Billy Ward (8)

Piano player, vocalist and producer. Born in Clinton, CT in 1965, as started taking piano lessons as a kid. While in high school he was the accompanist for the school choir, and also played tuba in the high school band for 4 years. Upon graduation from high school, Billy attended The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) to study classical piano, and later transferred to the Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA) to study jazz. While in Boston he performed in the piano bars, and also was a member of some bands. Eventually Billy got out of the band situation and wound up moving to San Antonio, TX. In 2003, Billy moved to AZ to start a piano bar with his friends, and from 2003 to 2011, he played at and owned his own piano bar. While in Boston, in 1980 Billy put together a three piece combo with drummer Dan Krause and singer Patty John. In 1982, Billy started Billy and the Boys, the Incredible Dixieland Band, consisting of Billy (piano, vocals), Todd Funk (banjo, then guitar), Paul Giovine (drums), and Ken Seale (tuba, then bass guitar). Billy and the Boys changed names several times, and had a revolving door on bass guitar. Some material was recorded under Tall Boys, the Billy Ward Band, and The Ozone Rangers. In 1987, Billy got some recording gear, so Rat Alley Studios was born. During the writing of his first solo record, he got it almost all recorded when he lost his job at the dueling piano bar in Boston. Billy released "Standards" in 1991 on Hip Shake Records. While in San Antonio, Billy had recorded a number of Christmas CDs to give to friends and family. A Texas based health care system caught wind of the project, and licensed the recordings to give to their many thousands of employees as an annual Christmas gift. Billy wound up recording four CDs for Christus Health Care. His releases with original music include "Keeping the Dream Alive", "Deep In The Heart Of Texas", and "Memories of You and Me".