austin: Recently, I started writing songs on guitar and singing. So I hit open mic. It just so happened Billy was playing that night for the first time in a long time. I was super impressed by his set. “Dang… that dude with the cowboy hat can sing,” I thought to myself.
The magical events continued. I was having the hardest time finding someone to play cajon for me so I bought one. I took it to an open mic at BAWB and without asking jumped on a song Ann Marie Schimberg and Darin Mahoney were playing. I had never met them. They then hired me to play with The Palomino Band at Whiskey River Tavern who Billy was also playing dobro for on occasion.
A short time later Billy approached me to jump on some gigs with him, and here we are approaching our 100th show.
Prescott Now: What genre or genres of music do you play?
Billy: Our music is incredibly diverse. On a given night we will play songs from Hank Williams (Sr.), Amy Winehouse, Johnny Cash, George Strait, The Weeknd and Prince mixed with some original songs.
We joke about never playing a song the same way twice. No click tracks or backing tracks for these boys. It’s just a guitar, a cajon and a voice; but we can make a lotta noise.
Austin: I’m rooted in post punk, classic and alternative rock music, but I love playing the dynamic and character of all kinds of music. Billy has introduced me to all kinds of great songs. Ultimately I consider him a mentor and close friend. Oh… and we do that music thing together.
Prescott Now: What is the key to being a successful musical act in Prescott and Northern Arizona?
Billy: Playing music in Prescott is different. In New Mexico, the people would dance to anything with a beat. Here, it seems they want to recognize the song, so we don’t see them dancing to our music much.
We don’t play many songs you’ve heard on the radio, and if we do play one of ‘em, it surely ain’t a way you’ve heard it before. At most shows, we see folks just sitting back and listening. There’s a lot of eye contact. It’s like we’re playing in their living room.
Prescott Now: What’s the smallest audience you’ve played for; the biggest?
Billy: I’ve played for audiences from five to 5,000 people. Austin has played for 10,000+ arena/festival crowds.
Sometimes the smaller audiences are the toughest ones. You’re eyeball to eyeball, heart to heart, and you have to be absolutely in the moment.
Prescott Now: What brought you to Prescott?
Austin: I spent the early side of the 1990s chasing my musical dreams and took off with a couple bandmates to Europe. We landed in London and signed a record deal with The Cure’s record label (Fiction/Polydor). Highlights of that time were recording with The Cure and playing many of the large, outdoor European music festivals. Life changing events befell one of my bandmates and it all suddenly came to an end. In the mid ‘90s I stopped playing music.
And through a series of magical events I found myself in Prescott. I didn’t realize it was such a musical town.
Billy: I lived in southern Colorado for 50 years. When I was ready to retire, I wanted warmth and sunshine. In 2000, my wife Kathleen and I were driving from Scottsdale to Sedona, thinking Sedona would be the place for us. We stopped for lunch in Prescott and walked around the square, even visited with a few folks. We drove on to Sedona and spent the rest of the day giving it the once over. I’m kind of an old hippy cowboy and thought we’d fit right in. Wrong!!!
On the way back to Scottsdale, we both looked at each other and said, “Prescott is the place to be!” Kathleen went back to Prescott and found a Realtor and a nice piece of land. We bought it, built our home on it and have been here for over 20 years. We love it, love it, love it!
